We ate beef and drank malbec in Argentina, ogled beaches in Brazil and climbed Machu Picchu in Peru.
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"A lot of people thought that Malbec was another name for Chilean Merlot, " said Mr. Ramkowsky.
WSJ: How Malbec Became the Wine of 'Regular People' | On Wine by Lettie Teague
Malbec accounts for more than 64% of all Argentine wine sold in this country.
WSJ: How Malbec Became the Wine of 'Regular People' | On Wine by Lettie Teague
"I think that Malbec became popular because people asked for it, " he said.
WSJ: How Malbec Became the Wine of 'Regular People' | On Wine by Lettie Teague
Producers make big, powerful reds here and Malbec, Syrah and Cabernet grapes thrive.
The unique climate of each vineyard allows for the production of cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, merlot, pinot noir, sauvignon blanc, malbec, syrah and viognier.
Though Cabernet, that perpetually prestigious varietal, was the great hope for a while, nothing flourished in Argentina quite as well as Malbec.
WSJ: How Malbec Became the Wine of 'Regular People' | On Wine by Lettie Teague
Malbec, while popular in stores, doesn't have a big presence in restaurants.
WSJ: How Malbec Became the Wine of 'Regular People' | On Wine by Lettie Teague
Some of you may recognize it as a blending grape used along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec in Bordeaux styled wines.
The winery features Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
In the US people see Argentinean malbec as similar to the great wines of the Napa and Sonoma valleys, but at half the price.
In the UK, where sales of malbec rose by 40% in 2011, Argentine wines command the second-highest average price per bottle, after New Zealand.
The wines they created in the mid-to-late 1990s won international attention and acclaim, though it would be a while before Malbec became a household name.
WSJ: How Malbec Became the Wine of 'Regular People' | On Wine by Lettie Teague
In the 2006 World Wines Competition alone, American vintages--a 2000 Maverick Malbec and a 2000 Carpe Diem Special Reserve--won the platinum awards for red and white wines, respectively.
"I'm telling you, malbec is like Michael Phelps, " says Bieler.
The latter is a classic Bordeaux-style blend and their 1, 500-acres of vineyards and olive groves include not only cabernet sauvignon but the other required blending grapes: malbec, merlot, and petit verdot.
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If you love chardonnay but your land is better suited to malbec, most developers will plant the chardonnay if you insist, but some will plant only the ideal grape for your conditions.
The Malbec bandwagon ground to a halt in the mid-20th century when Argentina experienced an economic reversal and many Malbec producers pulled their vines out, replanting them with cheaper, more prolific varietals.
WSJ: How Malbec Became the Wine of 'Regular People' | On Wine by Lettie Teague
The star varietal is malbec, a red wine made from the malbec grape that is native to Bordeaux but actually thrives better in the high-altitude terrain of Mendoza than anywhere else in the world.
But it's worth giving drinkers a little credit, since the odds of finding a tasty malbec are probably better than they are with any other wine grape, from any other country--at all price points.
So why did Malbec finally hit it big?
WSJ: How Malbec Became the Wine of 'Regular People' | On Wine by Lettie Teague
Led by two English-speaking hosts, one foreign and one local to provide different perspectives, guests convene in the ground-level lounge and bar where they enjoy a Malabeca cocktail (malbec, pisco and apple juice) and mingle with the other diners.
The second part of the Malbec story began about 20 years ago, when a number of ambitious vintners that included locals and foreigners from countries like Italy and France decided to rehabilitate the quality and reputation of Argentine wine.
WSJ: How Malbec Became the Wine of 'Regular People' | On Wine by Lettie Teague
According to a study commissioned for the Wines of Argentina, sales of Malbec to the U.S. (the top export market for the wines) are up 17% so far this year compared with the same time last year, and they've been trending ever upward since 2004.
WSJ: How Malbec Became the Wine of 'Regular People' | On Wine by Lettie Teague
"My conflict with this grape is that it has been written and spoken about for way too long as a grape that helps to define the South African category, almost to the point of rendering the category a proverbial 'one-trick pony, ' " he wrote in an email, comparing it to Mendoza Malbec from Argentina and Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.
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