Polo, Dakar, GM bailout, and Art…

Hola! Nacho Figueras explains the rules of polo in Vanity Fair Magazine. In case you don’t know, Nacho is synonymous with Argentina polo. Nacho was recently our guest for a wine tasting and cocktail reception at Algodon Mansion. (pictured from left to right: Nacho Figueras, Me, Luisa Aldao, German Neuss, Camilo Aldao, and Nacho’s lovely wife Delfina):

Last weekend he and Great Britain’s Prince Harry played the Veuve Clicquot Manhattan Polo Classic, a celebrity attended charity match at New York’s Governors’ Island. The competing teams were Black Watch and Sentebale, and the British team won 6-5. This brings to mind the construction of Algodon Wine Estates’ own twin polo fields scheduled for completion next year. Polo is very big in Argentina, and our Champions’ Club will feature only the best of these types of facilities.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Dakar Rally will return to Argentina in 2010. The map of next year’s route is now available online, and it indeed runs right through San Rafael! What a great publicity and promotional opportunity for the city, and in turn Algodon Wine Estates. As you can imagine, the hotel was also fully booked when the rally came through earlier this year.

Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner announces that the country will use $70 million of nationalized pension funds to provide General Motors (Argentine unit) with a loan to help the automaker finish work on a new car model. Finally, here’s a CNN video link to a report on the Buenos Aires International Art Fair (aka “ArteBA”), which has been called “the hottest art event on the planet”. One gallery owner interviewed explains how the combination of Argentina’s weak peso and the world-wide economic downturn is presenting lucrative opportunities for the county’s artists. Evidently savvy international collectors have realized that Argentina offers world-class pieces of art for unheard-of prices, and they are loading up on these great deals. That’s called “getting in when the getting is good” and similarly-minded people are doing the same with real estate there, obviously.

--Scott Mathis

Polo Anyone?

It looks like the world of Argentine Polo is alive and well, despite any global economic slowdown, according to a recent Reuters article that you can read here. The article also touches on polo tourism and Argentina’s position as the world's top destination for polo. Our polo fields at Algodon Wine Estates, by the way, should be completely excavated and seeded this year.

This photo was taken at a recent cocktail party inside the Algodon Mansion amidst all the construction. There was a huge turnout, and it was quite fun. Nacho Figueras and his wife Delfina Blaquier are pictured here with me. Nacho, of course, is a world famous Argentine Polo player and may be the face that most Americans associate with Argentine Polo. The photo above appeared in the December 20, ’08 issue of the Argentine magazine “Noticias”.

--Scott Mathis