Wine Rocks Seattle, Nov. 12 @ Palace Ballroom, 7-10pm

This Thursday, Wine Rocks Seattle makes it sophomore debut at the Palace Ballroom.  The evening features entertainer Chris Ballew from The Presidents of the United States of America, libations from over 20 wineries and distilleries, and nibbles from Seattle’s very own king of cuisine – Tom Douglas. Proceeds benefit Programs for Early Parents Support (PEPS).

Wine Rocks Seattle says:
Our second annual event featuring noted Washington wine personalities as the evening’s ROCK STARS! Not only do they make excellent wine that you can taste throughout the show, they sing, play guitar, sax, drums and more! Taking place at the very chic, urban Palace Ballroom, where every wannabe rock star wants to be. Sample fabulous food prepared by Tom Douglas Catering and delicious cheese provided by Beecher’s. WINE ROCK FOOD FUN!

Tickets: $50 each, must be 21+ to attend, ID checked at door

Time: 7 – 10pm

InterContinental Mendoza Opening in 2010

photo of Mendoza courtesy of flickr user michelle reynolds

As if you needed another reason to visit one the world’s most beautiful wine countries, a brand new InterContinental hotel is set to open in Mendoza in March 2010. Check out the press release describing the city’s newest addition:

23 October, 2009

IHG Signs Agreement for New InterContinental Hotel in Mendoza, Argentina

The 218-guestroom InterContinental Mendoza will be located in city renowned for its spectacular vineyards

MIAMI, FL - IHG (IHG) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)], the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms, today announced it has signed a franchise agreement with KLP Emprendimientos  S.A. for development of the InterContinental Mendoza, in Mendoza, Argentina.

It will be IHG’s third InterContinental in Argentina, along with the venerable InterContinental Buenos Aires, and the under-construction InterContinental Nordelta Buenos Aires, Residence & Spa, in the Nordelta area of Buenos Aires.

Slated to open in March 2010, the 15-story InterContinental Mendoza will total 218 guestrooms, inclusive of 62 suites and will be conveniently located next to a Convention Center.  The hotel boasts 10 meeting rooms totaling 22,500 square feet, inclusive of a 12,900 square foot ballroom.

Situated in a new emerging business district, adjacent also to the city’s largest upscale shopping center, Mendoza Plaza, the hotel will be located ten minutes from downtown Mendoza and twenty minutes from the city’s international airport.  Amenities include a full-service spa, swimming pool, gym, restaurant and casino.

Mendoza is located towards the middle section of the country’s western boarder, on the eastern side of the Andes.  The city is a regional capital, positioned on a major international thoroughfare linking Argentina with the important seaports of Chile. The region, rich in natural resources, is the heart and soul of Argentina’s wine country, where European settlers introduced the ancient craft of winemaking in the 19th century.

The wineries in Mendoza are famed to produce the world’s highest ranked Malbec wines.The city is also an adventure tourism center, offering world-class hiking, biking, fishing, rafting, horseback riding in the summer as well as world-class skiing and snowboarding in the winter.  Mendoza attracts more than 700,000 tourists per year, making tourism one of the region’s fastest growing industries.

Accolades for Achaval Ferrer from The Times

Jane Macquitty, Wine Correspondent for The Times of London, recently reviewed The Wine Society, the largest mail-order wine club in the world. She reviewed many of the club’s wines and finished the article by selecting her favorite wines of the week. To our delight, “The Keeper” title went to Achaval Ferrer’s 2007 Malbec! You can read the whole article here or her wonderful description of the Malbec below:

THE KEEPER

2007 Malbec Achaval Ferrer, Mendoza, Argentina Corney & Barrow (020-7265 2400), £12.49 Cellaring a New World wine may sound daft but Argentina’s full-throttle malbec, the country’s finest red grape, is an obvious contender. Put away this distinguished and already seductive, spicy, mulberry-stashed malbec, from one of the finest Argentine producers, for five years or so and it will develop all sorts of dusky, complex, earthy flavours. Drink now until 2012.

More Stunning Hand of God Vineyards Photos!

Makes you want to hop a flight to Mendoza doesn’t it?

Gorgeous New Photo from the Winery

This breathtaking black and white shot of Hand of Gods Vineyards was taken by a recent visitor. Could Mendoza be more beautiful? We don’t think so…

Argentina Qualifies for World Cup!

Argentina’s 1-0 win over Uruguay on Wednesday qualified it for another World Cup. If Argentina had lost, it would have missed its first World Cup since 1970. Bravo Argentina!

Image courtesy of http://www.indianexpress.com/news/argentina-qualify-for-world-cup/529357/

New Private Label from Argentina

According to Sommelier India, one of our neighbors in Mendoza is launching his own private label. Read below about Mike Barrow and Costaflores Organic Vineyard’s new endeavor:

FineWinesnMore launches Private label from Argentina

Mike Barrow, the winemaker from the Costaflores Organic Vineyard in Mendoza Argentina, is the newest member of the FineWinesnMore wine family, reports Craig Wedge, adding, “I have never known a winemaker that doesn’t have a story to tell, yet Mike is one of those who puts a different spin on his views of the world, and fortunately for India, a uniquely different spin on his wines.”

Cradled against the “spine of the world”, the Andes range in South America, this carefully nurtured, organically certified vineyard, embraces the finest attributes of the ancient philosophy of viticultural balance and harmony.

A very special offering from this small producer has been specifically developed for the India landscape in conjunction with FineWinesnMore, its Indian wine partner. Sporting the very different moniker of MTB, Mike Tango Bravo (wherein hangs another tale), the 08 Torrontes and the 07 Malbec/ Petit Verdot blend, essentially sum up why Argentina is fast becoming the wine hotspot of the New World.

This Just In!! Tasting with Santiago Achaval – 9/23 Seattle

Don’t miss a chance to meet the the head vintner for Achaval Ferrer and Hand of God Vineyards.  Please join us at The Local Vine to taste Malbecs from the winery chosen as 2009’s Winery of the Year by Wine & Spirits.  One of the hottest wines around, they have raised the bar for Argentinian wines. The winemaker will be at The Local Vine to lead this tasting of wines from his Mendoza, Argentinian winery.

Local Vine Winemaker Tasting: Achaval Ferrer- September 23rd 5:00 – 7:00

2520 Second Avenue / Seattle, WA 98121 / 206.441.6000

Santiago Achaval is widely recognized as one of Argentina’s premier vintners under his Achaval-Ferrer label. Achaval-Ferrer boasts four of the five highest rated wines in Argentine history, as judged by Wine Spectator, and the highest rated Argentine wine to date according to Robert Parker.

In addition to the Achaval-Ferrer label, Santiago is head wine maker for the new brand, Hand of God Wines. Hand of God (Mano de Dios in Spanish), a boutique winery in the Uco Valley, Argentina. Planting was done in 2007 and fruit will be ready for harvest in 2010. Hand of God will be the only other Santiago Achaval wines available on the market. We are eagerly awaiting their first release.

Argentina is on Fire!

On September 1st,  Santiago was a featured guest on the “International Market for Argentine Wine and Export Trends” conference call hosted by the Vines of Mendoza.  Other participants included Laura Catena, Tony Correia and Barbara Insel. Overall the panelists are bullish on the future of Argentine wine.  Santiago Achával said “Argentina is on fire”, a sentiment strongly reiterated by Laura Catena who says “the strength of Argentina is terroir and that Argentines continue to make really great value wines at every price point that can be comparable to American wines at $200 and $1000 wines from France”. You can listen to or download a recording of the conference call by visiting the Vine of Mendoza site.

Budget Pairings

Budget is a nasty little word I’ve been hearing a lot of recently.  But after reading this inspiring post, I’ve taken heart that a crunched budget doesn’t necaserally mean you have to serve dinner sans vino.  Next time my fridge looks disparigingly empty i think i’ll give their PB & honey paired with a cold glass of Viognier … proof you can enjoy your meal on any bugdet.