AnuvaBlog

Unfortunately, tourists are still getting ripped off on taxi transportation in Buenos Aires. I just heard of a couple paying 500 pesos (125 usd) for an airport pickup. I find this horrifying!

For the best, most reliable, English speaking luxury car service in Buenos Aires you should go to Fred and Karina, the husband a wife couple at Silver Star Car (www.silverstarcar.com). They only charge 78 u$s for an airport pickup, 64 for a drop off, and they have tour services as well, all provided in a Lincoln Town Car or Citroen C4 where you can stretch your legs. And if you’re 6′ 4″ (197cm) like me, this is a fantastic luxury.

I met Fred about a year ago when we did a TV show together on the TN channel here in Argentina called “Argentina para Armar”. The show was about the immigration of American expats to Argentina. Since he and I are both married to Argentines (Karina is Argentine and so is my wife Lourdes), and started and own businesses here, we found we had a lot in common. So look them up for all of your car transport needs while in Buenos Aires.

Many people have come to Buenos Aires and eaten beef for their first 2-3 days. I did for my first 2-3 weeks. And then one of two things happens: either your palate gets sick of it, or your bowels do. In either case you look for alternatives. Especially in the former, many foreigners search out spicy food, which has been severely lacking in Buenos Aires. Here is a list of the best 5 restaurants in Buenos Aires for spicy food.

1. Sudestada. Guatemala 5602 on the corner of Fitzroy. You can get a good level of spice here in many different types of southeast asian dishes. Also a good place for vegetarians. Decent service and nice ambiance. About 60 pesos per person.

2. Cielito Lindo. El Salvador 4999 in the Palermo Soho neighborhood. Mexican cuisine with nice spicy beef tacos. Very friendly but somewhat slow service.  Well priced margaritas, imported mexican beers. About 60 pesos per person with alcohol.

3. Bangalore. Humbolt 1416 just off of Niceto Vega in Palermo Hollywood. Indian food and beer bar. Very good curry and great beer list. You can sit on the floor here with nice big cushions if you like. 50 pesos per person no alcohol.

4. Primavera Trujillana. Roosevelt 1627, 2 blocks from Avenida Libertador in Belgrano. Quite possible one of the best value restaurants in the city although due to their popularity they have been raising prices. Peruvian cuisine made by a Peruvian immigrant family. Great ceviche. It will come mild but you can ask for their traditionally spicy sauce, which they actually removed due to the Argentines who complained. 40 pesos per person with alcohol.

5. Green Bamboo. Costa Rica 5802 on the corner of Ravignani in Palermo Hollywood. Vietnamese cuisine. Great wine list although most of them are heavy reds which will not go well with the spice. Try a torrontes or a pinot noir. Really nice ambiance, decor and food presentation. Also has many vegetarian options. 50 pesos per person NO alcohol.

www.anuvawines.com

I spent nearly the entire day today with Philippe and Brigitte Subra, the lovely French owners of Carinae Vinos. Carinae is a derivative of the name Carina, one of the constellations that is only visible in the Southern sky. This name comes from Philippe’s passion for astronomy. All of the parcels of Carinae’s vineyards–the one surrounding the winery and the two in the prestigious Perdriel region of Lujan de Cuyo–are named after different constellations and the closures on their bottles have astronomy maps as designs.

Philippe started coming to Argentina about 12 years ago for work as an engineer. He fell in love with the wine and the people and not long thereafter, he and Brigitte decided to move to Maipu, Mendoza, rebuild a run down winery, and purchase the vineyards.

Since then their wines have gained remarkable press and ratings. 91 and 92 for several vintages of their top of the line Prestige Blend as well as for their Grand Reserve Malbec. I had the privilege today of tasting a vintage that is no longer for sale, the 2006 Grand Reserve Malbec, and the 2005 Prestige Blend. Wondrous wines.

I also tasted the soon to be released 2008 Prestige Blend. Such raw power. Such potential. In another 6 months it will be ready for release.The biggest surprise, though? The 2009 Torrontes. This is the only wine that they grow in Salta. And oh my God, what a wine. I have never experienced such length in a Torrontes. At least 35 seconds of lingering flavor starting with the classic melon and citrus flavors but then nuances of spice and hazelnut emerge. Supreme.

www.anuvawines.com

Eating a beautiful, rare, bife de chorizo at the Don Mario restaurant in Palmares, Mendoza with Hector and Pablo Durigutti and sampling their new Aguijon de Abeja Cabernet Sauvignon was quite a treat today. These two brothers are quite possibly the most important young winemakers in Mendoza right now. Both have backgrounds that are quite complimentary: Hector started at Alto Las Hormigas at the age of 15 and learned new world techniques and agriculture while Pablo started at La Rural, a massive winery now owned by Catena and learned more traditional oenology and viticultural practices.

Their Aguijon de Abeja Cabernet-Sauvignon was a luscious bouquet of raisin and blackberry jam and a mouthful of black currant, black cherry and hints of vanilla from the oak. Quite long for such a well priced wine.

Obviously we discussed wine, but of much more interest were the hopes and dreams of these young, Mendocino entrepreneurs, who can now see the promised land of where their family project that started with only 3000 bottles in 2002 has come to in less than 8 years. The Durigutti label is now nationally distributed as is Sur de los Andes, Ksana, Chakana and La Madrid which are all wines that the Durigutti brothers either make together or separately in many different wineries.

Anuva is excited because we are able to bring the fantastic Aguijon de Abeja line of wines to the U.S. which offers a FANTASTIC value. In this line are Malbec, Cabernet-Sauvignon, Bonarda, Torrontes and a Rose. We also hear that there is soon to be a Reserve Aguijon de Abeja line. The entire line displays a level of fruitiness without excess that is emblematic of the combination of their winemaking styles. New world fruit with old world elegance.

How long will we be left salivating for the reserve line? Hopefully not long.

www.anuvawines.com

It is always a pleasure to sit down with someone who makes such intelligent comments about the business of wine, winemaking, wine sales and so forth. That was my conversation today with Hernan Cortegoso of Bodega Serrera. They make a killer Torrontes that I wrote about a little while ago along with a lovely Malbec and Bonarda in their medium price range, and a fantastic Gran Guarda Malbec that is a spectacular concoction of layers of chocolate, ripe black cherry, clove, tobacco and a hint of pepper on the finish. Lovely and long this wine has a 10 year life expectancy and just keeps getting better.

With 3 different “fincas” (small farm: it can refer to any small agricultural operation) amounting to about 100 hectares of planted vineyard, Cortegoso–who is also an agricultural engineer–spends most of his time tending to the vines. This is where the true winemaking is done, he says.

www.anuvawines.com

One of the biggest tourist attractions, if not THE biggest in Buenos Aires is the Recoleta Cemetary.

On any given day, especially in the summertime (which here as you know is December through February), tourists from all over the world flock to the opulent and ostentatious cemetary built by the “recoleto” monks.

The name of the neighborhood, Recoleta, comes from the name of these monks who came from Spain, forever ago, and were “recoletos” or , recluses (chastity, poverty, silence, etc). And ironically this cemetary screams fame, fortune and nepotism.

There are literally houses where the dead are buried. Enormous ones made of marble, slate, stone, with crosses, pictures, engravings, statues, and more.

If you like history, especially the history of the famous, the infamous, the prominent soldiers and generals who are buried there, do take a tour as you will learn a lot.

If you find that kind of thing boring though, just take a quick peak inside, as once you have seen a couple of the graves, there is nothing else to see.

Of course, many famous people, like Eva Peron, are buried there, but it’s not like you’re going to meet them. You just see a picture of them on a tomb.

Take it for what it’s worth, I recommend spending 5 minutes there and then going and browsing the street fair next door in Plaza Francia or heading over to Palermo.

It’s almost painful to write a list like this, knowing that your mother-in-law’s meat empanadas are, in fact the best empanadas you have tried in your nearly 6 year Buenos Aires eating binge. Her combination of ground beef, italian herbs, red pepper and a few key secret ingredients that give her’s that extra kick. But alas, they are not available to the general public.

Here is Anuva’s list of the top 5 places to get empanadas in Buenos Aires. For those who don’t know, an empanada is a “hot pasty”–which we don’t have in America either so I will define: cheese or meat or “other” filled pastry that is then baked or fried. The gauchos used to take these with them for lunch when they went out to rope and herd cattle, at least that is one of the explanations I’ve heard. The ancient orgin is put somewhere in Portugal or Spain during the Arabian occupation of the Iberian Peninsula:

We tend to prefer very stuffed (re-relleno) empanadas as that is the best part, the filling. (I don’t know why you would want one that is not super filled).

1. La Fidanzata. Best traditional ham and cheese empanadas. Super filled and cheesy.

2. El Gourmet. Fried empanadas. Lots of options and again, super filled.

3. Los Inmortales. These guys made it on our list for pizza as well. Pizza and empanadas in Argentina very frequently go hand in hand.

4.  La Zoila. Salteno empanadas and other food from Salta: locro, tamales, humita, etc.

5. La Buena Cocina. Very unique flavors such as “El Bosque”: carrot, mushroom, bacon, mozarella and brown sugar.

Que disfruten! (Enjoy!)

Back to the topic of wine from Argentina: They say that the best Torrontes comes from Salta followed by Torrontes from La Rioja (Argentina of course) and San Juan. They are respectively known as Torrontes Salteno, Riojano, and San Juanino.

The reason that these 3 regions supposedly always make better Torrontes is that they have very high altitude, Salta having the highest altitude vineyards in the world.

But we found an exquisite Torrontes from Mendoza that is from the Serrera winery. With a bouquet of fresh jasmin and orange blossom and a hint of honey, I almost don’t even need to drink this wine. Almost. In the mouth, nice acidity combines with flavors of white peach, pineapple and other citrus flavors with a lengthy finish that has floral nuances.

The best food combinations are the following:

1. Fig jam or apricot jam on brie cheese.

2. Sushi and sashimi.

3. Orange, Peach, Raspberry and Mango sorbet.

4. Salads with pears and goat cheese.

Enjoy!

www.anuvawines.com

Im sorry to deviate so much from the topic of wine, but as I learn more about what my parents, and many other adoptive families went through to get these orphans out of Haiti, I feel compelled to share:

The process of adoption for most of these families started in 2006, almost 4 years ago. All of the paperwork had been done as of middle of 2007 for the vast majority, and the only thing that was holding up the process, was a decree by the Haitian president, that no orphans were to be adopted out of the country. This decree ostensibly served to protect children from being illegally trafficked into prostitution or labor rings around the world. In reality, however, many think that this decree was made to keep orphans in the country so as to be able to claim the need for more aid from the international relief funds. The president and his cronies would then abscond with the funds once they entered the country.

There were no less than 20 families that we know directly that had been trying to get kids out of Haiti since 2006 or earlier. Many of these families had been to visit their adopted children in Haiti, at the orphanage, to establish a connection, teach, and give hope. Many of these parents also put these kids into a private school that teaches English so as to begin the process of assimilation to the U.S.I will write a few more accounts over the following days about the actual events that took place from the day of the earthquake moving forward that allowed these kids to finally get out of the country.

After two years of waiting, it finally took an earthquake to move the System enough to allow my parents (my father is my business partner), to adopt 3 kids from Haiti: Corinna 14, Rashaard 10, and Mumina 6.

Welcome to the family!

What irks me though, is why did it take 2 years and an earthquake to make this happen? It’s not as if these people were not suffering before. Haiti is considered the poorest country in the western hemisphere.

At least these 3 and several hundred others got out. But what of the millions left?