Much in the news!

I have a lot that I’d like to share with you from a news-filled past week. Our San Rafael Wine Estate appears in New York Magazine’s Special Wedding Issue (honeymoon section), available on newsstands now…and Algodon Mansion’s General Manager, Pablo Veloso, also sent me this pickup of Algodon Mansion in Air France Magazine. You can read more on both of those in the June issue of the Algodon Newsletter.

I came across an interesting article in The Washington Post last week about sommelier Mark Slater (a James Beard Foundation award-recipient for his outstanding wine program) who, when asked what his top seller is, says (a particular brand of) Argentine Malbec; "That stuff flies out of here….I sold 15 cases in a week!" On that topic, a recent WineSur.com article talks about the great potential for Argentine wines in the Asian markets. Evidently reasearch says that fine wine consumption in this sector is expected to grow by 79.3% in the next two years. That’s a remarkable number- the population in China alone is 1.3 Billion.

Here we have good news for you racing fans; AP is reporting that Argentina may be hosting a Formula One race next year, probably in Buenos Aires. Be sure to book your rooms at the mansion.

In anticipation of the French Open, The Wall Street Journal ran this fun tennis piece about the joys of playing on a clay court; “Increasingly, some of the game’s best coaches and tennis officials —even in the normally clay-allergic United States —see mastering the dusty red stuff as crucial to achieving all-around greatness.” Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you that I am a huge lover of the game. I’m looking forward to playing on our clay courts, as well as each of our 2 grass courts and our sunken Grand Center Court that seats nearly 700 people. By the way, here’s a photo taken last week of the land being cleared for the courts’ construction:

Hope everyone is enjoying the nice weather!

--Scott Mathis

Algodon Mansion Update!

Here is a nice update from our architect, Pedro Lagleyze, on the construction progress of our Buenos Aires luxury hotel:

“Scott - As we expected, on Wednesday afternoon we met on the worksite with Gerhard Heusch and the construction company to determine what to do with the existing marble cladding. We came to the decision that we will maintain the existing work and make some adjustments. We also took this opportunity to resolve several outstanding issues.

Regarding current progress, the balance of work form our new main contractor is more than positive. Much progress has been made toward the finishing stages (floor carpentry, equipment carpentry, painting, etc.) during this week, and will continue through the next.

Currently, marble work has been completed on the upper floors and the stucco work is moving along quickly. We’ve already started the wood flooring work, and the painters will come next week. In the spa, we will be working on the completion of the roof in the coming weeks. The marble work is finished there, and the stucco will start this week.

In the basement, work in the service areas is almost finished and the toilets and plumbing are already functional, as are the changing facilities for the staff. Regarding the kitchen, I suppose you're aware of recent changes requested by the chef. Next week we´ll get the final design in order to modify and finalize this sector once and for all. In relation to the area of public bathrooms and offices, once Gerhard and the contractors define the design of the marble, we will be in position to start the task and prepare the site for the arrival of the metal ladder.

The ground floor, as usual in this type of work is more concerned with the general movement of the work. Yet we are moving strongly in its final configuration. In that sense it is very important to define the ceiling to use. The elevators are up and running and only lack the interior design for its implementation.

The façade is finished on the upper floors, and the ground floor work will begin to take place in the coming weeks.

We are working hard and continue with the aim of finalizing the work for August. If we achieve this objective, the balance will be two years of work at a cost per square meter of USD $2,500. Not bad for our unique product in this market. - Pedro Lagleyze, Arquitecto”

Sounds like things are rolling along nicely! We’re almost there…

--Scott Mathis

Malbec scores, more Malbec, Cabrera, BA, New York Mag...

Great news! Anthony Dias Blue, in association with the James Beard Foundation, rates Algodon Wine Estates 2004 Malbec with a score of 90 points! Mr. Blue is one of the most influential food and wine personalities in the U.S., and his media reaches an audience of more than 30,000,000 global consumers each month. The review will appear in the next issue of The Tasting Panel Magazine’s “Blue’s Reviews” section, where every month Mr. Blue tastes approximately 500 wines and chooses the best 35 to publish his reviews of. I’ll be sure to repost the web address once it’s up. In the meantime, you can read more about Mr. Blue’s broadcast and media affiliations here.

From The Washington Post, here’s another great article about Argentine Malbec; “Ask a retailer or restaurant sommelier which wines are most popular today, and one of the first answers you're likely to get will be…Malbec from Argentina. Ask which wines over-perform for their price, and you'll probably get the same answer.” The author of the piece, which is aptly titled “Argentina's Andes Advantage”, specifies three main ingredients for the success of the Argentine wine; value, quality, and altitude. That’s what we’ve been saying all along, but what they fail to mention is that San Rafael’s district of Cuadro Benegas- where Algodon Wine Estates is located- provides unparalleled soil quality that is ideal for growing red varietals such as Malbec and Bonarda. In case you missed it in the last newsletter, here’s an informative elaboration on that topic written by Algodon’s Winemaker, and Director of Project Development, Tourism & Hospitality.

With Angel Cabrera’s major title win at the recent U.S. Master’s, he has singlehandedly brought the words “Argentina” and “golf” together in many a conversation around the world. I believe his win will prove to be good news for us and our 18-hole championship course in San Rafael, as well as for Argentine golf in general. As many of you already know, Cabrera is the first Argentine- let alone the first South American- golfer to win the Master’s; considered by many to be golf's most prestigious tournament. Here’s a recent article in TWP that describes his homecoming.

Reuters recently published an article headlined Some pick Argentina as haven from economic blues, which specifically talks about the younger generation – people in their 20s and early 30s - moving to BA for its financial benefits; “Buenos Aires, a sophisticated, European-style capital in South America that long has been popular with savvy tourists and artistic bohemians, is now a haven for some young adults from Europe and the United States who find their savings go further here…”

On a similar theme, New York Magazine’s Real Estate section asks “What If You Left New York?”: “New Yorkers have a special affinity for the similarly cosmopolitan lifestyle of Buenos Aires, where real estate is cheap and the weather is currently 70 degrees and sunny.” The piece compares real estate prices for the two cities – specifically BA’s Avenida del Libertador vs. NYC’s Fifth Ave., saying; “For a comparable apartment here, you’d have to pay eight times as much…” This of course puts me in mind of our own comparison from a few months ago of Algodon Mansion vs. Manhattan’s Upper Eastside mansion.

--Scott Mathis

Manhattan Crush Fest!

Our Mendoza Crush Fest event that took place at City Winery went very well. The place was packed with over 700 attendees. Wow. Over 30 wineries participated, but Algodon Wine was the star attraction and was a big hit I’m told. The fact that New York Magazine and DailyCandy.com both plugged our event (here and here), I’m sure had a major impact on ticket sales. Even Cindy Adams, the New York Post’s gossip columnist, gave Algodon Wine Estates a mention in her column for the event. (She also visited Algodon Mansion recently for a preopening tour of the property, and I hear she loves the project…) In case you missed our New York event, it was a very special occasion as we’d shipped over six tons of our grapes to Manhattan in order to be pressed into wine right here in our city. The all-day celebration included a feast of Argentine food and music, dancing, Algodon Wine, and many of our friends and industry associates. I also discovered this blog called WinedAndDined.com which mentions the event, our wine, and our San Rafael estate- all in one entry. Sounds like they had a good time too. Here we are in WhereToGoNext.com- and as of today’s post, media coverage for this truly unique event is still trailing in.

In today’s news, The Wall Street Journal reports that “Argentine bonds posted solid gains Tuesday on improving prospects for emerging market debt, while bank shares surged on the bond gains.”

In other news, Reuters is reporting that President Cristina Fernandez announced Argentina's economy will grow again in 2009. I like her confidence. Incidentally, Argentina’s economy was one of the fastest growing in the world for the past several years up until our global recession.

Also in Reuter’s (Reuters Life!), it’s mentioned that Forbes.com lists Mendoza once again as a “Top 10” travel pick. Apparently we’re in the right place at the right time.

--Scott Mathis