AnuvaBlog

Anuva just got a great write-up in The Oregonian! (They got a couple of the minor details wrong, but the gist is spot on.)

From Oregon to Argentina and back

“Two years ago, Portland native Daniel Karlin traveled to Argentina and fell in love — twice. His first love is named Lourdes Silvera, and she’s now Karlin’s fiancee. His second love was Argentine wine, and it’s now his baby.

Karlin’s company, called Anuva Vinos, sources small-batch, artisanal Argentine wines that aren’t available in the U.S. and direct-ships them to its members. (Anuva is a mishmash of “Argentina” and uva, which means “grape” in Spanish.) The well-curated monthly picks tend to be heavy on Argentina’s signature red, malbec, followed by lesser-known Argentine as well as international varietals.

If you’ve been reading this column lately, you know that malbec and the white torrontes offer tremendous bang for the buck…”

Check out the rest of the article here.

Last week, Mendoza was named World Wine Region of the Year by Wine Enthusiast magazine. It’s a very prestigious distinction and is helping to continue to establish Argentina as top-tier wine producer in the world. However, if recent wine making trends in Argentina show anything, it’s that the entire country—and not just Mendoza—is one of the foremost wine destinations in the world.

Enter the province of San Juan. It’s geographically located just to the North of Mendoza, and is the second largest wine producer to its Southern counterpart. As of last week, it had already produced over 800 million kilos of grapes this year and has over 260 registered wineries. Topping the list of most well known are Callia and Graffigna , the latter of which has been operating in Mendoza for generations and is one of the most recognized names in Argentina wine making.

But in as much as we’re seeing this happen in Sonoma and Willamette Valley and Santa Barbara County, some of the most interesting, lesser-known wines are coming out of San Juan. And now, as the provincial government is supporting wine tourism more, it’s becoming easier and easier to discover these up-and-coming gems. For example, Fincas Rewen, located on the regions Western Wine Route makes an incredible Petit Verdot in addition to a great Reserve Malbec. Finca Morera, located in the Tulum Valley along the Southern Route, follows the tradition of handpicking all of its grapes, and produces an amazing Oak Viognier. Then there’s Bodega Augusta Pulenta, located on the Western Route, is named after one of the brothers in the duo behind Pulenta Estate, one of the most respected names in boutique wine making in Argentina.

To visit region and the great wineries in the area, check out San Juan’s tourism site. Or to get a taste of San Juan, from the comfort of your home in the States, both Fincas Rewen and Morera’s wines are featured in the Anuva Vinos Wine Club.

Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher, the couple behind the “Tastings” column in the Wall Street Journal discuss great value wines, in particularly the Malbec and Torrontés.

Check out the program here.

(Photo Source: NPR.org)

Lessley Anderson, a wine and drinks writer for Chow.com recently featured a post on Anuva Vinos. Check out the link below!

Put a Bow on These Bottles
By Lessley Anderson
Wines are chosen by a panel of local experts through blind tastings, and you can reorder anything that you like. It’s a great opportunity to learn about fun regional Argentine varietals other than Malbec, such as the rich, …
http://www.chow.com/wine_and_drinks/6817

(Photo Source: Chow.com)

Several Argentine winemakers walked away with prestigious medals at the recent Mediterranean International Wine & Spirits Challenge - Terravino 2008, including a couple of wineries that are in the Anuva Vinos Wine Club. Bodega Sin Fin and Las Perdices both won awards for having some of the best price-to-quality ratios around.

In fact, not only did Las Perdices win for its Don Juan Reserve Blend as well as Sauvignon Blanc, it was also awarded one of the highest accolades of the event, winning a Double Gold Medal for its Tinamú Blend. Though Anuva Vinos currently doesn’t feature it, it’s coincidentally sitting one of the desks in our offices right now, an artifact from a recent blind taste test for our next shipment.

It’s great to see Argentina garnering more and more recognition not only for the great price-to-quality wines its producing, but also for the sheer high quality of the wines its producing. Salud!

(PS. Don’t be overly shocked if you happened to find the Las Perdices Sauvignon Blanc in one of the next upcoming shipments….)

Photo: Courtesy of MDZ Online