AnuvaBlog

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?

It is a privilege to have your Mother cook for you. Especially if she cooks well. On Sunday, Lourdes and I had dinner with the ‘rents and lamb stew was on the menu. Ground lamb, carrots, potatoes, onions, rosemary, barley, and other herbs. Increcible. Hearty and delicious.Lamb is one of those meats that has a supremely distinct flavor and aroma. Quite heavy and dense, it never “tastes like chicken”, but in my opinion is more akin to goat (if you’ve ever had that).THE wine to have with all things lamb is Cavagnaro Reserve Malbec 2004. A heart, complex and long wine in and of itself, Cavagnaro Reserve stands up to the richness and density of the lamb but also makes that meaty flavor “pop”.What an incredible combination.

Evidently, consumers do not believe that the elegant glass packaging that we are all so accustomed to seeing our wine transported in has much of an environmental impact. The reason for this, ostensibly, is that glass is one of the first packaging materials that people got used to recycling, and therefore do not consider it to have an impact on the environment.

This assumption on the part of the consumer is incorrect for two reasons:

1. Recycling the glass takes energy and the creation of electrical or heat energy requires combustion of somesort (unless nuclear powered) and the combustion emits carbon into the atmosphere and perhaps other biproducts into the water system depending on the type of fuel.

2. Transporting glass bottles as opposed to transporting wine (or other products) in bulk dramatically increases carbon footprint. Imagine that on a 20 foot container, one can fit approximately 10,000 bottles, but in that same container, if shipping in bulk (flexitank–like an enormous bladder) one can fit about 25,000L. Then, in turn, bottling that wine at the destination would yield about 37,000 bottles. This is 3.7 times more efficient, an enormous difference.

A company called Glass Rite Wine in the U.K. began in 2006 with this process and ended up saving around 11,400 metric tonnes of glass from having to be recycled.

We all certainly hope that this becomes the future for the wine industry, the problem though remains that consumers think that glass is environmentally friendly and they would also rather purchase glass bottles of wine than in any other packaging. See the numbers.

The good news is that in alternative occasions: picnics, parties and consuming wine at home, consumers attitudes become more flexible.  Most people would be likely or very likely to buy wine in other forms of packaging under these circumstances. Again, see the numbers.

But the fear that wineries have is that people will reject their product based on packaging alone, and if the data is right, their fear is quite founded. Thus, consumer attitudes must change in order for producers to set aside their fear of changing to environmentally friendly packaging. How can this be done?

1. Consumers must realize that glass is NOT environmentally friendly and due to its, weight, volume, and high energy consumption to recycle, should be either modified, eliminated, or transported less to save costs and damage to the environment.

2. Consumers must realize that other forms of packaging (hello screwtops and sythetic corks!) are not going to effect 90% of the wine on the market from tasting the same way as if poured from glass. For ultra premiums, grand reserves, etc., exceptions could be made, but the glass used in those cases should still be lighter weight at the very least.

3. Producers must also invest in these new packaging forms and transportation techniques as well as educate the public on their benefits and reliability.

4. Generous support from the packaging producers would also go a long way in supporting the wine producers incorporation of new packaging.

I hope to see these types of changes going into effect sooner rather than later, as they will undoubtedly have a positive impact on all aspects of the wine industry (except bottle producers) and environment.

People see the words “Reserve” and “Grand Reserve” printed on wine labels all the time. Anuva also has many wines that are designated with these titles. But what does that really mean?

The only way to really compare a reserve wine to another wine is to compare the wines that one winery makes. For example, one should compare Cavagnaro Malbec to Cavagnaro Reserve Malbec when attempting to discern relative quality. The reason for this is that each winery uses the word reserve in its own way. This term, in fact, is completely overused in the wine industry, as many huge wineries will simply put the word reserve or “Vintner’s Reserve” on every single bottle of the lowest quality wine they produce. This is simply a marketing tactic and in this instance the word reserve means nothing.

Many wineries have now started using the term “grand reserve”, “icon wines” or “flagship wines”to denote their higher level productions because the word reserve by itself is so overused. Another term that has been used often is “cuvée” but this is more of a “special batch” or a particular vat that the winemaker has noticed is superior to the rest of his wine of that vintage. The key again, though, is to compare this to the “normal” wine that that winery produces. If no “normal” counterpart exists that costs less than the “reserve” or “cuvée” of a particular winery, be careful, it’s probably a marketing tactic only.

Originally, however, the term was used to denote wines of special quality that the winemaker would “reserve” for further aging or for a special occasion rather than put directly on the market. The most important part of making any wine is of course, the grapes. Reserve quality grapes must be of lower yield, higher density (in sugars, tannins, acid and polyphenols–i.e. the stuff that makes good wine) than their “introductory line”, “entrance line”, or “classic line” counterparts.

Higher quality grapes are harder to grow and must be managed more carefully. They also make wines that stand up to oak aging better, and thus are usually given more time in oak, new oak especially, since this will add complexity and other favorable characteristics. Many over-oaked wines that are deemed reserve or grand reserve by their makers,  are made with grapes of insufficient quality to stand up to oak and result in wines where one feels like one is chewing on wood instead of drinking a luscious, complex wine.

Another typical characteristic of true reserve wines is that after oak aging they will be left to age in the bottle for sometimes up to several years before being released to the market.

Clearly, the difficulty and rarity in growing/harvesting of higher quality grapes and the costs involved in barreling and aging drive the price of reserve wines up. But remember, price has nothing to do with quality directly. I have tried many a famous wine that costs well above 100 dollars retail that has not only disappointed me, but come in behind wines that cost 1/3 of the price in blind tastings.

Needless to say that the king of determining wine quality, ultimately, is you and you alone. Ignoring what the label says and doing blind tastings is the only true way to determine your preferences. So compare the classics to the reserves to the grand reserves to the cuvées  and see what you find.

What wine goes well with the pure competition, grace and nerve racking drama of the Olympics?

Malbec, malbec, malbec. Why? It’s my favorite.

Being a former swimmer at the University of Southern California myself, I find that for approximately 2 weeks every 4 years I spend an inordinate amount of time in front of the television living vicariously through the U.S. Olympic Teams in nearly every sport.

Living in Buenos Aires, Argentina for this period of time has its advantages and disadvantages. Mostly, I miss U.S. team stuff and I get to see Argentina team stuff as well as other nation’s team’s that I wouldn’t normally see.

But tonight takes the cake for my frustration. Tonight, TyC sports (cable sports channel in Argentina) was hyping its “comprehensive coverage” of the Olympics, especially swimming, starting at 10pm local time. When I tuned in, guess what, they were showing soccer, with no end in sight since the beginning of the second half had just begun. By 10:15, realizing I had been duped, I nearly got in a cab to head to TyC headquarters to burn it down.

So as I flipped back around 10:30, just to check to see if they had, ahem, began the coverage they said they were going to do, I see Michael Phelps celebrating, out of breath, having just won his 7th and historic gold in the 100 fly.

What just happened? And then, all of a sudden, it switches back to soccer!

Wow.

At that point I needed a drink. Good thing Argentine Malbecs are known for their high alcohol content.

The wondrous and lovely varietal known as Tannat originated, of course, in France. I say wondrous and lovely because Tannat can be all that, but Tannat can also be a most bitter enemy. A poorly made Tannat, or simply one that has not been left to age for a bit, will attack your mouth with a vengeance, stripping it of all its natural saliva and lubricants, and leaving you unable to utter the word “water”. The most naturally tannic varietal of them all requires you to prepare yourself…

A nice Tannat, though, can truly inspire.

A winemaker like Carlos Muñoz of Las Perdices will take a challenge like Tannat and turn it into a game. I tasted no less than 5 Tannats from the tank not too long ago, and as I attempted to say the word “water”,  I felt privileged to have tasted such unique wines. Carlos uses Tannat to blend and this point but I have begged him to do a pure varietal. A nice aged one that has calmed down and evolved some.

I have tried several other Tannats, 2 of which are candidates at the moment for our next export of wine from Argentina. Both have gone through significant time in oak allowing the berry flavors and aromas to rise to the surface.

Gorgeous to look at, the Argentines jokingly call Tannat “Petroleo”, as its super dark, super concentrated color coats the sides of your glass as you swish it around, praying for it to be kind to you. As it opens, beautiful summer raspberries greet the nose. An obscene mouthful of strawberries and blackberries comes next, with more elegant and round tannins if the wine has been aged properly.

I can’t wait to share one with you.

For the last several years the Hyatt hotel in Mendoza has put on the Hyatt Wine Awards event in July in order to facilitate the export and production of high end wines from Argentina. We are please to say that as a minimum 4 of our wines won  gold or silver medals: Reserva Cavagnaro Malbec, Sin Fin Malbec, Beviam Syrah, and Las Perdices Don Juan.

This is very exciting for us considering that our members are the only people that are getting these wines outside of Argentina.

Would it be presumptive to assume that our PR department will do a press release about this recent, er, press? Surely not.

We cracked open a bottle of the Mudai Pinot Noir, just to spite all of my home grown Oregon Pinot lovers. Earthy and red fruit rich, the Mudai is quite a treat. What really impressed me though, was the pairing of the Mudai with last night’s dinner. I cooked shrimp in a red onion with butter sauce as an appetizer which we ate with a lemon and garlic butter. We then followed this with a grilled salmon filet, which I did in olive oil with lemon and lime juice, and red onion as well. Washing down the seafood with the pinot was just delightful. Not too strong but not too soft either. A nice balance of body, fruit and acidity.

We chatted about it during dinner because the quality of the combination was so apparent. We didn’t notice only the wine, nor did we notice only the food, a great balance had been found. We decided that the Anecon Torrontés would also go well with the meal we made, the other parts of which were a mixed green salad and red potatoes. We thought about how a malbec or syrah would do with this meal and agreed that it would just be too much. Those wines, for me at least, would just overpower the natural flavors of the seafood.

That said, I still encourage you to find what works for you. A seafood pasta with a cream base may stand up better to fuller wines and conversely, a seafood salad may not go too nicely with a Pinot Noir requiring a lighter white. But this is what makes it fun, the searching and sampling…. Que disfruten!

I had the pleasure to receive Mr. Luiz Alberto from The Wine Hub in my home last Monday for a tasting of Anuva Vinos. Mr. Alberto is a lovely gentleman originally from Brazil who has a true passion for wine. He took a particular liking to our Cavagnaro Malbec. “It has an old-world feel for me,” said Mr. Alberto. “It reminds me of some of my favorite regions in Italy.” We then got on to talking about how our businesses relate. The Wine Hub does everything from recommending wines to itineraries for people who are visiting wine regions. It is a very comprehensive site that, in my opinion, provides an excellent nexus for wine beginners and enthusiasts alike to garner information.

I gave Mr. Alberto the bottle of Cavagnaro Malbec to take home with him, but realized that when I put the cork back in, that I had shoved it too far down. I asked him if he had a cork screw. “Always carry a corkscrew, and the wine shall provide itself,” he said with a smile.