Discovering Argentinian Wines with Andres Medrano

There has never been a better time to discover Argentinian wines. The 400-year-old industry bridges tradition and modern innovation, and includes many family-owned wineries and growers. We’ll talk about the history of Malbec and Torrontes and taste a few glasses, too, all to better understand how to serve and enjoy wines from Argentina.

Most people think of Malbec when they think of Argentinian wine. This varietal with French origins has done exceptionally well in Argentina since first being planted in the 1950s and this grape has been positioned as the flagship varietal. Since 1953, Malbec is celebrated every year on April 17, to commemorate the day when president Domingo Faustino Sarmiento made it part of his manifesto to turn around Argentina's wine industry. He procured the help of a French soil expert to find the best grapes to suit the Argentine Terroirs. While Malbec is the most important grape in Argentina, we will also be discussing other important grapes such as Bonarda, Torrontes, and the international varieties present.

This seminar will introduce the basics of Argentinian wines. Over a couple of glasses of wine, we will discuss the wine-making process, the Argentinian “terroir”, the evolution of wine in Argentina, as well as food and wine pairings, current trends, and tasting techniques to help you continue your appreciation at home or abroad.

During the seminar, we invited you taste along at home. Our guided virtual tasting will serve to calibrate our palates, teaching us how to evaluate wine using our senses of smell and taste. We will also discuss how to read Argentinian wine labels, how to purchase wines from this region and how to pair them with food.

You may wish to have some Argentinian wine on hand and we recommend making your selections from these regional categories. We will discuss Malbec, Bonarda, Torrontes, and Sauvignon Blanc varietals. We do not include the producers’ names as availability will vary from place to place.

Malbec

• Mendoza Region, including Lujan de Cuyo
• Uco Valley (Tupungato or la Consulta)
• Patagonia (Rio Negro sub-region premium wines)

Torrontes

• La Rioja (wines for the export market are labeled as “Fatima”)
• Salta region (Cafayate sub-region)

Bonarda

• The Maipu sub-region

Sauvignon Blanc

• Patagonia (Rio Negro sub-region premium wines)

Led by Andres Medrano, an expert on cuisine and enology, this interactive seminar will introduce participants to the intricacies of Argentinian wine. Designed to inform curiosity as well as future travels, participants will come away with an increased understanding of this fascinating and exciting new world wine region. Argentina is a wine country that can be discovered and enjoyed from north to south. Come and explore it with us!

Andrés has spent more than 10 years in Paris honing his culinary skills and knowledge. Starting in 2008 at the famous FERRANDI, L'école de cuisine et hôtelière, he learned the hard way the fine art of pastry and cuisine, apprenticing in noted Michelin-starred restaurants. Inspired by French cuisine, he then had the opportunity to study alongside European champion chef Olivier Boudot to discover secrets of French bread-making at the international Cordon Bleu school. Discovering a more epicurean penchant, he then left to study for the globally recognized Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) level 3 qualification, the French Wine Scholar and the Champagne Master Level program with the highest honors at the French Scholar Guild. Now, armed with both the skills of a sommelier and culinary nous, he is bringing the disciplines together as a food and wine editor, leading bespoke, fun, relaxed, ‘under the skin of the city’ tours around Paris’s independent delicatessens & vintners. He co-founded his secret cellar cheese & wine experience www.wetasteparis.com. Join him in sharing his passion for the traditions, methods & history of arguably the finest cuisine and wine in the world.

This conversation is suitable for adults over 21 years old

90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.