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Best wine bars in Buenos Aires

by Amanda Barnes June 9, 2019

If you are heading off to Argentina’s vibrant and cosmopolitan capital, Buenos Aires, then you are probably wondering where the best wine bars are in BA. From an Italian cantina to an elegant Parisian-style café, The South America Wine Guide has carefully selected the perfect spots which satisfy each and every oenophile’s taste buds. From the best wine bars, to the top wine menus at restaurants, and even book shops serving wine, we’ve got you covered on the best places to drink wine in Buenos Aires, Argentina!

Best wine bars in Buenos Aires (and best wine lists in restaurants)

Anchoita: haven for foodies and wine lovers

Anchoita by Enrique Piñeyro and sommelier Valeria Mortara. Best wine restaurants Buenos Aires — Photo by German Garcia Adrasti

If there were one place I would pick to drink wine in Buenos Aires, it would be Anchoita. The only snag is that it’s practically impossible to get a table… this restaurant books up months in advance, and with good reason. It’s insanely delicious. Owner and chef Enrique Piñeyro is a master in the kitchen, and sommelier Valeria Mortara has some killer choices on the wine list, including Argentina’s best range of Sherries from Jerez. If you do get a table, order the chipa immediately! In fact, order two.

You might have more luck getting a table at the wine bar and cheese bar next door, although also come early as this place also fills up. But the artisanal cheese and fantastic wine list is worth the wait too.

Juan Ramírez de Velasco 1520

+54 11 4854-9334 anchoita.com.ar, closed on Sun & Mon

Naranjo

This hip wine bar in Chacarita celebrates orange and skin contact wines but has an impressive range of white, red and bubbles too. Mainly focused on niche and small-scale producers, it has the wines of harder-to-find bottles including Mariana Onofri, Los Astronautes and Pintom.

The wine is one of the main attractions, but so is the food. An array of bites and small dishes are ideal for sharing, and the prices here are some of the most reasonable in BA.

Carranza 1049, Chacarita

Naranjo, 6pm till late. Closed on Sun & Mon

June 9, 2019 0 comment

Albariño in Uruguay and other alternative grape varieties to know from Uruguay

Uruguay Features Uruguay Wine Guide Wine

Beyond Tannat: Three up and coming grape varieties to know from Uruguay

by Amanda Barnes May 25, 2019

written by Amanda Barnes

Tannat is undoubtedly King in Uruguay, conquering over a quarter of vineyard plantations. However, there’s much more to Uruguay than just Tannat with a manifold of different grape varieties worth hunting down for their unique expressions in the different wine regions of Uruguay.

With influences from ancestors in Italy, Spain and France, there are many different grape varieties to explore in Uruguay’s wine regions. Whether that’s tasting Arneis and Sangiovese, or Marsanne and Malbec, there are varieties from all over the world finding their home in Uruguay today.

Here are three up-and-coming grape varieties, beyond Tannat, in Uruguay that you need to know about right now.

Marselan – An unexpected champion red wine in Uruguay

You might know that Uruguay is the world’s largest Tannat producer, but did you know that it is the world’s second largest Marselan producer? Although it is behind France in terms of Marselan production, Uruguay has over 140 hectares of this modern variety planted and it is offering some really delicious wines.

A cross between Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon, Marselan is well suited to the humid conditions of Uruguay (with its naturally high resistance to mildew and botrytis) and can produce quality wines year on year. You can expect a medium bodied wine with finer tannins, rich colour and deep notes of cherry and blackberries from a Marselan wine.

You’ll find Marselan planted in some of the most traditional regions of Canelones but also in the new coastal regions in the north. Marselan is often blended but also found as a single variety.

Top Uruguayan Marselan wines to try include wines by Traversa, Garzón and Familia Deicas.

Albariño – At the crest of Uruguay’s new white wave

If there’s one white variety in Uruguay that’s really receiving some well-deserved buzz, its Albariño. This Galician grape variety seems like a no-brainer for the humid, Atlantic climate of Uruguay’s coast (which shares many similarities to Galicia). However, it wasn’t until the early 2000s when Bodega Bouza produced their first vintages of Albariño that the light bulb moment occurred – Albariño is ideal for Uruguay.

The thick skins of Albariño prepare it well for the more humid weather, and it produces aromatic, fresh and characterful wines. Uruguay’s Albariño wines can be enjoyed young but recent vintages are seeing some of the more complex styles that can be aged for a few years.

Bouza was the pioneer of Uruguayan Albariño and now has two different regional Albariño wines – from Canelones and Pan de Azucar in Maldonado. Another key Albariño player is Bodega Garzón in Maldonado, producing more Albariño than anyone else. And other wineries making Albariño wines today include Bodega Oceanica Jose Ignacio and Juanico. Although the quantity might never give Galician Albariño a run for its money, the quality is already reaching a par.

Cabernet Franc – Uruguay’s most promising Cab

If you ask many of Uruguay’s new generation of winemakers, they’ll tell you that Cabernet Franc is one of their favourite grape varieties in Uruguay. Why? On a practical note, it ripens a month earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon which makes it a little easier on the logistics and less dependent on the end of the season weather forecast. But on a stylistic note, Uruguayan Cabernet Franc can produce deliciously perfumed, spicy and juicy red wines.

Cabernet Franc is having a moment in Argentina too and is indeed becoming a global favourite, and Uruguay is no exception. “Over the last year, I’ve really started to like and drink a lot of Cabernet Franc,” Gabriel Pisano, who is making a fantastic Cabernet Franc for his own Viña Progreso label, explains his fascination. “I love its peppery quality and how versatile it is, and Uruguay can make particularly good Cabernet Franc.”

Top Uruguayan Cabernet Franc wines include Viña Progreso, Bracco Bosca, Alto de la Ballena, Familia Bresesti, Familia Deicas.

Read about Uruguay’s wine regions.

May 25, 2019 0 comment

Foodie Argentina Mendoza Argentina Features Travel & Culture Foodie

Alternative foodie experiences in Mendoza’s wineries

by Amanda Barnes May 12, 2019

written by Amanda Barnes

Lunching in wineries is definitely one of the great highlights of spending time on Mendoza’s wine routes. There are dozens of excellent restaurants in wineries which offer everything from seven-course tasting menus to more relaxed a la carte dining.

Some wine tastings also take a more foodelicious turn with cheese, chocolate or even empanada pairing. And some wineries in Mendoza are taking it even further to create new and interactive culinary experiences that go beyond your usual winery lunch or tasting.

Here are some of the most innovative culinary experiences in Mendoza at the moment:

**A private soiree behind closed winery doors**

Diamandes winery in the Uco Valley has a renowned restaurant, Diam’s, under the guidance of chef Santiago Orozco which serves a wine paired menu at lunch. The innovation at Diam’s though, is that the winery is now opening its doors in the evening for a private soiree for guests to enjoy an evening of delicious bites, live music and wine.

This exclusive evening out in the Uco Valley is the ideal option after a long day touring wineries, as the food (think of a tapas menu rather than full-blown dinner) is light, colourful and interesting and each different bite is paired with one of Diamandes’ excellent wines. Add a cocktail reception on the rooftop at sunset, a private tour of the cellar and sultry live music throughout the night, and this is a soiree to remember.

Cook your own winery lunch

Argentina’s cuisine is world renowned. Grilled steak, empanadas, chimichurri… they are staples that are quite simple to execute once you know the right tricks and tips. The ideal way to get to grips with mastering Argentina’s cuisine is through a cooking class, and there are several wineries that will guide you along your way in a delicious cooking class followed by lunch or dinner (eating what you’ve prepared!)

Try Alpasión in the Uco Valley for a private class with chef Héctor Ordenes and killer views over the Andes mountains; try the intimate experience at Finca Adalgisa’s farmhouse style home and boutique winery in Chacras de Coria with chef Cristina Brino; or try one of the original cooking classes in a winery — ‘Let’s Cook’ with Santa Julia and Zuccardi wineries in their Casa del Visitante in Maipu.

Fire cuisine

Mendoza’s cuisine is all about fire. Everyone cooks on an open flame – whether you are making stone-baked pizza or empanadas, spit roast goat, roasting squash, or flashing a couple juicy steaks. In most wineries you’ll be able to see the BBQ lit and roaring as the chefs work over it, however, there if there is one chef who openly encourages the guest to be part of the fire show — it’s Francis Mallmann.

Argentina’s most famed and celebrated chef, Mallmann is renowned for his firework. He has restaurants across South America, including at the winery of The Vines of Mendoza. It’s here, at Siete Fuegos, where you’ll perhaps get the most spectacular fire show in Argentina — seven courses each cooked using fire in a different way (over fire, under fire, in fire, buried with fire and suspended by metal chains over fire to mention a few!) All paired with the different wines of The Vines’ community of winemakers.

What are your favourite foodie experiences in Argentine wine country? Let us know in the comments box below!

May 12, 2019 0 comment

Travel Chile Chile Features Travel & Culture

Pumalín and Patagonia parks in Chile: The largest private land donation in history

by Amanda Barnes April 28, 2019

written by Amanda Barnes

The Pumalín and Patagonia national parks in Chile are the largest private land donation in history. The formal handover from Kristine Tompkins has been finalised as she donates over 375,000 hectares of private land to the Chilean state to form the Pumalín Douglas Tompkins National Park and Patagonia National Park. These two parks are part of a series of donations from the Tompkins family, which have helped create and expand eight national and regional parks in Chile and Argentina.

The Patagonia National Park stretches over 304,000 hectares and includes wetlands, steppes and forests protecting a diverse range of threatened and endangered wildlife and species. The Pumalín Douglas Tompkins National Park spans over 402,000 hectares and protects a large temperate rainforest with trees up to 3,000 years old.

An inspirational family dedicated to conservation

Kristine Tompkins is the widow of Douglas Tompkins, with whom she formed the Tompkins Conservation. They are both self-made millionaires from the USA who left their successful careers in the moutaineering retail sector and moved to Patagonia in the 90s to focus on conservation projects. Together they have led an inspirational mission to acquire land in Chile and Argentina in a bid to protect and conserve areas in the Southern Cone and helped form several national and regional parks that are helping to protect places and species from extinction.

“After years of work together with Doug and the team at Tompkins Conservation we have achieved our dream,” says Kris Thompkins. “The parks that we created with so much love are now national parks which belong to everyone. The real work begins now. Taking care of these parks will not only be the responsibility of the government, but also the work of society, of each one of us, so that this patrimony may be conserved and protected for the future.”

The nonprofit organization has helped conserve more than 5.7 million hectares in collaboration with governments, other NGOs, and philanthropic partners, and is dedicated to marine conservation and rewilding extinct and endangered species in South America.

Pumalín Douglas Tompkins National Park

Total area: 402,391 hectares
Tompkins Conservation donation: 293,337 hectares

In 1992, the foundation created by Douglas Tompkins began acquiring large tracts of temperate rainforest with the goal of their permanent conservation, in what is now Pumalín Douglas Tompkins National Park.

This new national park protects 25% of Chile’s endangered alerce forest, a protected species with individuals over 3,000 years old, in addition to lakes, waterfalls and volcanoes. Fauna includes pudu (a minature deer), puma, Commerson’s dolphin, Darwin’s frog and Chile’s only marsupial, the rare monito del monte. Park infrastructure includes a cafe, cabins, campgrounds, an information centre and 11 trails. It’s located 114 miles south of the regional capital of Puerto Montt, accessible by road and ferry, on the Carretera Austral.

Patagonia National Park

Total area: 304,527 hectares
Tompkins Conservation donation: 83,763 hectares

Patagonia National Park features the greatest terrestrial biodiversity in the region, with habitats ranging from Patagonian steppe to lenga forest and wetlands. It’s home to numerous endangered and threatened species, including ten percent of the global population of huemul, the south Andean deer.

A former estancia, its central area was historically overgrazed and poorly managed as a product of intensive ranching. Through a long process of restoration and rewilding, the native grasslands have recovered and wildlife has returned in numbers, including herds of guanaco, a South American camelid, flamenco, puma and a population Darwin’s rhea under restoration.

Top notch infrastructure includes a lodge, restaurant, visitor center and museums, as well as campgrounds and trails. Patagonia National Park consists of the Tompkins Conservation donation in addition to the former national reserves of Jeinimeni and Tamango, plus fiscal land. It’s located 180 miles south of Coyhaique, the regional capital of Aysen.

Video on the Pumalín and Patagonia parks creation and handover

April 28, 2019 0 comment

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