Featured Wine

March 2010

2008 Vides del Este, Reserve Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina (Silver, Best Buy World Wine Championships) ~ $11.99

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Wines in Argentina

Argentina has been making wine since the 1500s, tracing its wine heritage back to Spain, France and, perhaps surprisingly, Italy. Italian immigration is second only to Spanish in Argentine culture, and the flavors of Italy show up strongly in the nation’s wine, food and cultural tradition. Historically, Argentina has kept much of its wine consumption at home, drinking most of the wine it makes. But we are now seeing more very serious Argentine wines north of the border, and Malbec is leading the movement.

Province of Mendoza
The province of Mendoza is the most traditional area in the viticultural industry, and is diverse enough to be divided into zones, according to their significantly different weather, height and soil characteristics. It is a region that is remarkably well-suited to vine culture, protected from the Pacific’s cooling influence by the Andes and enjoying a long summer of cool nights and warm days, with a dry summer climate but plenty of water available from the region’s rivers.

Soils of Mendoza are of alluvial origin, formed from the erosion of rocks and minerals of the Andes range. The annual rate of precipitation is 200 mm, raining mainly between December and April. This level of precipitation is not sufficient for the vineyard, or for any other plant. That is why irrigation is essential. Irrigation water in Mendoza comes from the defrosting of the snow in Springtime and runs down from the Andes mountains. Mendoza can be defined as a high desert, which provides unique and particular characteristics to the vineyards, such as a wide temperature range, marked seasons, great luminosity and a lengthy period of maturation.

Vineyard
The vineyards are located to the south and east of the city of Mendoza in the area known as the High zone of the Mendoza River. This land covers the cultivation of most of Maipú and Luján departments. The agro-ecological conditions are extremely suitable; that is why they have been chosen by dozens of wineries that elaborate some of the finest wines in Argentina. 

If you travel here you will see an unusual site. Most of the vines are covered by nets. These nets are very costly to install but necessary to protect the grapes from the intense thunderstorms with hail that roll off the Andes. 

Malbec is the characteristic varietal of this region. Wines elaborated from this kind of grape have a strong personality and even though it is farmed in other places, the characteristics attained in Mendoza are superior to the rest of the world.

Winery
Vides Del Este has been a family enterprise since 1900. Its original founder Don Arista Taberna, actually worked in the winery until he was able to purchase it in 1910. From the beginning the Taberna Family has been faithful to the traditional way of making wine, but over the years have taken advantage of technological advances and techniques. In this way, they believe to have established the perfect blend of the old and the new. Today, patient work of the harvesters and the knowledge of the owner, Juan Taberna, ensure optimum results while maintaining its traditions. 

Winemaker
Since 2000 Octavio Crespo has been our enologist, constantly exploring the possibilities that grape varieties in Argentina can bring. His constant search for innovation has allowed us to successfully introduce to the market wines produced with grapes traditionally found in Mendoza, specially from the Maipu region.
Today, Octavio is still studying the quality potential of varieties such as Ancellota, Carmenere, and Pinot Grigio in Maipu.

Latest Award

Silver Medal "Best Buy" - World Wine Championships