Tennis Anyone?

Lots of media news: Algodon Wine Estates’ “Migration Package” is featured in the November issue of Travel+Leisure Magazine! Their circulation is 957,987! Incredible! We’re also featured here on EliteTraveler.com! Elite Traveler has 649,000 readers per issue in over 100 countries, with an average household income of $5.3 million. Now that is “elite”! Lastly, Forbes Woman Magazine is promoting this special package for us in their publication. Their ad directs readers to our website for a 20% discount and will appear in the December issue of their magazine.

Construction on the mansion is furiously wrapping up to meet our Grand Opening goal date. Algodon Mansion’s General Manager, Pablo Veloso, tells me that the staffing recruitment for the hotel continues and that in just a few weeks the entire staff will be hired and trained. There will be an intensive and thorough 2-week training course for these new employees before any of our guests arrive.

Here’s a recent photo of the tennis center’s progress at Algodon Wine Estates. The photo shows our hardworking maintenance staff as they tend to the huge expanse of the clay courts. The clay court area is so large that our photographer couldn’t fit it all into the frame. It looks fantastic!

As I’m sure many of you have been reading, Argentina is currently in legislation to settle $20 billion of its outstanding bond disputes. This is great news for their economy in my opinion; a successful renegotiation with holders of defaulted debt should create access to international capital markets for the first time since 2001, and will open the door to foreign investment.

Look out- even Wal-Mart is getting into the action of Argentine investments!

Here is an excellent Washing Post article about Nicolás Catena, an Argentine visionary who saw Argentina's potential to produce fine wine. The article dubs him “Argentina’s Ambassador of Wine.” Catena’s is credited as the “founding father of modern Argentine wine”, and as being responsible for having launched Argentina’s wine boom. His significant role in the wine world is further evidenced by Decanter wine magazine’s honoring him as Man of the Year for 2009.

Here’s some very interesting olive oil news; evidently it has just been determined that it may play a factor in preventing Alzheimer’s. Algodon’s gold-medal-winning Extra Virgin Olive Oil isn’t just delicious; it’s also good for you!

One final thought; did you know that the average Argentine eats approximately 163 lbs. of beef every year? That comes out to approximately two McDonald’s Quarter Pounders every day, all year long.

--Scott Mathis

Chez Nous Sampling

Last week when I was visiting Buenos Aires on business, I had the pleasure of meeting once again with our new Executive Chef, Antonio Soriano, in order to discuss and sample a selection of menu items for Chez Nous. The purpose of this preview sampling was to familiarize Algodon Mansion’s principle and executive staff with the menu and its ingredients, by experiencing it firsthand. These are the people who will need to be well acquainted with the tastes, aromas, ingredients and the stories behind the recipes and foods that inhabit Chez Nous’ menu. This was also an opportunity for us to ask any questions, and provide any input we might have in relation to the menu. The sampling was comprised of nearly everything that the dinner menu will feature. We shared an open forum to confer our tasting experiences, and discussed the pairing of certain Algodon Wines with certain menu items, since Algodon Wine will be highly emphasized on Chez Nous’ wine list. One of my favorite items on the menu was a mushroom truffle mouse. Antonio, along with Gonzalo Bazterrica (Chef de Cuisine) and Damian Betular (Pastry Chef) were careful to explain to us each dish’s preparation. As virtually all of our ingredients are regional, these proficient chefs were also very informing about where each of the ingredients came from. For example, the oysters and the sea bass are from Patagonia, the garlic is from Mendoza, and the beef (of course) is 100% grass-fed Argentine beef. I must say that the three chefs appear to have a real affinity for working together, and their seemingly seamless preparation would indicate to someone who didn’t know better, that these three share camaraderie from having worked together for years. Their skills are exceptional. Damian was even able to weave some of his pastry expertise into the main menu with a certain shrimp appetizer wrapped in phyllo dough. It was extraordinary. I wish I knew more about the restaurant industry, but I am certain that our investors and customers will enjoy Chez Nous, and I hope this will be a profitable venture. We’ve decided on this logo for the restaurant: This design may, for example, appear in on the menu cover, in certain advertising, and on incidentals such as matchbooks or restaurant stationary. --Scott Mathis

1st Wine Barrel Program Shipment!

This week I’d like to share some photos related to our personalized wine barrel program. The following pictures are from our partnered winery, Bombal & Aldao, where much of our wine is barreled. The personalize vintages of our first wine barrel program (from our 2007-2008 harvest) have officially been sent to barrel owners, who will be receiving their bottles soon. The above photo is of several barrels assigned to, and labeled with the name of, individual barrel owners. Each barrel contains the custom blend or varietal of each individual’s choosing. The next photo gives you an idea of what our cellar looks like. The following photo shows the custom hand-labeling of our barrel program’s bottles. Each label is customized to the specifications of the barrel owner, including their name, design, and any description or text they might want to appear. As a barrel owner myself, I’m personally looking forward to receiving my “Mathis Estates” bottles any day now! Our bi monthly newsletter is due out soon, and it’s packed full of Algodon Property updates. You’ll be very pleased with Gerhard Heusch’s new rendering of the Grand Center Court for Algodon Wine Estates’ tennis center. The one time dream of hosting Mendoza’s top tennis tournament, The Algodon Malbec Classic, is slowly turning into a reality. Look for our latest online issue of The Algodon next week! --Scott Mathis

First Look at the Hard Court and the Rest…

I love this photo…this will truly be a top notch facility. In addition to this hard court, we also have the 8 clay courts and 3 grass courts. The following photo shows how far our clay courts have come in just a few weeks. As you can see, the lights are in, and the chalk lines have been drawn. Amazing.

I haven’t shared the grass court photos yet, as they have been under construction. The only thing the grass courts are waiting on now is the seeding. The bulk of the construction for these grass courts has been the drainage system- a very essential element, obviously. Here’s a photo of where the grass courts stand now.

Here’s a link to WineSur.com’s announcement of the “Best in Wine Tourism Awards”, of which Algodon Wine Estates won the Gold Medal for AWE’s lodging and a Silver Medal for wine tourism related experiences. We look forward to the final round of competition in Bordeaux next month, which we have qualified for. Cross your fingers, our team has been working very hard! And finally, it appears that golf will be returning to the Olympics at the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro. Exciting news for golf enthusiasts! (-Which includes everyone at Algodon Wine Estates!) -- Scott Mathis

This Week’s Roundup of News and Events…

Press, media, and more press! Here is a terrific piece on Algodon Mansion and Algodon Wine Estates from MartiniLife; a daily email newsletter that shares “the best kept secrets in gear, gadgets, fashion, entertainment, food and dining, travel, and a few things that you just can't live without.” Glad to know we’re somewhere on that list! Algodon Wine Estates was also featured in last weekend’s La Nación, one of Argentina’s leading newspapers! Apparently, Clarín is its main competitor. Here is a rough Google translation of the article: Al pie de la Montaña y Viñedos con (At the foot of the mountains and vineyards). We’ve received some new photos this week that I’d like to share. The first is of our new Algodon Wine Estates signage, which we’ve hung on the winery’s exterior. It really looks great. I feel it lends a personalized touch to the structure, which has in many ways become the iconic symbol of the property.

The next photo is of the glass roof for Chez Nous’ outside dining patio. Very nice! I’m looking forward to the evening when guests of the restaurant can dine on its patio and be able to look up and see the stars and Buenos Aires sky. When I was in Paris on business last weekend, I was invited to an interesting, analogous property to Algodon Mansion, called Pershing Hall. It’s similar to our Buenos Aires hotel in many ways and apparently, it’s a very successful operation. At 350 sq ft, some of their suites are significantly smaller than ours; however they’re getting 500 Euros a night for those. Their top suite is 700 sq ft and it goes for about 1,000 Euros. Their restaurant is one of the most popular in Paris. Here’s an article from the Washington Business Journal (via the Pittsburgh Business Times) headlined Argentina’s travel industry provides business and leisure. The article talks about what a hotspot Argentina is right now, and its growing appeal to Americans. That’s no news to us! Lastly, in economic news, Argentine will reportedly pay off its Paris Club debt over the next five years. --Scott Mathis