Author

Amanda Barnes

Amanda Barnes is a British journalist who has been living in the Southern Hemisphere since 2009, has tried over 500 Malbecs, eaten over 600 Chilean oysters and still has a functioning liver and kidneys (as far as she knows).

Argentina Vintage Guide

by Amanda Barnes March 25, 2019

written by Amanda Barnes

The ultimate vintage guide for Argentina: Argentina harvest reports from 2000 to 2022

Although the mainly desertic wine regions of Argentina have a relatively stable weather cycle compared to some Old World wine regions, there are vintage variations in Argentina. The vintage and harvest in Argentina can also vary dramatically across its different regions, meaning one vintage card or vintage score for the year cannot apply for all of Argentina’s wine regions. Here’s the ultimate Argentina vintage guide with in-depth analysis of the latest vintages and harvests and what you can expect in the bottle today.

The South America Wine Guide’s vintage chart for Argentina is based on interviews with winemakers and agronomists across the different wine regions of Argentina, and also vertical tastings of library vintages.

Argentina vintage guide

Argentina’s wine regions span over 2,300km and can be found on the Andean corridor in the west, as well as inland regions in the east and some new vineyards on the coast. The vintage varies depending on the region, so we have tried to separate vintage commentaries depending on the zone.

There are, however, some climatic factors that majorly impact Argentina’s wine regions in general. These influences are described for the regions of Jujuy, Salta, Catamarca, La Rioja, Mendoza, Neuquén and Río Negro (unless otherwise stated):

March 25, 2019 0 comment

Wine glass photography, wine photographer Matt Wilson

Travel Chile Chile Features Travel & Culture

Black, white & wine all over

by Amanda Barnes March 18, 2019

written by Amanda Barnes

Award-winning British photographer, Matt Wilson has been based in Chile since 2003 and is renowned for his adventurous takes at life surrounding wine.

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“I’ll never shoot anyone with their nose in a wine glass,” he says, defiantly avoiding the cliches of wine photography. If you take a flick through his Instagram account, you’ll likely see more wine being thrown out of a glass than being poured into a glass!

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Some of his recent black and white portraits of personalities in Chilean wine (and somewhat further afield) are currently on tour in an exhibition around South America’s wineries and wine regions. Here we take a look at some of the highlights, and Matt explains a bit about the person or story behind the photograph.

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Michel Rolland

“I have known Michel for many years and have photographed him many times. Here I wanted a monochrome straight close portrait. Michel is always easy to photograph and always seems in a good and relaxed mood. This may be because I am not a winemaker, so he can also relax with me. This was shot at Clos Apalta winery.”

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Aurelio Montes

“This is Aurelio Montes. Iconic Chilean winemaker and businessman. I have known Aurelio since moving to Chile 15 years ago. A great friend and a pretty awesome winemaker. Here I photographed him in my studio for an exhibition last year, but the photograph will also go up in my new exhibition in Mendoza later this year.”

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James Suckling

“Here I photographed James Suckling. I film some of the videos for James’ website and know him quite well. Here he is blind tasting wines from Chile. I made this photograph at Montes winery in Apalta, in Colchagua. He has covered the bottles with paper bags. I liked the reflection in this image, and also the fact that James has his eyes closed in concentration.”

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Romina Pérez-Kallens

“Here I have photographed my assistant Romina Pérez-Kallens, she is holding a Lalique 100 point glass and a generic magnum of wine. We used a mirror in my studio to create the reflection.”

“Again this is of the same James Suckling designed 100 point Lalique glasses. These have recently been introduced to the Chilean and Argentinian market. I wanted to make as minimal an image as possible, using glasses and wine, but no labels. The focus is on the glass and bottle with Romina in very soft focus and only showing the tilt of the wine parallel to the open mouth.”

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Marco Puyo

“I photographed Marco in my studio using a mirror as a reflection. We wanted to make the wine without a label to make the image more minimalist. Marco wanted the photo to be quite serious. I have known Marco for around 13 years. When I first met him he was at Los Vascos, then at Viña San Pedro and now he has his own project in Perilillo in Colchagua. A beautiful vineyard and some great wines.”

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Grant Phelps

“I have been photographing winemaker Grant Phelps for about 14 years. I saw a photograph of Salvador Dali taken from above with a fisheye lens. I decided to try it with Grant doing a tasting at his hotel WineBox Valparaiso.”

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Jose (Pepe) Gallante

“I had to photograph Jose for Wine Enthusiast magazine. The afternoon light was great outside the winery’s famous barrel room (Salentein), where some gorgeous popular trees grow. We decided to use the sunlight through the trees as a backdrop. We used a reflector on Jose and after a few minutes, we got this wonderful cheeky smile.”

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You can see more of Matt’s photography on his website.

March 18, 2019 0 comment

Best Malbec from Argentina, Best Cabernet from Chile, Best sparkling wine from Brazil

Chile Argentina Wine

Analysis of top rated and best wines in South America on Vivino

by Amanda Barnes March 13, 2019

written by Amanda Barnes

There’s something I quite like about the Vivino Wine Style Awards, and that is that the winning wines are entirely selected by consumers. Based on the reviews of 35 million users (although some are undeniably more prolific than others!) each year the Vivino tech team take a look at the reviews and ratings of all the wines on the app and tot up the scores to see which wines in which categories came out on top. This includes several categories for the best wines in South America.

This is the fifth year of Vivino’s awards and, as the most-downloaded wine app in the world, it takes into account 120 million ratings. Anyone can add their rating and each opinion holds equal value – no matter if you are a first-time wine buyer or a seasoned wine drinker with 1,000 bottles in one’s cellar.

Vivino is effectively the TripAdvisor of wine, for better or worse. On the downside, a few ratings could destroy the ranking of a wine perhaps because the consumer misunderstood the category or was drinking a faulty bottle. However, on the positive side, the Vivino Wine Style Awards are an unparalleled barometer of what wines are accessible in the global market and which offer enough enjoyment and relative value to be worth the coveted five-star rating.

Appealing to the mass market is also nothing to be sniffed at, and it is certainly harder to make a wine that excites thousands of different palates than a wine that appeases to just one critic. Winning a Vivino Wine Style Award shows that all the cogs of that winery are working together: excellent market positioning, good marketing and global reputation, and, last but certainly not least, making a damn good wine that everyone enjoys.

Here are the highlights of South America’s best-rated wines on Vivino, and arguably the consumers choice of the best wines in South America, with my own verdict of the winners and category.

March 13, 2019 0 comment

Wine

South America’s top somms head to World’s Best Sommelier 2019

by Amanda Barnes March 4, 2019

written by Amanda Barnes

As the sommelier world gears up for their equivalent of the Olympics, the Best Sommelier of the World competition, next week, here’s a quick peek at the candidates from South America. In an all-male lineup from the continent, this year’s competition sees top sommeliers from Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Brazil, Venezuela, Paraguay and Colombia head to the international competition being held in Antwerp from 10 – 15th March 2019.

The first series of tests starts on Monday 11th March and candidates from all over the world will work their way through the knockout stages in order to get to the final held on Friday afternoon. The Best Sommelier of the World 2019 will be crowned, and sprayed with Champagne, that evening. The Best Sommelier of the World competition is held approximately every three years since 1969 and the last competition was held in Mendoza in 2016, when Arvid Rosengren from Sweden won.

Best Sommelier of Argentina: Martin Bruno

One of Argentina’s most prolific sommeliers, this is Bruno’s second time in the international competition following his first appearance in 2016.

Currently the Brand Ambassador for Pernod Ricard in Argentina, Martin Bruno was crowned the Best Sommelier of Argentina in 2017 and also came second in the Best Sommelier of the Americas competition held in Canada last year.

Best Sommelier of Uruguay: Federico de Moura

Uruguay’s top sommelier, Federico de Moura, is also experienced in the international competition following his appearance in Mendoza 2016.

Based in Montevideo and Head Sommelier at Sofitel hotel and restaurant, Federico is three times champion in Uruguay’s national sommelier competition – as Best Sommelier of Uruguay in 2012, 2015 and 2018. Federico began his career as a sommelier in 2004.

Best Sommelier of Chile: Gonzalo Troncoso

Chilean Gonzalo Troncoso currently lives in Ecuador where he works for drinks supplier Almacenes Juan Eljuri.

Gonzalo Troncoso has been a sommelier since 2012 and was crowned as the Best Sommelier of Chile 2017 following the national competition in Santiago. This is his first time in the Best Sommelier of the World competition.

Best Sommelier of Peru: Joseph Ruiz Acosta

Peru’s top sommelier, Joseph Ruiz Acosta, will be participating in his second international competition for the World’s Best Somm following his appearance in Mendoza 2016.

He has been crowned Best Sommelier in Peru twice – first in 2015, and again last year in 2018. After several years working at Central restaurant, he now works independently as a sommelier in Lima and is developing his own wine club.

Best Sommelier of Brazil: Diego Arrebola

Brazil’s top sommelier, Diego Arrebola, has been working in wine since 2004 and has taken the title of Brazil’s Best Sommelier three times – the latest being last year in 2018.

Working as a consultant and wine educator, Diego Arrebola teaches WSET courses as well as a consulting for a wide range of wine projects. This is his third time participating in the Best Sommelier in the World competition following Mendoza in 2016 and Japan in 2013.

Best Sommelier of Venezuela: Oscar Orta

One of Venezuela’s top sommeliers, Oscar Orta, will be representing the country at the international competition next week. Aged 33, Oscar also teaches about wine and drinks.

Oscar came second in the Best Sommelier of Venezuela competition in 2018 and will be taking part in the international competition for the first time.

Best Sommelier of Colombia: Andres Villegas-Green

Colombia’s Best Sommelier, Andres Villegas-Green, will be representing the country in Antwerp next week.

Andres founded Kava Seleccion in Bogota in 2012 which imports a small selection of wine labels from around the world.

Best Sommelier of Paraguay: Roberto Araujo

Representing Paraguay at this year’s international competition is top Paraguayan sommelier Roberto Araujo who was one of the first sommeliers in Paraguay – receiving his qualification in 2016.

This is the first time that Paraguay will be represented in the Best Sommelier of the World competition.

Good luck to all the candidates, South American and beyond, in the World’s Best Sommelier competition next week!

March 4, 2019 0 comment

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