A few nights ago I found myself at a family-owned estancia (ranch) folded into the foothills of the Andes. As tiny flickers of starlight poked through the cloudy night, a man in a navy blue beret reached for his guitar. Three hours later we realized that the lone candle stick had disappeared into a puddle of wax, the wine had run out, and the...
In the Tupungato region of Uco Valley, along the popular Ruta 98 sits a boutique winery, so humbly nestled into the landscape that you´d miss it if you weren´t paying attention. In a neighborhood of giants – Andeluna Winery, Salentein, and Jean Bousquet – La Azul is the David to their Goliath. With a cement-walled winery roughly the size of a spacious garage, it...
After working in some of Mendoza´s finest restaurants, including La Bourgogne and Azafrán, Pablo Ranea has a new project: Pirca Food & Wine, a pop-up, closed-door, traveling food & wine experience. That may sound like a lot to handle, but to Pablo is the kind of Chef who prefers to stay on his toes. As with most of life´s winding roads, experiences only connect...
Visitors to Pulenta Estate winery find different things to praise. Some are enchanted by the dramatic, glass-walled tasting room overlooking towering stacks of oak barrels, and others swoon for the outdoor patio with panoramic Andean views. But the image that will surface in my mind when I shuffle through my memories of Pulenta Estate, is a small dark room, tucked away on the basement...
A few weeks ago I celebrated my first anniversary – with wine. Now, certainly wine has been in the background of my life for a good while longer: a sip from an uncle´s glass at Christmas dinner, a vinegary red blend at a college bar etc. But this anniversary marks not only the beginning of my career in the industry, but my beginning to...