Given the fact that Mendoza, Argentina is the largest wine region in Argentina producing around seventy percent of the country’s annual wine production, it has become Argentina’s heart of winemaking. Mendoza is situated beside the Andes on the east and includes several sub regions. Out of all these sub regions there are a few that stick out in my mind especially Lujan de Cuyo. Why, you ask? Well, first off Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza became Argentina’s first official wine appellation. Intriguing, don’t you think? (Well since I am a bit of a wine geek I find that intriguing).
This picturesque landscape is located to the North of the Mendoza province and sits next to other sub regions of Godoy Cruz, Las Heras, and also Maipu. With a dry climate, abundant run off water from the Andes and high average temperatures make it an ideal place for growing Malbec and makes it very easy on the winemaker, giving them the ability to control when the grapes are picked during the harvest. This also gives wine makers an advantage over other wine areas of the world, where their harvests can often be affected by weather conditions. In Lujan de Cuyo, the weather allows the winemaker to produce a consistent quality wine every vintage. It is a common practice here in Lujan de Cuyo to have high altitude vineyards ranging around 700 meters to 1100 meters (about 2300ft. to 3600ft.). Like most vineyards in Mendoza the soil is sandy with clay over the top, which is known as alluvial.
There are plenty of wineries (bodegas in Spanish) located in the area of Lujan de Cuyo, and I will give you a perfect example of one in particular. Familia Blanco, which is a very family operated winery that is from Spanish descent. The Blanco Family took up the art of growing grapes in the 1980′s, although it wasn’t until the year 2005 that they began bottling their own wine. The first of their wines bottled were produced from Malbec as well as Bonarda, then a few years later the family added a Sauvignon Blanc. As another year passed they had produced a Torrontes, which the grape is actually not grown on the vineyard but purchased from Cafayate. The label of Familia Blanco is known as Mairena. This not so typical name has quite the story behind it, although to hear the story of this label you must first take a sip of the wine to fully understand how precious it is to the family. The perfect atmosphere for this to occur would be at a wine tasting in Buenos Aires where you will be able to taste the wine and hear the story while enjoying the company that surrounds you. Though not to fully disappoint you I can say that the name Mairena might come from a small pueblo located near the Sierra Nevadas in Southern Spain.
I have to say the wines from Lujan de Cuyo have taken me over by storm. They have such a unique terrior along with the flavors streaming straight from the grapes that you get the best of both worlds. So the next time you indulge in an Argentine wine, I would suggest to check the label and see if it derives from this outstanding area in Mendoza. Then sit back and relax or let the wine take you to a state of flavor that you will only find coming from Lujan de Cuyo.
