More Algodon in the media!

Algodon Mansion’s Rent the Mansion package is currently being promoted at Affluent Page Luxury Index. “Why share a hotel when you can have the whole thing?” they ask. From their website: Affluent Page Luxury Index is a luxury consumer magazine devoted to marketing luxury brands and upscale services. Published bi-monthly, the magazine is nationally distributed to readers, with a net worth of $10 Million and up.

Algodon Mansion also appears in the October issue of Argentina’s American Express Platinum Card Magazine, which goes out to over 22,000 platinum cardholders.

DPEC Partners also gets a nice independent write-up on investing in Argentina at Nuwireinvestor.com (I’m also interviewed in the article.)

We received more great news for Algodon Wines; our Sales & Marketing Coordinator at Algodon Wine Estates has done an excellent job getting our wines in some very important wine stores in Buenos Aires and beyond. Our label will now be available in “Wine Gallery” wine shop, located at 1780 Montevideo, in Recoleta. That’s just one block from Algodon Mansion. Algodon Wine can also be found at a “Wine Gallery” wine shop at 1811 Av. Cramer, in BA’s Belgrano neighborhood.

In the press last week; Food and Wine magazine announced their list of the best restaurants in Buenos Aires. Let’s get Algodon Mansion’s Chez Nous on this list next year! In sports news; with Del Potro’s Open win a few months back, the Los Angeles Times dubs Argentina the “Cradle of Tennis Stardom”! We always seem to be in the right place at the right time nowadays! Perhaps Algodon Wine Estates' Tennis Center will be the birthplace of talent for future Grand Slam Winners under the guidance and tutelage of, say for example, José Luis Clerc. Very exciting!

--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

Algodon Pool Tiles, Clerc for ESPN’s Open Coverage, and Media Mentions…

Get ready for blue tiles and sun- and bring your bathing suits! Algodon Mansion’s rooftop pool will soon be ready! We just received a very special shipment of SICIS mosaic tile, which has been imported from Italy, and our contractors will immediately begin laying the surfacing tile. We’ve all been looking forward to this stage of construction on our roof, as it’s the literal icing-on-top. Algodon Mansion’s pool terrace will also feature teak decks and poolside loungers, as well as an intimate open-air bar and lounge.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love tennis, so it will come as no surprise that I am excited about the US Open here in New York. Even more so because our own José Luis Clerc (Algodon Wine Estates’ Ambassador & Director of the Clerc Tennis Academy) will be covering play-by-play analysis for the Spanish-speaking audiences of ESPN International and ESPN Deportes. Algodon properties gets yet another media mention; Examiner.com’s J.S. Fletcher has given both Algodon Mansion and Algodon Wine Estates a nice write up in this week’s issue, which you can check out here.

In wine news, WineSur.com reported this week that Malbec exports have increased significantly this year. We already know this, of course, because we’ve been hearing about it for the last six months; however WineSur provides a chart detailing Malbec’s major importers. The U.S. is in first place with a whopping 52% of the pie chart.

--Scott Mathis

Tennis court photo update!

I’d like to share a letter I received last week from Algodon Wine Estates’ Director of Finance and Administration, Rubén Barsamian. Rubén’s been doing a great job in San Rafael pushing the tennis construction forward. Here’s his photo update regarding the tennis courts:

“Scott,

Attached I'm sending updated photos of the tennis center construction. The first one corresponds to the twin clay courts to the west, covered with chipped brick:”

“The second picture shows the already leveled site for the four clay courts that will be built next to the first two. There the bricks have to be placed and leveled and the retaining wall needs to be constructed:”

“The third photo shows the single clay court to the east, near the golf fairway:”

Muchas gracias, Señor Rubén. What a great partner we have in Buenos Aires. Without his steadfast force and direction, we would not be seeing such great forward movement. Our construction team has also finished work on the new canal:

Algodon Wine Estates was featured recently in Los Andes newspaper, which may perhaps be described as the “New York Times” of Mendoza. Check it out even if you don’t read Spanish; there are a few corresponding photos…

--Scott Mathis

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 Wine Estates - Tennis Complex Update

José Luis Clerc is very enthusiastic about the prospect of bringing a challenger tournament and tennis clinics to Algodon Wine Estates in the fall, which of course would be welcomed publicity for us as well. An updated preliminary layout of the courts has been designed and includes the following; the tribunes of the sunken center court will be on all four sides in order to accommodate more people, and a row of six tennis courts in the south will be constructed first. José Luis wants to use the two on the west side as training courts, one set of double courts shall ideally have lights, and we need to provide access pathways to the courts. José Luis thinks that the grass court would be a big attraction and will lend a lot of credence to Algodon Wine Estates, and since we have the experts and machines to do a grass court, he recommends doing this right away. This is going to be a very busy summer. I’m impressed with how quickly construction has moved at Algodon Wine Estates; new construction seems to get done almost overnight sometimes. Big changes are literally right around the corner. -Scott Mathis

Golf & Tennis Clubhouse Update

I’ve been in recent conversations with Gerhard Heusch and José Luis Clerc, and we’ve made some preliminary decisions regarding our new clubhouse facilities and the direction we want to move in. They include changing rooms for both golf and tennis players which feature 10 showers each as well as lockers. We also want to include separate locker-room areas, steam showers, sauna, massage room, and a lounge with a television, Wi-Fi, telephone, and bar, etc. In terms of the Pro shops, we would like to have one for tennis and a separate one for golf. We’re eager to finish construction by the fall in order to be ready for a challenger tournament that we’d like to host later this year. Jose Luis has emphasized that the locker rooms and lounge areas should be of exceptional quality and design, because this is what sways players to come and play there often, and perhaps make a change from the local club that they already belong to. I’m in total agreement with this. -Scott Mathis