Uk

A Great Show around Malbec, Beef and Torrontes

Everybody knows that the English are crazy about Argentine beef and tango; that is an old story. What is new is that they are also fascinated by Argentine wine, which became evident at the recent wine tastings organized by Wines of Argentina in London.

Everybody knows that the English are crazy about Argentine beef and tango; that is an old story. What is new is that they are also fascinated by Argentine wine, which became evident at the recent wine tastings organized by Wines of Argentina in London.

A categorical "yes" from consumers and the wine trade sector was the answer that Argentine wineries received last week during the wine tastings. The first event was intended for consumers and was organized jointly with Decanter and the Gaucho restaurant chain on Saturday 12 at Vinopolis (Borough Market). It was a great success, with the attendance of more than 400 people and 35 Argentine wineries. The following day, the meeting point was Lord’s Cricket Ground and the event was focused on the wine trade. Ninety-one Argentine wineries were present and the number of visitors exceeded 550. Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Direct Wines, Majestic, Oddbins, Waitrose, Asda, Virgin Wines, Naked Wines and Marks & Spencer, among other important chains, were present on the occasion, which was very positive, as it gave our wineries the opportunity to establish business relations.

At Vinopolis, consumers had the chance to taste from value to top-end wines, which showed that Argentina can play well “in every field”.

Lis Clément, Wines of Argentina’s Marketing & Communications Manager, said that this was also a great opportunity to launch a promotional branding campaign for Malbec and Torrontes. “We have launched a project to promote the brand of these two varietals in this event. We would like consumers to associate Malbec and Torrontes with Argentina. Our aim is to position Argentina as a privileged spot for winemaking due to its unique climatic and geographic characteristics, particularly its continental climate. Malbec grows very well in Argentina and develops organoleptic characteristics that do not exist anywhere around the world. These are our country assets and we want to show them to our consumers.”

Gaucho and Argentine Beef

The famous Argentine beef was the star of this show on Argentine wines. Gaucho’s sommelier, Philip Crozier, offered master classes on Argentine beef and best wine pairings every fifteen minutes from 11 am to 5 pm. The classes attracted the audience’s interest as the chef and his assistants related the history of Argentine beef, presented different cuts and explained varied cooking methods.

Discover Your Inner Tango

The presence of former ballet dancer Julio Bocca is a must in every event organized by WofA. In his role as Argentina’s wine ambassador, he attended both events. His dancers put on two tango shows, which were choreographed by Bocca himself. The show was a great success and the audience clapped and cheered.  

Indeed, tango was always present during the event, whether it was in the decoration of the Discover Your Inner Tango campaign or in the ‘bandoneon’ (a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina) music that was played in the background.

The Tourist Promotion Institute also joined the two events to promote the wine routes.

Those New Technologies

All the events were broadcast on the social network Twitter through a live point. In addition, twenty videos were shot which will be uploaded to YouTube in a channel exclusive to Wines of Argentina. Some of these videos show interviews with journalist Charles Metcalf and sommelier Phil Crozier, who give their opinions on Malbec, Torrontes and the event in general. Some of these videos can already be seen at Decanter’s website, www.decanter.com.

It is worth mentioning that international journalists such as Neil Martin, Robert Parker’s representative in the United Kingdom, Decanter’s editor Sarah Kemp and Jancis Robinson were present at the event.