Argento, Argentum, Argentina- the words sound similar except that we can be dead sure that one of them is a country. What are the other two then? Bodega Argento had this phonetic congruity in mind while coming up with their wine labels Argento and AG Forty Seven. While the former hinges on eponymy, the latter has a rather scientific inspiration coming from the chemical name of Silver (Ag/Argentum) complete with its atomic number (47) . But more importantly, these names serve well towards suggesting wines from Argentina.
These and many other interesting aspects about Bodega Argento were highlighted at a tasting in New Delhi when Ignacio González Villanueva, Area Manager Asia, Africa and Oceania of Avinea Group– the umbrella organization of Bodega Argento came visiting India. Bodega Argento wines are being imported in India by Ace Beveragez– a prominent wine importer based in New Delhi.
Magical Mendoza
Labels of course, are not the only virtues of Bodega Argento, a wine producer located in the famed Mendoza region of Argentina. Being the fifth largest producer of wine in the world, Argentina is notably famous for its Malbec as well as other varietal wines. The importance of Mendoza in the wine landscape of Argentina can be understood by the simple fact that 80% of the country’s wine production comes from this region alone!
A large credit for this supremacy goes to Mendoza’s vine friendly terroir that is dry and sunny with sustainable irrigation from the snow melting down the slopes of the Andes mountain range. The country’s first Quinta Agronómica (School of Agronomy) was also established in Mendoza under the stewardship of French agronomist Michel Aimé Pouget. Mendoza has never looked back since then- becoming one of the most productive and diverse wine regions of the world.
Bodega Argento
The Argento winery is located at Cruz de Piedra, Maipú, in Mendoza’s Central Region. The winery is surrounded by vineyards and olive trees that overlook the Andes mountain range- the most prominent features being the Tupungato hill and the renowned Cordón del Plata . Apart from the central region, Argento also owns vineyards in the two other sub regions of Mendoza viz. Valle de Uco and the Eastern Region. Bodega Argento sources most grapes from its owned vineyards with only 15% coming from partner growers- a figure that is being constantly pruned to achieve full viticultural autonomy. Ignacio informed that Bodega Argento’s winemaking philosophy is “terroir centric”, focussing on fruit purity, freshness, intensity, and optimum balance of their wines.
Argento in India
Six of Bodega Argento wines are available in India out of which four (minus the Cabernet Savignon and Pinot Grigio that are available exclusively in restaurants) are available in retail. All these four were tasted at the New Delhi event at Serai at Olive– a culinary cocktail bar with an old world charm. Ignacio described the AG Forty Seven range as an easy drinking and pure expression while the Argento label as more complex and terroir centric.
Quality Wine at Affordable Prices
Given the overall quality of Argento wines, I can safely say that they offer an excellent value for money, more so in the “difficult” Indian market where retail wine prices can be more than seven times their ex-cellar prices. Debjit Dasgupta, Country Head Ace Beveragez informed that the wines’ favourable cost-benefit proposition is reflective on their sales too, as AG Forty Seven has been the highest selling wine label from Argentina and overall second highest selling after the ubiquitous Jacob’s Creek from Australia.
Bodega Argento could highly consider this as a situation worth its weight in silver.
