TOP WINE BUYING TIPS FROM ARGENTINA’S BEST SOMMELIER
The ultimate guide to choose the best wines when you’re at a restaurant or at your local wine shop.
I could tell you that all Argentinian wines are excellent. But this post wouldn’t be helpful if I don’t give you simple tips to pick the perfect bottle for your special dinner or to impress your friends at the upcoming holiday gatherings. That’s why I decided to look for the advice of an expert. The best expert I could think of right now is Valeria Gamper, Argentina’s Best Sommelier 2019!
Valeria recently won the title in September at the national competition organized by the Argentina Sommeliers’ Association. Now she has the chance to compete to become the Best Sommelier of the World at the next International Sommeliers’ Association contest (just so you know on the 2019 edition another Argentinian sommelier, Martin Bruno, was among the finalists).
What does it take to be Argentina’s Best sommelier? Hard work. Valeria says she needs to study all the time to be up to date on the latest vintages and trends. She invests a lot of time in tasting wine and other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. “It’s a never-ending path of learning”, she adds. Did I mentioned that one of the tests at this contest requires to blind-taste a wine and guess the grape variety and vintage before moving onto the region where it was produced? Tough!
So, what can she tell us about Argentinian wines? A lot! But now we’ll just focus on the best tips to purchase wine for the holidays.
DIVERSITY OF STYLES
“The main characteristics of Argentinian wines are diversity and quality”, Valeria says. “Now, wineries in Argentina are producing sweet, sparkling, white, organic, orange and delicate rosé wines. Also, light bodied to big bold red wines. There is a style of wine for every palate!”.
Even though the country is best known for Malbec, she advises focusing on the kind of wine we want to drink instead of the grape variety it is produced with. Given the diversity in style, it’s best to try different wines (sparkling, sweet, light-bodied) in order to find the one that fits our palate and pair well with our dishes.
WINE AND FOOD PAIRING
Following her recommendation about focusing on wine styles, I asked her “what wine do you think will pair better with some of the popular American everyday meals?” She suggests the following pairing ideas.
Pizza with… delicate and refreshing rosé.
Beef burger with… juicy unoaked red wine.
Falafel with … orange wine.
BBQ with… oaked medium-bodied red.
Cheesecake with… late harvest white wine.
BEST GRAPE VARIETIES
But if you would like to buy single varietal wines, no matter the style, then she recommends,
“Torrontés is a white grape that you must try. It’s unique to our country and is very aromatic with notes of flowers and fruits. It’s perfect for spicy food. Another grape to try is Criolla (also known as Mission, País or Listán Prieto). For a long time, it has always been used for blends but now it regained value and can be found as a single varietal wine. Also, I highly recommend Cabernet Sauvignon. In Argentina, wineries have been producing wine with this grape for years and they have had excellent results. Cabernet Sauvignon wines from Argentina are as good as other Cabernet from renown producing countries, and a lot of these wines have a great aging potential”.
YOU CHOOSE
When purchasing an Argentinian wine, it’s better to focus on the style. But if you’re feeling adventurous and want to try a new grape variety go beyond Malbec and look for Torrontés, Criolla or Cabernet Sauvignon.
Thanks to Argentina’s Best Sommelier!
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