Whoa Buddy – did you feel the earth move?  We did!  For months and months dear friends of ours have been saying “take the night off . . . oh, oh, oh, we’ll do a guest blog for you” – yes, you see on more than one occasion members of our wine loving family have told us that they would take our place for the night and blog about a wine they’ve have  . . not to name names, but Sara, Scott, Cheryl, P, Denise, L, Kristy . . . Car 54 – where are you?  Our livers have been waiting anxiously for a repreve!

Well, it has finally happened!!!  Our good friends P and L (as mentioned in a previous blog) are traveling (fancy name for wining) in Argentina and have at loooooooooooooooooong last stepped up to the plate and oh so kindly taken the burden of writing off our shoulders for the night.  This is a good thing as Jean returned home from her convention in Houston and is pretty worn out.  So, away we go (bottle of wine to the first person to know what TV show made this a popular saying”) !!  Enjoy and much thanks to P & L for taking the rudder on the U.S.S.  Wine Blog.

Live from Argentina – it’s P and L!

 . . . Argentina is home to amazing beef, wonderful wine, and striking beauties. Even the ladies are enjoying the male eye candy, particularly our recent driver/guide Emilio. Working with a guide is a fabulous way to enjoy touring the Mendozan wine country, seeing the amazing Andes mountains and discovering some awesome new – and not so new – varietals.

So this is a Pulenta Estate 2010 Gran Cabernet Franc XI. Only seven of the nine-hundred plus wineries in Mendoza even produce a 100% Cabernet Franc wine. While during the last few days we’ve sampled three of the seven, this is by FAR the best. Green pepper. . .and then MORE green pepper – on the nose, in the mouth and on the finish.

Paula was our hostess at Pulenta Estate. A private tasting, if you have not made the effort to schedule one, it is definitely worth the time and modest expense. Before tasting this and other wines, Paula “tested our noses” with a blind exposure to various aromas – chocolate, orange, tobacco, peppercorns, butter, cinnamon, coffee, green pepper, coconut, grass. Very helpful in discerning wine favors and aromas! We were quite amazed at how many we could and could not figure out.

One of the interesting things about wine in Argentina, that we don’t see in the US, is they often store wine in concrete vats lined with epoxy. It makes it easier to regulate the temperature. Pulenta is owned by two brothers who come from a famous wine family. Their winery is somewhat small, preferring to produce “quality wines” versus “quantity wines.” They are also into cars, one of them owns a Porsche dealership and likes to race them.

 So our advice if you want to go to Argentina wine tasting: bring lots of American dollars, hire a guide and prepare to eat amazing food, taste amazing wines and meet warm, friendly people! Of course it is not necessary to travel outside the US to enjoy most of these unique and tasty wines. Known primarily for Malbec, many varietals are produced in Argentina – Torrontes, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo and others.

Thanks guys – loved it!!!

Hope you enjoyed!  Remember – regardless of where you are to enjoy responsibly and recycle whenever possible!