Canada

“In Canada the success of Argentinian wine is not a fad but a positive trend”

Kasey Wilson, in charge of gastronomy reports for Anthony Gismondi’s radio program and food editor for Wine Access magazine, was in Mendoza last week researching for a report on wine tourism, including top places to eat, visit and stay. During the trip she discussed her thoughts and experiences with us.

Kasey Wilson, in charge of gastronomy reports for Anthony Gismondi’s radio program and food editor for Wine Access magazine, was in Mendoza last week researching for a report on wine tourism, including top places to eat, visit and stay. During the trip she discussed her thoughts and experiences with us.

This is the first trip Wilson has made to South America, being invited as a guest of Wines of Argentina. Over the course of the week she was able to take in Mendoza and Buenos Aires, meeting wineries, tasting Argentina’s iconic wines and speaking to chefs about the best wine and food pairings. In Buenos Aires she had the added opportunity of meeting representatives from both Patagonia and Salta, providing her with a picture of what’s hot from all corners of the country.

 “This is quite an exotic place for Canadian people. I think that we are more uptight, more conservative, than Latin people. People’s personality is so different here, I really like it” emphasized Wilson.

Wilson lives and works in Vancouver, where the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival will take place at the end of April next year. One of the most important events of the wine world, the Festival attracts over 10 thousand people and 2010 wil see Argentina as “theme-country”. During the event Wilson’s radio show will feature many Argentinian winemakers and winery’s owners.

“Anthony Gismondi and I will perform a special 2-hour live show from the festival. That is why I tried to meet as many people as I could with the aim of interviewing them” pointed out Wilson.

Furthermore, she highlighted that both the cuisine as well as wine experienced in Argentina exceeded her expectations in every case. “People’s hospitality is excellent. Those in charge of tourism in wineries are very enthusiastic and make a big effort to create new experiences. Salentein’s Art Gallery is fantastic! O. Fournier has amazing architecture and cuisine. In Norton you can even have lunch with the winemaker, which is a very good idea”

In fact, she had good comments to make about every winery she visited. She even pointed out that the Park Hyatt Mendoza Hotel is one of the best hotels she has ever visited in terms of decoration and service.

“Argentina has an incredible opportunity in Canada”

Wilson explained that Argentinian wine in Canada is not just a fad, but a positive trend: “I believe people feel Malbec is a safe choice and I think that, in a short time, the same will happen with Torrontés as it matches very well with our food, similar to Viognier and Gewürztraminer. In Vancouver 55% of the population is Asian and these wines match very well with Asian cuisine”

One piece of advice she offered was for more Argentinian wineries to stop using cork for white wines and start using screw cap as this is what the Canadian consumers typically look for. “I think that is why many people chose especially white wines from New Zealand and Australia. Young people know that white wines with screw cap will be fresher,” she added.

Another comment she had was that wine labels could also be improved. In this sense, Wilson emphasized that “labels are too conservative; I think they should be more attractive. For instance, Austria’s wines have their flag printed because of tax matters. It could be great if Argentina also included its flag. That would help a lot in order to differentiate itself since there is a huge quantity of wine on offer in our market. Moreover, considering that in North America consumers are quite young, it would be great if labels included some tips such as food pairings as this is very important.”

As far as prices are concerned she thinks that Argentinian wines are still undervalued in the Canadian market considering their quality, although this is seen as something positive.

“In blind tastings, we have noticed more than once that Argentinian wines are underpriced in relation to their quality; compared to Canadian wines they are often half the price and twice as delicious,” concluded Wilson.