Argentina Really Does Have a lot of Germans

At 9:00am, the alarm came early after our night out, but we had places to go and people to see. With all of us skipping breakfast and me having a fateful glass of water that I was assured was safe, we were out the door by 10:00am. Needless to say, everyone was a little glassy eyed and sleepy. Now, I haven’t stayed up that late since I lived in Brussels in 2003 (I am more of a 10:30pm-6:30am type of guy most nights), but they handled it remarkably well.

Our next stop was a small village of German immigrants called General Belgrano. Last night I mentioned that I would like to try more Argentinean beers, and this particular village is the home of Argentinean brewing. The drive was gorgeous, passing lakes and hills, and true to its description General Belgrano was a Germanic town. Everything was done up in a Bavarian sort of way, and there were definitely more blond people there than in Mendoza.

We each had a beer at the Viejo Munich brewery, where we all had a “negro” beer (meaning a dark beer, generally a bock style) that tasted alright but was not of import caliber. After finishing our beer and splitting a cheese plate we were off. Next stop, Cordoba.

Cordoba is an old colonial city in the middle of the country and is generally considered Argentina’s second city (after Buenos Aires) due to its one million inhabitants and seven universities. Once they dropped me off I immediately fell asleep and woke up only to shower and have some dinner before heading back to bed.

The guys were going out again and hoped that I would join them, but there was just no way. Two hours of sleep is just not enough to keep me going for another long night!

I woke up bright and early and spent the day exploring the city. Among the colonial buildings from the 1600s and the skyscrapers is a city filled with all sorts of people. Young and old, students, professionals, and retirees; I even saw a couple of horse-drawn carts in the traffic. It is a beautiful city, and I always love seeing that little bit of old Europe in the new world with colonial cathedrals and castles. Yes, the new world has castles!

Some of the highlights were the couple church services in the old cathedrals that I was able to attend and the huge open air market in the evening. The market was comprised of artisans and local shoppers. I was able to find a really cool leather shoulder bag that was hand made by the seller, Juan, and it was less than $100 US, not too bad!

Tomorrow will be more exploring and hopefully finding a suit for our wedding. Since the meetings wrapped up I have had some time to play, and it feels good to unwind a bit.

What's worse? Tripe or an ugly socialist?

7.13.08 – It’s been a few days since I last wrote, and it was filled with meetings, driving, clubbing, and a new city. It is only 7:00pm right now, but an ill advised glass of water has limited the distance I can travel from home. As a result, I have decided to stay in tonight and watch the Simpsons dubbed in Spanish.

During the day on Friday I had my last two meetings, and they too went very well. After they all finished I took a quick nap, for at 7:30pm Alejandro, the guy I worked with to set up my meetings in Mendoza, offered to drive me to Cordoba, my next destination. I was looking forward to it, for not only would we be making an eight hour drive, but he invited me to stay with him at a friend’s house in Rio Quarto, about five hours away.

Our ETA was about midnight, and the drive was beautiful. That part of Argentina is remarkably flat, but because of that you could see forever and the stars were shining. And to top it all off, we were burning free gasoline that a friend hooked us up with!

Among sips of mate we solved the problems of the world, sometimes is English and sometimes in Spanish. Due to some delays, such as them being a little late to pick me up, a police checkpoint, and a detour that took us forty kilometers out of our way, we arrived at about 2:00am.

We (there were four of us in the car) walked into the apartment to be greeted by three of Alejandro’s friends, and the Fernet was flowing. We drank pitchers of said Fernet (that Italian liquor similar to Jagermeister that they mix with coke) and listened to music.

Snack time at 3:00am deserves a mention, particularly in the context of my (non) vegetarianism. Empanadas came out of the oven to accompany our beverages and they smelled delicious. I was two bites into one when I was told that these empanada didn’t have meat in them. Upon hearing this I said, “Are they vegetarian?” enthusiastically. To which I received a reply of “no, it’s stomach.” I looked closer, and indeed, it was packed with tripe, that white, rubbery, honeycombed food made from stomach lining. In slight shock, I finished my empanada in two bites without chewing, and worked it down with a couple of healthy gulps of Fernet and coke. I think that was the most cultural thing that I have eaten since in haggis in Scotland .

By 4:00am we decided we were ready for the clubs. Six Argentines and an American. Until six in the morning we passed around bottles of beer, talked to anyone who would listen, and took copious amounts of pictures.

I was talking to this one girl (don’t worry, I told her all about Ashley in the first five minutes!) about nothing much in a mixture of Spanish and English when her friend came up to us. I don’t want to sound rude, but she was the less attractive member of the group and as a result I made sure to include her in our conversation. Within thirty seconds she asked where I was from, within forty five seconds I had learned she was a socialist, and within sixty seconds I was in the middle of a verbal onslaught. Oh, and she was drunk.

I understand more Spanish than I speak so my counterpoints were weak at best and I simply had to bear the brunt of it. And those issues I raised I had to repeat only five minutes later, for she was drunk and would forget what I said.

Amongst furtive hand signaling searching for a rescue mission, I was finally relieved when some of the guys came to help me out. After that the theme of the night was, “save Ryan” and which was shouted from various street corners.

With the club closing at six and our efforts to find another unsuccessful, we made it home by seven in the morning! We piled into every nook and cranny we could find and fell asleep amidst a symphony of snores.

Tannat and Tango: Ryan Ponders Taking Lessons

7.10.08 -- Greetings Everyone! Today was filled with more successes starting with another meeting with a potential bodega. This one is run by two young brothers who share the same business philosophies as us and who we see as being real partners. Their bodega focuses on a type of grape not commonly found in the United States, called bonarda. It’s traditionally known as a blending grape and is rarely found on its own. However, people are starting to see its potential, especially when fostered by the thirty year old vines that this bodega has! It's wonderfully rounded and goes perfect with the foods of Argentina, so think BBQ and steak wine!

In the evening I headed to the theater on Independence Square, where our friend Daniel, one of the bodega owners, was performing tango! Before entering the theater I popped into Vines of Mendoza to chat with a friend and taste some of their new wines. I was floored by a remarkable local tannat wine. Tannat is mostly made in Uruguay and in the north of Argentina, but this one was from just down the road. It was rich and began to take on characteristics of an older wine. After I let it sit for a few minutes it smelled like maple syrup. Put that on your pancakes!

After my little tasting it was time for the show. Luckily I wore my suit, as these folks were dressed up! The performance was a blend of traditional tango and modern dance. It incorporated imagery from Argentina's history starting with the birth of the tango movement in the early 1900s. Now, I know little of the tango art form, but I do know that it started as a dance among primarily Italian immigrants in the poor neighborhoods of Buenos Aires. And not much later, it became a global sensation. But how should it look, particularly when performed by such an accomplished artist as Daniel?

Even to my untrained eye it was beautiful in its gracefulness. There is a give and take that occurs between the man and women and a sensuous flow that underscores it all. There is definitely a European aspect to the dance, particularly in the music, but there is no way that this could have come from the old country. It is passionate and risqué and perfectly captures the emotion of Argentina. As for Daniel himself, I know that I am a bit biased, but I have to say that he was the best male dancer on the stage. His movements were in absolute harmony with his partners and a beat was never missed.

I think I need to start taking lessons

Independence Day

7.9.08 -- Today, July 9th, is Independence Day in Argentina, celebrating their independence from Spain in the early 1800s. After a morning of work, I walked to Independence Square where I had a sneaking suspicion Independence Day festivities would take place. When I arrived they were still setting up a huge stage ringed with food and drink sellers’ stalls.

I decided to proceed to Parque General San Martin, a gorgeous park that was created around the turn of the twentieth century. Remember that Mendoza is a desert, and if left to its own devices it would look like rural Nevada. However, the founding fathers planted gorgeous sycamore trees watered by an irrigation system that brings snowmelt from the Andes.

The park is immense, with forests and fields, and on Independence Day it was populated with families. The women chatted. The men grilled and played soccer. It was so much fun to see these large families enjoying each other’s company and using their public spaces.

After spending an hour or so at the park, I headed back to Independence Square. To my delight they were doing a sound check, and people were congregating in front of the stage. I took a seat next to a family with roughhousing young boys. The band appeared on stage some time later. Dressed in pale blue, these middle-aged musicians launched into an acoustic music style that sounded distinctly folk Spanish and had the crowd clapping within seconds.

By the second song people were in the aisles dancing. It was a folk dance that consisted of partners flicking handkerchiefs at or over the heads of the other while constantly moving in an elegant and smooth display. Everyone joined in with huge smiles on their faces. The music was intricate and raw at the same time, and everyone was inspired to sing along.

Traditional costumes were abundant, from puffy pants and flat hats on the men to flowy dresses and blouses on the women. The attire, like the music, had a definite Spanish feel to it, especially the all white uniforms that some of the young men were wearing.
After watching the first band I decided to check out the craft market that surrounded the square.

My first find was a craft beer seller! I chatted with him (in Spanish no less, I am improving!), and learned that he was a true beer lover who insists on no additives or chemicals. In other words, a homebrewer. What struck me was that all of his labels were hand cut and the beer caps were of a homebrew variety. Sadly, he needs to experiment a bit more – the beer was a bit more watery than I like.

But the man was incredibly happy and had passion for what he does. And isn’t that what really matters?

Sexy Sexy Argentina

7.8.10 -- Ruminating on a day of business, I’m sitting in the Antares brewery in downtown Mendoza having just wrapped up my second business meeting of the week. Don’t get me wrong, I love wine, but sometimes a good beer is just perfect for the moment.

I’m really pumped about how these two meetings went. They were follow-up discussions with the bodegas we’re interested in. It give us a chance to talk in depth about logistics and if we are going to move ahead. They went remarkably well and in both meetings both sides are definitely interested in partnering. So the next step is to have samples sent to the US for our crack team of tasters to test. And from there, contracts and shipments!

I’m pleased because both bodegas reflex our business style. No one is interested in gaining an upper hand – it’s all about partnership. This is one of the foundations of our business model, and it’s really cool to have meetings with people who feel the same way.

In our grandfather’s age, the idea of win-win negotiations was not widespread nor widely adhered to. I believe the next generation of successful businesspeople will do it differently. Now, it’s all about mutual relationships and business building. If anyone feels like they lost out in a transaction, they will not be your partner for long. And our success will be built on partnerships and relationships.

In one meeting they told me that one of the reasons they’re interested in working with us is our passion for the business and for Argentina. Argentina is one of the most vibrant and sexy places I have ever visited, and its energy is infectious. It’s the land of new immigrants, tango, extremely late nights, amazing food, and, of course, wine. It’s beautiful and alive, which I believe comes through in their fresh, innovate, and complex wines.

By the way, I really miss Ashley. I wish she were here with me, life is just so much more beautiful with her at my side. Married in five weeks!

-It’s 11:00pm and I just went to the rooftop patio to really give the stars a look. Ashley is right, they are totally different here. That is the strangest thing, my, how far from home I am.

And for all those wondering, yes, water drains and toilets flush in the opposite direction!

Making the Cut: Hip Winemakers and Bars of Dark Chocolate

7.4.08 -- We’ve wrapped up our week of tasting, and I’m excited by what we’ve found! We’re interested in five bodegas, and they represent the best boutique wines around. As soon as things get solidified we’ll share their stories on our website. Stay Tuned!

Narrowing our pick down to five was difficult, but we made our final decision by first doing a blind taste test in the comfort of our apartment. Ashley and I sat down to over 20 bottles of wine and a few bars of dark chocolate. Let’s just say we went late, became intimately familiar with our favorites, and woke up with a bit of a headache.

I know. Quite the chore. But we suffered through it.

We then matched the ones that made the taste cut with the bodegas we felt a connection with, whether because of the family history, amazing price, or just because the people were hip or business savvy. Sadly some great bodegas had to be cut, but what we were left with is amazing. I can't wait to start sharing them with people back home!

On Saturday Ashley had to go back to Seattle (sad!), with me staying on for a couple more weeks. For the past two evenings I’ve hung out with an English guy, Robert, I met in Buenos Aires. Since he had an amazing wine pallet, I invited him over for yet another tasting.

Another late night of drinking great wine in Argentina. It’s a hard job, but someone has to do it!

Robert too raved about them and said that they were all wines that he will look for in wine shops. His enthusiasm confirmed the fact that we made the right choice.

Next…negotiating contracts…

Winemaking as a Family Business

07.02.08-Today’s tastings gave us a new window into the lifestyle of the family winery. What was particularly interesting was the legacy aspect of the wineries, in that either the owner came into the winery through inheritance or they are part of a family that expanded into winemaking.

Without going through the intricacies of all three of our tastings, it is interesting to note that they all came from this tradition. Within the U.S. when one says family winery generally it is a matter of a generation or two that has been involved in the project, with the hopes of passing it on.

What one can witness in Argentina, however, is that this process is a couple of generations further, within an environment of economic classism. One particular winery was being run by third generation wine owners, and was being supported by third generation employees. At one time they had the grandfather, father, and son, working at the same time at the winery.

I always really enjoy interacting and learning from these people, since they have such an interesting life story to tell. In addition, I love learning more about the people who are making things work from the ground up, for they too have a dynamic and interesting story to tell.

Before I forget (we did a tasting of our malbec and cabernet sauvignon wines tonight, so things are a little cloudy!), we had a fantastic dinner with Daniel from Los Domados winery last night. We were picked up at about 9:00pm and drove (with a few missteps) to a restaurant that sells their wine. It was a very modern and hip place, and I, the newfound carnivore, ordered rabbit, while Ashley, the other carnivore, ordered chicken. We tasted their collection over appetizers and dinner, and, I have to say, it was absolutely delicious and one of the best lines we have tried. Their devotion to quality is such that their production is extremely limited but I am hoping that we can get our hands on a few bottles to bring into the U.S. You can definitely taste the land in their wines – their rocky vineyards are so stressful that the vines produce wine that is intense, concentrated, and with a eucalyptus note that is rarely found elsewhere.

In addition to Daniel, joining us were the business manager and a friend of Daniel’s. They were both amazing people with amazing life stories, and we ended up chatting until one in the morning, despite needing to be up by 7am!

Our Argentinean-Italian Tango-Dancing Winemaker

07.01.08 - Today we went to the Uco Valley, a winegrowing region that looks like Eastern Washington, but in dramatic contrast the soaring snow-topped Andes Mountains are off in the distance. First thing in the morning the air is so crisp and clear and the mountains sparkle. How rejuvenating!

One winery in particular was by far the most interesting experience of the day. Our host was Daniel, one of three brothers running the bodega. We first visited their vineyards which were planted by his Italian grandfather in the 1920s. In the shadow of the Andes, we arrived as workers pruned the vines, twisting them back to follow their prescribed positions.

The winery was about an hour drive from the vineyards, and during that time we learned a bit more about our extraordinary host. Although a second generation Argentine, he holds an Italian passport. He splits his time between Italy, France, and Argentina. He met his French girlfriend while living in Beijing where he lived for three years teaching tango at the National Academy. The most interesting winemaker we’ve met yet! We tasted his wines that night over dinner, and they were fabulous.

If everything goes smoothly, we may have found our first winery. Exciting!

First Day at Work and Drinking at 9:00am

06.30.08-We just finished our first day of tasting, and who would have thought that it would be so tiring! Perhaps it was because we had our first taste of wine at 10:00am and our last at 5:00pm ! Like they say, good work if you can get it.

We were picked up by a representative from the first winery, and whisked around before heading to the tasting room. With the winemaker opening the bottles we went through about fifteen different wines, including an unfiltered cabernet that was harvested just four months ago and had been pulled straight from the barrel.

Our second winery picked us up from the first and after tasting their delicious, terroir influenced, offerings, we were treated to a lunch of barbeque pork and steak to accompany their 2006 reserve malbec. They are the brainchild of a Mendoza based family that is very active in the community and make terrific wines. What was cool about the winery was that it used to be a mosaic tile factory so the entire place I mosaiced in brilliant colors. Wonderful!

The third winery is a family operation where we were hosted by the grandson of the founder. He is one of about ten members of his family who work at the winery, and who spends weekends there playing soccer and drinking wine while it is closed to the public. In addition to tasting their organic, unfiltered wines, we were able to meet our host’s father, brother, and sister, all while having a quiet taste. One thing that really stuck out was that all of their labels are applied by hand by a couple of ladies sitting in the bottling room. I know that this is a small boutique winery, but what a lot of work!

All in all, this was a fantastic introduction to the bodegas (Spanish for wineries), that we could be partnering with, and I can’t wait to see what the week will bring.

Mendoza: You Can Have Your Steak and Drink Wine Too

6.29.08 -- I’m finally here with Ashley in what is the wine Mecca in Argentina: Mendoza. Known as the Napa Valley of Argentina, this is where we will find what we came here for – a new wine to introduce to the American market. A desert at the foot of the Andes, the Mendoza region’s over 500 wineries are watered by canal systems that collect and channel snow run-off from the mountains just in the distance. Without this liquid gold, Mendoza would be a wasteland. But with it, it's the perfect location to grow grapes: ideal soil conditions, lots of sunlight, extreme temperature swings during the night and day, and essentially no air pollution. Beautiful.

Yesterday was spent traveling from Buenos Aires to Mendoza. Due to a flight delay I meet Ashley at the Mendoza airport to travel to the center together. What a joy to see her! Those few days seemed like months!

We took a taxi to town and headed out quickly in search of dinner. After a couple taxi rides and a bottle of wine (why not, right?), we found a fantastic steakhouse. We arrived at 10:30pm and told the waiter, Andrelito, about our business and how excited we were to be there. After making a wine recommendation, he told us he would take care of us. The steak we received was definitely not the one we ordered. We split a 16 oz steak that took about 45 minutes to arrive. We were told the wait was to smoked it rather than cooked it over a flame. It was the best steak I’d ever had, thick and incredibly juicy. Oh my god, it was delicious. The wine we had was a 60% Malbec/40% Bonarda blend that was rich enough to hold up to the dinner yet fruity enough to stand on its own. What a meal.

Incidentally, we left at about 12:30am, and people were still coming in for dinner!

Tastings:

Michel Rivier 60% Malbec/40% Bonarda: Fruity like a malbec but the bonarda gave it some oomph. Perfect with red meat.

Michel Rivier Malbec Rose: Light and refreshing like a traditional rose but the mablec gives it a fantastic fruitiness. Great for a warm day.

Siete Fincas Malbec, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon: All three offerings were in top form, with the cabernet being a favorite. Well worth the price.

In Argentina Even Vegetarians Eat Steak

6/27/2008 Well I went for it – I had a steak! For a vegetarian it took mental power, but I did it. Last night at about 7:30pm I ducked into a small café to order pasta, and I ran into folks from the hostel who were there watching a soccer game. Not wanting to admit that I eat dinner at such an early hour (even on weeknights Argentineans eat at 10:00pm) I ordered a beer and commenced to chat.

We were all hungry but waited until 8:30pm before going to a restaurant, lest we be considered tourists (gasp!). Even at 8:45pm we were the second group to arrive, and it only started filling up at 9:30pm. I split a “lomo” steak with a new friend. The waiter suggested a side of thalamus glands, but normal cow meat is enough for any vegetarian.

Needless to say the steak was delicious and smoky. It was “melt in your mouth” tender with a slight crispness to the edges. Like a vitamin B shot, the protein surged through my veins as I tore through everything in front of me like a proper carnivore. I even had room for a little bit of chocolate almond ice cream!

The remainder of the evening was spent on the roof of the hostel polishing off the half empty wine bottles that I had accumulated. I was joined by my new friends, including a young Argentinean who left his post at the front desk to drink. He taught us Porteno slang. Porteno is the name for people from Buenos Aires (which has something to do with the Buenos Aires being a port city). Through his teachings its become apparent why the accent is difficult to understand. In particular, portenos leaving off the last word in common expressions. For example, instead of saying, “como te va?” for “how’s it going?”, they say “como va?”. This brevity is a time saver in conversation, however it makes thing challenging for us tourists. Also, their pronunciation is different from the Mexican Spanish I was taught in high school. Instead of “yo” like “yoyo”, portenos say “jo,” with a soft j. Mama Mia!

I get to see Ashley tomorrow, I can’t wait!

Shot Gun Beers and $72 Wines

6/25/08 - I’ve just arrived in Buenos Aires for my three week wine and beer scouting mission. I’ve only driven from the airport to my hostel, but I’m amazed at how European it looks and feels. It is the Vespas of Italy, the language of Spain and the architecture of Brussels. Everything is slightly crumbly and it feels like people are working to keep it together. Though not frantically. People are dressed impeccably.

Starting this business is the most liberating thing that I’ve done. I’m free to succeed or fail. I can choose how I want to dress and present myself to others. The only people that I have to answer to are Ashley and myself. By far we are the toughest bosses that I’ve ever had, but that’s only because we together have everything to gain or everything to lose through this!

I quickly dive into my research:

-I go to two different grocery stores that specialize in bottles less than AR$30 (about $10US). There is a lot that I’ve never ever seen before. How are we going to narrow down our choices?!?

-I then go to Lo de Joaquin Alberdi, a wine shop near Plaza Serana. The wine steward shows me very high end items, AR$215. Yikes! I ask about the best value and he pointed out a few in the under AR$25 range. He said that AR$25 is the minimum that he'll go for. I think I may be in the wrong wine shop for our target market.

-I taste my first Argentinean beer, Quilmes. It is a light lager, with slightly more body than Budweiser. Not worth pursuing – except to shot gun later.

All I know is that Ashley will love it here.

Finding the Artisan in Duty Free

6/28/08 -- I’m stuck in Santiago, Chile’s international airport for a 9-hour layover with all the other cheap riff-raff because I’m too stingy to pay the $135.00 visa fee to enter the country. To fill my time I stretch out to take a nap. But I’m promptly crowded out by a chatty family glaring at me for taking up two seats. I then walk around Duty Free stunned that people still buy Toblerone bars and Clinique face wash. Where is product diversity? Granted, airports aren’t the world’s source of creative expression, but even in Chile I can’t escape the same old Duty Free junk.

Somewhat frustrated and bored, I obviously, given my new profession, wandered into a Chilean wine shop. Here I must find something original. Some grape varietal I’ve never heard of, a unique label or at the very least reasonable prices.

As I enter my frustration increases. It is the same damn wine culture as everywhere else. Bunches of plastic grapes hanging on a stenciled wall. Fake oak barrels stacked with pewter embellished decanters. A mosaic floor with chubby angels pouring wine into the mouth of a naked woman. Uuughh! Did I come all this way to find wine culture to be the same? Why don’t I just sell Tommy Girl and be done with it?

While others may turn around and walk out, I keep looking because what the heck else am I going to do for 9 hours? Plus my personal love of wine “the beverage” compels me to look deeper and read the labels: Valdvieso, Odfiel, Santa Helena, Carmeriere. Finally, something different! As I begin to chat with the shockingly good-looking young employee about Chilean wine, I’m excited by these wines’ stories buried deep in this boring shop. And then it struck me – by starting this journey of importation am I representing perhaps one of the last industries where the small guy really can participate? Can you find variation and artisanship behind the Clinic-style marketing? Folks are frustrated with wine because there is just “too much to choose from,” but with the consolidation of products, isn’t that a good thing? Shouldn’t we be relieved to see a big business that may continue to offer artisan work?

Booze and Travel is Big Business

Ryan and I have decided to strike out on a new path. We are saying “adios!” to the corporate ladder climbing lifestyle and diving head first into the American dream… business ownership. I’m still keeping my extraordinarily cool day job (I work for Rick Steves!), but the remainder of my time as well as all of Ryan’s time is spent starting our very own wine and beer importing company, Elemental Importers, LLC. Why importing?

-We get to travel to exotic locations to drink alcohol.
-We get to work with groovy wine and beer people.
-We think that wine culture is too stodgy, and we want to make it cool.

Sounds too good to be true? Well, we’re doing it anyway. We’re heading into adventure, and we want you to come along with us as we make the leap, take the plunge, and begin something really exciting!

First stop, Argentina. Ryan for 3 weeks and me for one. We are going to chronicle our journey here. Keep and eye on what we're doing. Yee-Hay!