Hello from Vida Wines! We are thrilled to welcome you to our community of wine lovers eager to discover the hidden gems of Argentina’s small producers.
As we prepare for our launch in the coming weeks, we wanted to send an exclusive sneak peak as to what we’ve been up to this year – and what you can expect from us and our talented winemakers in the months to come.
(Spoiler alert: by early November we’ll be delivering our favorite wines straight to your doorstep!)
First things first: allow us to introduce ourselves
It is an exciting and transitional moment in Argentine wine, with each year bringing more quality, diversity, innovation and recognition on the global stage. Our mission at Vida Wines is to bring you unique, high-quality wines from small producers – all of whom use natural, sustainable practices – at an amazing value, for you and for our producers.
OUR JOURNEY….
Wine Immersion: 50+ winemakers visited, 500+ wines tasted
It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it. In our quest to introduce Argentina’s most talented small producers to the US, we visited over50 wineries in Mendoza and blind tasted over 100 wines with our sommelier team, led by Jorge Bourdieu of La Escuela Argentina de Vinos.
We tasted Malbecs, of course, of every conceivable style – fresh and fruit-forward, aged and oaky, mineral and herbaceous – as well as Argentina’s fast-growing varietals of Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc, and more under-the-radar gems like Bonarda, Torrontés and Pedro Ximenez, to name just a few. The diversity and dynamism of the Argentine wine scene was on full display, and in the end a few stood out…
The 8 winemakers who won our hearts (and our palates)
Of the 50+ wineries considered for the initial Vida Wines portfolio, 8 had us completely captivated. We travelled back to Mendoza in August to get to know each winemaker, taste through their wines together, and understand the stories and philosophies behind the wines.
From Tomás Stahringer of Vinyes Ocults, who makes his wines at a “hidden vineyard” in Tupungato, Uco Valley, to Agostina Astegiano of Wines of Sins, who daringly toes the line between “the creative and the prosaic, the innovative and the traditional, good and evil”, each of our producers is as unique as the wines they create.
We will be sharing their stories via Instagram in the coming weeks – follow us to get to know these incredible talents!
(PS – we are thrilled that 4 of the 8 wineries are led by women winemakers / oenologists / agronomists!)
A sneak peak into our portfolio…
Our wines will be available by the bottle or by the case, including custom-built mixed cases and thematic cases to highlight various aspects of what makes Argentina’s wines so special. Look out for:
- Malbecs from across Argentina: A representative journey across Argentina’s wine-growing regions, from the foothills of the Andes in Uco Valley to the high-altitude vineyards of Salta, proves that diverse terroirs yield diverse expressions of the varietal. A range of techniques, from biodynamic and minimal intervention to skillful oak aging and playful blending, show the impact that the winemaker can choose to have – or not to have – on the grapes.
- The best of Argentine reds: Mouthwatering Bonarda andCabernet Sauvignons (the #2 and #3 grapes behind Malbec), plus a Cabernet Franc that leaves no doubt as to why this varietal is taking the country by storm.
- Argentine Whites 101: Argentina’s “White Wine Revolution” is in full swing. Our selection includes classic elegant Chardonnays, the only Fiano (an Italian white grape) grown in Argentina, and expertly elaborated varietals of the traditional Torrontés and Pedro Ximenez grapes.
Bon voyage, vinos!
September 27 was a very special day – after we prepared all of the legal and licensing requirements for export and import, our wines departed Mendoza for California! After a journey across the Andes to Chile, the wines are now cruising the Pacific Ocean en route to our warehouse in Sonoma, California. We’re eagerly awaiting their arrival so we can start shipping to your doorstep in early November – just in time for Thanksgiving!
STAY TUNED!
We invite you to join us on this exciting journey…
- Exclusive presale coupon code coming your way in a couple weeks
- Got other wine lovers in your life? Forward to a friend
- Watch for our Instagram giveaway, coming soon
Sign up to the Vida Wines Blog here.