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Activities and Press Review
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Argentina is the world's fourth largest wine producer and also its
fourth wine imbiber, in terms of wine per person per annum. This, in
itself, means little until we understand that much of this wine is
superior and even world standard. Visitors arriving in Argentina for the
first time are usually surprised at what they find, especially when they
compare prices. Local wines are up to half the price of what one has to
pay for a comparable French, Californian or Australian product.
Argentina cultivates more than 50 varieties of grape suitable for making
wine, including all the top traditional European varieties and a few
which are unknown, or of little value, elsewhere in the world. Two of
these can be considered not only the most typical of Argentine wines but
also two highly regarded varietals much appreciated abroad. In the white
sector, the grape is the Torrontés, of unknown but probably Spanish
origin, which is an incredibly over powering, fruity-flowery wine on the
nose and an incredibly dry, flavorsome wine in the mouth. An acquired
taste for some, but quite unlike any other wine. Its nearest comparison
would be a sort of mix of Muscat and Tramminer.
In the red sector we have the world's only fine 100% Malbec wine, a
grape of French origin, which is being phased out in the Bordeaux region
and only maintains some sort of presence in the Rhone Valley. Malbec, in
the opinion of foreign experts, is Argentina's standard-bearer in the
wine world, superior to its Cabernet Sauvignon.
Finding one's own personal favorite is, as we all know, a subjective
matter and involves, a good deal of tasting and shopping around (a not
altogether disagreeable pastime!). |
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