Torrontes: the real emblem of Argentine wine
Torrontes is the emblematic variety of Salta province, a superb white wine with a floral bouquet and a crisp, dry finish. Its origins are mysterious and have nothing to do with the Torrontes variety from La Rioja, Spain, with which…
The Holy Leaf
When you visit northwest Argentina, you may notice some people in the street have cheeks as fat as a hamster preparing for hibernation. They’re chewing coca, following an age-old ritual in the Andean region used to combat fatigue, hunger…
Hands across the Andes
After the longest Covid lockdown in Latin America, I'm delighted to report that this weekend Chile is fully re-opening all its frontiers (Sunday 1st May). Chile locked down with Argentina in mid-March 2020, but while my adopted country fully…
World Malbec Day
Why is World Malbec Day on April 17th?As I’m sure you all know, Malbec is a French variety, principally grown in the Cahors region 200km east of Bordeaux, close to the Pyrenees. In the last few years, Malbec, once almost…
Vendimia
The Wine Harvest Trail from Salta to MendozaI have just returned from a trip to Mendoza at the very best time of year: vendimia, or harvest time, when activity in the wineries is at its busiest, full of great smells and…
(Un)holy Trinity
Holy or unholy depending on your point of view, the most important trinity in Argentina is Diego, Evita and Che. Ernesto “Che” Guevara: the Latin American revolutionary who, thanks to the film Motorcycle Diaries in 2004, many people realised for the…
What’s a Blue Dollar?
As we approach the end of a year in which annual inflation is expected to top 50%, it seems like a good moment to write about the blue dollar. Why do you need to know this? Because it makes…
Tango and Skyschlenka
As any visitors to Argentina will discover, this is a nation of individuals with a very sweet tooth.Coke, not water or wine, is the default drink when eating out of an evening: quite how people manage to tuck into a…