Argentinian Wine

After the 1986 World Cup quarter final between England and Argentina, Diego Maradona famously/infamously described his goal as being scored “un poco con la cabeza de Maradona y otro poco con la mano de Dios” (“a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God”).

Whether this was cheating or not, we’ll leave to the historians and pundits, but there is no such controversy when it comes to the success of the Argentine wine industry. This can be attributed “un poco con la ayuda de la Madre Naturaleza y un poco con la uva Malbec” (“a little with the help of Mother Nature and a little with the grape of Malbec”).

Introduced to the wine world as an easy drinking, robust and great value red, through love and patience Argentina has gradually built the reputation of their Malbec into an extremely desirable and world famous premium product. This is no flash-in-the-pan fashion though, Argentine Malbec shows real longevity and it is difficult to see many other reds that could compete with it as its stellar trajectory shows no sign of flattening out.

Coming back to Maradona though, he is more often remembered for “the hand of God” than the “Goal of the Century” that he scored four minutes later. In a similar fashion, the quality of the rest of Argentina’s wine can be overshadowed by all the talk of Malbec. Argentine Malbec is one of the most impressive success stories in the world of wine. Argentina’s high altitude, low humidity and long ripening season make it one of the most perfect winemaking regions on Earth, so don’t forget to explore the delights of their Torrontes, Viognier, Tannat and Syrah…