Saturday, December 30, 2006

My brother and I in Mendoza / Mi hermano y yo en Mendoza

Two weeks ago my brother Ned came down to visit me in Argentina, and after a few deathly hot days in Buenos Aires we headed to the "interior" of the country. After stopping in Rio Tercero, Cordoba to visit some friends and relatives there, we took an 8 hour bus ride to Mendoza. As a big mountain biking fan, my brother wanted to head to the Andes one day and then hit up the wineries on Tuesday.

Hace dos semanas mi hermano Ned vino a visitarme en la Argentina, y después de algunos días calurosos en Buenos Aires fuimos al interior del país. Después de una visita a Río Tercero, Córdoba para ver nuestros parientes y algunos amigos, tomamos un bus a Mendoza. Mi hermano es un fanático del mountain bike (aunque su trabajo como un abogado en Manhattan no es exactamente perfecto para su interés) y quería visitar algunas bodegas.

On Monday, we went to the Andes, or more specifically the "pre-mountain range" to do some mountain biking at a place I’d been to twice before, once for rafting the year before and once for mountain biking in October. Needless to say, it was awesome.

El lunes fuimos a los Andes, o mejor dicho, la “pre-cordillera” para hacer mountain bike en un lugar que había ido dos veces antes, una vez para rafting hace un año y una vez para mountain bike en Octubre. La visita fue absolutamente espectacular.



On Tuesday we hired a driver to take us to several wineries. We first went to La Rural (which I had been to last year), which is nice because it is a very typical Mendoza winery in that it was started in the 1890s by Italian immigrants. What is different about La Rural is that it has an excellent wine museum. After La Rural we drove to Familia Zuccardi, a very well-known winery (at least in Argentina) which is completely the opposite of La Rural in that it was started in the 1970s and likes to be known as an innovator. The incredible asado (Argentine barbecue) we had at Zuccardi definitely makes it worth another visit.

El martes contractamos un chofer para llevarnos a algunas bodegas. Primero fuimos a La Rural (visité La Rural en 2005) que es muy bueno porque es una bodega típica de Mendoza porque fue fundado por un inmigrante italiano en los años 1890. Después de la visita a La Rural, fuimos a la bodega Familia Zuccardi, una bodega muy conocida (en la Argentina) que es el opuesto de La Rural porque fue fundado en los años 1970 y es conocido por su innovación con nuevos varietales. El asado increíble que comimos en Zuccardo vale la pena para otra visita.

At Zuccardi, we were assigned a personal tour guide who showed us the process in making the wine. After the short tour we got to try several wines directly from the tank. It was just an absolutely awesome experience, we have to give major props to our guide Matias (in the picture below) for giving such a comprehensive tour.

En Zuccardi, caminamos por la bodega en un tur guiada que nos mostró el proceso de hacer el vino. Después del tur tuvimos la oportunidad de probar vinos distintos directamente de los tanques de acero. Fue una experiencia absolutamente espectacular y tenemos que decir “muchas gracias” a Matías (en el foto) por darnos un tur tan extenso.


Back to blogging? Un regreso a blogear?

Well, my only one of my New Year's resolutions was to “blog” more, in the true sense of the term. This blog was created to be a record of my research on the Argentine wine industry. Now that I know a lot about some about the industry, I think I might be qualified in some sense to “blog” about it.

So here we go. This is a good example of an article that pops up in the U.S. every couple weeks or so. When giving wine, look south for bargains, innovations.” Paul Alexander. The Associated Press. December 30, 2006.

The link leads you to the Green Bay (Wisconsin) Press Gazette which is one of many local newspapers that chose to print the article. In the article, the journalist basically lumps in all of the “Southern Hemisphere” wines, which are all of the “New World” wines with the exception of the U.S.

One quote drew my attention, however. It quotes Ray Isle, a senior editor at Food & Wine magazine as saying that Argentina is “…one of my favorite bargain wines.” Hmm. I think Wines of Argentina would rather go with, “wines that have an excellent quality to price ratio.” But they won’t complain about the free publicity.

One more thought: the article labels all of the southern hemisphere wine making regions into one specialty. Argentina has its Malbec, Australia and South Africa with shiraz, and New Zealand with sauvignon blancs and pinot noirs. Certainly from a marketing standpoint Argentina has chosen to live and die by Malbec, but when will people start discovering more of their other very tasty varietals such as torrontes?

Bueno, acá en los Estados Unidos (si, regresé a mi país madre la semana pasada – ¡que frío!) tenemos una tradición de hacer una lista chica de cosas que queremos lograr en el año nuevo. Unos de mis deseos es blogear más. Este blog fue creado para ser un registro de mis investigaciones sobre el crecimiento de la industria argentina durante los 15 años pasados. Ahora que sé mucho algo sobre la industria, creo que soy cualificado, en un sentido, para blogear sobre el tema.

Ok, ¡vamos! Este articulo es un ejemplo bueno de los artículos sobre vino que aparecen en en los EEUU cada cierto tiempo. When giving wine, look south for bargains, innovations.” Paul Alexander. The Associated Press. December 30, 2006. (en ingles).

El enlace te lleva al Green Bay (Wisconsin, EEUU) Press Gazette que es unos de los varios periódicos locales que decidió publicar el articulo. En el artículo el periodista agrupa los vinos del hemisferico sur, que son todos los vinos del “nuevo mundo” excepto los vinos norteamericanos.

Una cita del artículo me llamó mi atención, sin embargo. Cita Ray Isle, un editor mayor de la revista “Food and Wine” diciendo que Argentina es, “…unos de mis vinos favoritos que es barato” (mi traducción). Creo que Bodegas de Argentina prefiría la frase, “vinos que tiene una muy buena relación de calidad a precio.” Pero ellos no van a quejar sobre la publicidad gratis.

Una reflexión más: el artículo vincula cada región con un vino especial. Argentina con Malbec, Australia y Sur Africa con Shiraz, y Nueva Zelandia con sauvignon blancs y pinot noirs. Es cierto que desde la punta de vista de marketing, la Argentina decidió a “vivir o morir” con el Malbec, pero quiero saber cuando el resto del mundo va a descubrir el resto de sus varietales como torrontes.

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Bibliography

1. “Censo Nacional Agropecuario.” INDEC. Buenos Aires, Argentina: 2002.
2. “Invertir en Argentina: Vino.” Agencia de Desarrollo de Inversiones. Buenos Aires: 2006.
3. “Sector Vino.” In “Panorama Sectorial.” April, 2006. Found in Ministerio de Economía. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
4. Aciar, Alfredo. Interview by author. Mp3 recording. Mendoza City, Mendoza, Argentina 9 2006.
5. Azpiazu, Daniel, Basualdo, Eduardo. “Las modificaciones técnicas y de propiedad en el complejo vitivinícola argentino durante los años noventa.” Revista Interdisciplinaria de Estudios Agrarios 17 (2002): 5-36.
6. Bouzas, Roberto. “¿Mas allá de la estabilización y la reforma? Un ensayo sobre la economía argentina a comienzos de los ’90.” Desarrollo Económico, Vol. 33 No. 129. pp. 3-28.
7. Darwin, Charles. Journal of Researches, new ed. (London: John Murray, 1890)
8. McDermott, Gerald A., “The Politics of Institutional Renovation and Economic Upgrading: Recombining the Vines that Bind in Argentina.” October, 2006. Forthcoming in Politics and Society. Found at: http://www-management.wharton.upenn.edu/mcdermott/files/McDermott-PS-10-06.pdf.
9. McDermott, Gerald A., “The Politics of Institutional Renovation and Economic Upgrading: Lessons from the Argentine Wine Industry.” Unpublished Version 3 (November 2005).
10. Neiman, Guillermo, Bocco, Adriana, Martín, Clara. “Tradicional y Moderno. Una aproximación a los cambios cuantitativos y cualitativos de la demanda de mano de obra en el cultivo de vid.” In Trabajo de campo, edited by Guillermo Neiman, 175-200. Buenos Aires: Ediciones Ciccus, year unknown.
11. Pina, Juan Carlos. Interview by author. Mp3 recording. Mendoza City, Mendoza, Argentina 12 October 2006.
12. Richard-Jorba, Richard, et al., La región vitivinícola argentina. Buenos Aires: Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, 2006.
13. Richard-Jorba, Rodolfo. Interview by author. Mp3 recording. Mendoza City, Mendoza, Argentina, 10 October 2006.
14. Sawers, Larry. The Other Argentina. Boulder: Westview Press, 1996.
15. Scobie, James R., “Argentina: Patterns of Urbanization in Argentina, 1869-1914.” Latin American Research Review, Vol. 10, No. 2. (Summer, 1975), pp. 132-134. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0023-8791%28197522%2910%3A2%3C132%3AAPOUIA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-7
16. Toso, Enrique. Interview by author. Mp3 recording. Mendoza City, Mendoza, Argentina, 13 October 2006.
17. Unknown. “Making a Case for the Argentine Wine Industry.” Knowledge@Wharton (January 22, 2004), http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=904.

Conclusion

From a broad prospective, the “hands-on” approach favored by the Mendoza government has certainly had its positive and negative. However, after the oversupply crisis of the 1980s, it seems as if they have learned from prior mistakes of overregulation and limited responsibility. In fact, the government’s participation in the industry is vital for continued growth.

The future of the wine industry in Mendoza is favorable. In every area, with the exception of table wine, the wine industry is growing at a healthy pace. In fact, wine has become one of the top exports for the country. With the stable framework the industry has put in place, with institutions such as ProMendoza and COVIAR, the industry appears to be on the right track for long-term growth.

State Policies

In 1996, Fundación ProMendoza was founded as a state-financed but privately managed foundation to promote products from Mendoza in the international markets. ProMendoza officially has four members: the provincial government, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Stock Exchange and the Economic Federation of Mendoza. The provincial government finances about 70% of ProMendoza’s operations, but only retains 25% of the decision-making power. ProMendoza funds promotional exhibitions throughout the world, which might include a tasting stand at a wine fair in San Francisco or representing organic producers at a conference in Germany on emerging technology in organic farming.

The growth of the private-public sector linkages such as ProMendoza is interesting due to the timing of their growth in popularity. The prevailing economic theory in Argentina during the 1990s argued for less government involvement in the market. Running counter to this trend, the provincial government in Mendoza took the lead in bringing together several different sectors under one organization.(Source Figure 3: National Institute for Viticulture)

In 1995, the governments of Mendoza and San Juan reached an agreement to decide annually how much of each year’s grape harvest must be used for concentrated grape juice and not used for wine. The agreement was a way to diversify grape production and maintain stable grape prices. Typically the two governments agree that about 25% to 30% of each year’s harvest must be made into concentrated grape juice. This juice is almost exclusively exported and is used as a sugar concentrate in such products as soft drinks. For the past ten years, the agreement has worked extremely favorably for the two provinces, with the majority of concentrate sold to the U.S. Argentina is currently the number one producer of sugar concentrate in the world.

In addition, the province offers a significant amount of protection from hail storms that often pass through Mendoza, which can destroy 12% of a year’s crop in five minutes. In the San Rafael region of Mendoza, it is well-known that there is a 1 in 8 chance that your crops will be destroyed by hail. The province pays for planes to fly over potential hail-storm clouds, releasing a chemical that breaks up the forming hail in the clouds. Secondly, many winemakers use small nets to put over the vines to protect against the hail. The government pays a large part of the interest rate when the winemakers borrow from a bank to install the protective nets. A normal loan would have an interest rate of about 15%, but with the government subsidy the winemaker pays only 5% interest. The third way the government protects against hail is by paying minimal insurance premiums to take out policies against hail.

Alfredo Aciar, Chief of Cabinet in the Mendoza Province Economic Ministry states, “The market alone can’t fix issues and we are aware of this problem.” In 2005, the government purchased a large supply of grapes to be destroyed in order to maintain stable prices. The Economic Ministry has calculated that there is an overproduction crisis every six years, and 2006 was set to be the year for the next crisis.

In December of 2003, the law entitled the “Strategic Plan for the Argentine Wine Industry 2020” (Plan Estratégico Argentina Vitivinícola 2020 or PEVI) was passed in the national legislature to institute on a national level the pro-export marketing model of Mendoza. Plan 2020 called for Argentina to achieve a 20% share of the world wine market by 2020. Currently, Argentina enjoys about 2% of the international wine market. The body created to oversee PEVI, Corporación Vitivinicultura Argentina (COVIAR), is based in Mendoza and seeks to promote Argentina wine abroad, although it has recently taken on a domestic marketing plan as well.

Although the growth of the wine industry in Mendoza was largely due to the growth of exports, domestic consumption of fine wine began to increase in the 1990s for the first time in decades. Following Argentina’s default on foreign debt in 2001 which subsequently ended the one-to-one exchange rate, Argentina and Mendoza specifically have seen an explosion in tourism. Mendoza is the second-most visited tourist destination in Argentina, behind only Buenos Aires. The tourism boom has grown peripheral industries that are almost worth as much as the wine industry itself. In fact, it is estimated that the peripheral industries to wine – tourism, oenologists, consultants, engineers – is worth about $1 billion dollars to the province of Mendoza.

National Economic Policy and its Influence in Mendoza

The Fecovita cooperative marked the beginning of a state-led policy of allowing private actors to manage public-private organizations which are heavily financed by the state. The growth of such public-private programs came during a pro free-market regime in Buenos Aires. President Carlos Menem and Economic Minister Domingo Cavallo sought to end inflation by instituting the Convertibility Plan that pegged the peso to the dollar in 1991. Inflation was practically reduced to zero while Menem and Cavallo advanced their neoliberal policies that mirrored the Washington Consensus. One main feature of the Menem/Cavallo plan was the reduction of government intervention in the markets. These policies relegated the INV to the diminished role of monitoring the quality of wine without any say in the quantity or price of the grapes produced. However, the Convertibility Plan arguably had a much more profound impact on the industry than many of the other neoliberal policies.

By pegging the peso to the dollar the Convertibility Plan affected the wine industry in two key ways. First, the wine industry was able to import technology from abroad. With better machinery and more advanced technology, the industry upgraded itself to international standards. Moreover, previously prohibitively expensive human capital from abroad was attracted to Argentina. For example, winery Pascual Toso hired a Napa Valley consultant to visit its winery ten times per year. Even world renowned wine consultant Michel Rolland came to Mendoza to analyze several different wines. Under the weak peso, no winery was ever able to afford such an expense. This quality improvement opened the possibility of exporting Argentine wine to sophisticated wine markets like the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan. On the other hand, the peso to dollar ratio offered a steady economic climate for foreign investors. Unlike the late 1980s when hyperinflation created a chaotic investment environment, the Convertibility Plan attracted large amounts of foreign direct investment. With the new technology from abroad and foreign investment, the government worked to create strong linkages between interests within the industry.

A New State-led Initiative

A symbol of the 1980s crisis was the Giol Vineyard (Bodegas y Viñedos Giol Sociedad del Estado) in Mendoza. Giol was founded at the end of the 19th century by Italian and Swiss immigrants and was expropriated to the state during the 1950s in order to regulate the market. By 1987, Giol was operating at a 500,000 USD loss per month and had a debt of over 35 million USD. Yet it still produced 10% of Argentina’s wine and bought grapes from more than 4,000 small and medium sized grape growers in Mendoza. The provincial Mendoza government, wary of the privatization of the state-owned winery Cavic in San Juan, chose to use a “participatory restructuring approach”. This approach meant transforming Giol into a cooperative among several sectors as a way to encourage restructuring among the different factions that had an interest in the winery, namely large business interests, labor unions, and communities of thousands of grape suppliers.

The new cooperative, named Fecovita, had enormous success and eventually earned a profit. It was instrumental in helping its members gain access to credit, markets and training through increased bargaining power with and access to banks, domestic and international distributors, as well as public and private research institutions. As the state-organized cooperative, Fecovita started a trend in Mendoza with the provincial government developing over 75 programs related to the wine industry during the 1990s.

The Crisis of the 1980s

Indeed, several factors contributed to the crisis that the wine industry faced in the 1980s. The most important issue was the dramatic fall in domestic consumption of table wine. Table wine is defined as any wine that falls below the $3 peso retail price (about one US dollar). Oftentimes this wine comes in a cardboard box but can also be packaged in a bottle. Traditionally, Argentines mix this bargain priced wine with carbonated water to dilute the taste. On the production side, table wine is grown by small producers who usually have less than 5 hectares of cultivated land and use much less sophisticated technology in growing the grapes. Higher quality wines use grapes that oftentimes are grown using drip irrigation systems that deliver water directly to the vine using a small pipe. Because the table wine growers were of relatively modest means, the table wine grape growers in Mendoza didn’t have access to necessary capital to upgrade to complicated irrigation systems.

These low-quality wines suffered when beer and soda sales rose in the 1980s. In 1968, Argentines drank on average 86 liters a year of wine, while in 1986 that number had dropped to 60 liters per year. As a result, grape production in Mendoza fell by 60 percent between 1976 and 1993. As a result, during the 1980s one third of all producers went bankrupt and the number of hectares planted fell from 15,000 hectares to 3,000 hectares. This crisis, generated by a drop in domestic demand, created a need for the wine industry to look outside of Argentina for new markets. Capital controls imposed by the state and poor wine quality limited their efforts to sell any considerable amount of wine abroad as their counterparts on the other side of the Andes had been doing successfully. (Figure 1 Source: “Business Trends”. Economic Ministry of the Republic of Argentina. 2005. Soda consumption data found on p. 396. Wine consumption data. p. 401.)

Origins of the Wine Industry

During the mid-1800s the majority of agricultural land was used for alfalfa. Ranchers fed this alfalfa to cattle from the provinces of Cordoba and Santa Fe as the cattle were herded to Chile. By the mid 1880s, however, Mendoza found itself in the midst of an economic transformation due to the arrival of the railroad, rising agricultural production, and a steady influx of European immigrants. Additionally, winemaking technology improved so that the same amount of acreage that produced 46 kg of wine in 1870 yielded 250 kg at the end of the 1880s. The acreage in vines also increased six fold between 1893 and 1913. By World War I, vine acreage exceeded that of Chile and California. The improvement in technology and increase in overall acreage met a surging demand for wine from the growing immigrant population in the pampas region.

Government intervention in the wine industry virtually began at the industry’s inception. As a general rule, agricultural-based sectors were heavily affected by the government’s liberal, export-oriented economy during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The wine industry in Mendoza and the sugar industry in Tucumán paralleled one another in their rapid growth at the end of the 19th century. Both industries involved heavy state intervention which led to multiple overproduction crises during the 20th century.

In Mendoza’s case, the national government built the Andes Railroad in 1885, connecting the provinces of San Luis, Mendoza and San Juan with Buenos Aires, coastal markets, and the northern part of the country. The government also expanded and maintained the already extensive canal network. In addition to infrastructure, provincial laws in 1889, 1895, and 1902 exempted all grape production from taxes for the first five years of production. The province exercised excellent judgement in understanding that the demand for wine would one day yield high tax gains. Indeed, in 1907 over 60% of provincial revenue originated in the wine sector.

In addition to favorable subsidies, the federal government offered generous protection to the wine sector by imposing high import tariffs. Transport via ship from Europe to Buenos Aires remained cheaper than railroad transport from Mendoza, so the young wine industry sought protection from the well established industries in Europe. By 1914, the wine tariff had reached 80%. The federal government erected other barriers to trade ensuring no foreign wine could enter Argentina. Specifically, no wine could be imported from countries in which sugar was added to grape juice to increase the alcoholic content of the wine, even if the particular wine shipped to Argentina didn’t utilize this technique. Since this method was used in at the least one instance in every wine producing country, foreign wine was effectively prohibited from entering the market.

After thirty years of remarkable growth, the national government created the Junta Reguladora de Viños (JRV, or Wine Regulating Committee) in 1935 which would later become the Instituto Nacional de Vitivinicultura (INV) in 1959. Acting under the auspices of the JRV, the state attempted to deal with overproduction, especially during the Great Depression when wine consumption fell dramatically. The INV regulated when and how much the growers could plant, when the harvest was to occur and how much the grapes would sell for. On the production side, INV monitored quality and encouraged diversification. The state’s role in the wine industry in Mendoza would undergo dramatic changes in the 1980s in the midst of an oversupply crisis.

Winnowing the Vines - The Growth of the Mendoza, Argentina Wine Industry - Introduction

December 2006
Swarthmore College
Buenos Aires, Argentina

In 1835, Charles Darwin laid eyes upon the spectacular Andes Mountains that lay before him. At the foot of the jagged, snow-capped ridges lay a small town named Mendoza. To many travelers, Mendoza looked like a paradise after the rugged two-week trek across the pampas from the European metropolis of Buenos Aires. Experienced explorer Darwin thought otherwise, “To my mind the town has a stupid, forlorn aspect to it…but, to those who, coming from Buenos Ayres, have just crossed the unvaried pampas, the gardens and orchards must appear delightful.”

Today, the canals and contrasting flora remain the only aspects that from the Mendoza Darwin first experienced. Twenty-first century Mendoza is home to a multi-billion dollar wine industry and its world renowned Malbec red wine. Geographically Mendoza is located in the western region of Cuyo, bordered by the Andes Mountains and Chile in the west. It is known for its dry, hot summers and mild, yet humid winters. For centuries, the natives to Mendoza have utilized the rainwater and melting snow that flows off the Andes Mountains for hydroelectric power and irrigation.

This paper will explore the evolution of the wine industry in Mendoza since its initial growth in 1880, with particular emphasis on the past 15 years. Although special attention will be paid to the impact of government institutions in the province of Mendoza, economic and historical factors will be explored as well.

Many Thanks

I wish to express my gratitude to the Swarthmore Buenos Aires program and Swarthmore Foreign Study Office for facilitating this independent research project. In particular, I must thank Carlos Reboratti for his continual guidance throughout the research and editing phases. In addition, I am indebted to Diego Armus for the idea of researching the wine industry and Lucia de Leone for helping with the Spanish-language aspects of the project. Finally, I must thank Alfredo Aciar, Rodolfo Richard-Jorba, Gerald McDermott, Juan Carlos Pina and Enrique Toso for taking the time to offer their insight on the industry.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Origins of the Wine Industry

During the mid-1800s the majority of agricultural land was used for alfalfa, which fattened the cattle passing through from the provinces of Cordoba and Santa Fe en route to Chile. Yet, by the mid 1880s Mendoza found itself in the midst of an economic transformation due to the arrival of the railroad, rising agricultural production, and a steady influx of European immigrants (Scobie, p. 132). Winemaking technology was improving to extent that the same amount of acreage that produced 46 kg of wine in 1870 yielded 250 kg at the end of 1880. The acreage in vines also increased six fold between 1893 and 1913 and by World War I, vine acreage exceeded that of Chile and California (Sawer, p. 82). The improvement in technology and increase in overall acreage was able to meet a surging demand for wine from the growing immigrant population in the pampas region.

Government intervention in the wine industry virtually began at its inception. As a general rule, agricultural-based sectors were heavily influenced during the latter part of the nineteenth century, as the government pursued a liberal, export-oriented economy. The wine industry in Mendoza and the sugar industry in Tucumán seemed to parallel one another in their rapid growth at the end of the 19th century. Both involved heavy state intervention which led to multiple overproduction crises during the 20th century (Balan and Lopez, p. 392).
In Mendoza’s case, the national government built the Andes Railroad in 1885, connecting Villa Mercedes (San Luis), Mendoza and San Juan with Buenos Aires, coastal markets, and the northern part of the country. In addition to infrastructure, provincial laws in 1889, 1895, and 1902 exempted all grape production from taxes for the first five years of production. The province understood that the demand for wine would one day yield high tax gains, and indeed, in 1907 over 60% of provincial revenue originated in the wine sector (Richard-Jorba, p. 119).

On top of favorable subsidies, the federal government offered generous protection to the wine sector by imposing high import tariffs. Transport by ship from Europe to Buenos Aires was still cheaper than railroad transport from Mendoza, so the young wine industry sought protection from the well established industries in Europe (Sawer, p. 82). By 1914, the wine tariff had reached 80%. The federal government even erected barriers to trade ensuring no foreign wine could enter Argentina. Specifically, no wine could be imported from countries in which sugar was added to grape juice to increase the alcoholic content of the wine, even if the particular wine that was sent to Argentina didn’t use this technique. Since this method was used in at the least one instance in every wine producing country, foreign wine was effectively prohibited from entering the market (Sawer, p. 83).

After thirty years of remarkable growth, the national government created the Junta Reguladora de Viños (Wine Regulating Committee) in 1935 which would later become the Instituto Nacional de Vitivinicultura (INV) in 1959 (Footnote: The government did the same with the sugar and yerba mate industries). The state attempted to deal with overproduction, especially during the Great Depression when wine consumption fell dramatically. The INV regulated when and how much the growers could plant, when the harvest was to occur and how much the grapes would sell for. On the production side, INV monitored quality and encouraged diversification. The state’s role in the wine industry in Mendoza would undergo dramatic changes in the 1980s in the midst of an oversupply crisis.

Introduction

In 1835, Charles Darwin laid eyes upon the spectacular Andes Mountains that lay before him. At the foot of the jagged, snow-capped ridges lay a small town called Mendoza. To many travelers, Mendoza looked like a paradise after the rugged two-week trek across the pampas from the European metropolis of Buenos Aires. But experienced explorer Darwin thought otherwise, “To my mind the town has a stupid, forlorn aspect to it…but, to those who, coming from Buenos Ayres, have just crossed the unvaried pampas, the gardens and orchards must appear delightful.”

The canals and the contrast in flora are some of the only aspects that remain in present-day Mendoza. Twenty-first century Mendoza is home to a multi-billion dollar wine industry that is world renowned for its Malbec red wine. Geographically, Mendoza is located in the western region of Cuyo, bordered by the Andes Mountains and Chile in the west. It is known for its dry, hot summers and mild, yet humid winters. For centuries, the natives to Mendoza have utilized the rainwater that flows off the Andes Mountains each spring for hydroelectric power and irrigation.

With an emphasis on the past 15 years, this paper will explore the evolution of the wine industry since its initial growth in 1880. Although special attention will be paid to the impact of government institutions in the province of Mendoza, economic and historical factors will be explored as well.

Almost Done! Casi terminado!

So, I'm almost done with my final project on the wine industry. I will be posting the final product as I review each section.

Casi estoy terminado con mi trabajo final sobre la industria vitivinícola. Voy a estar poniendo las entradas después que reviso cada parte del trabajo.

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Government Intervention

After thirty years of remarkable growth, the national government created the Junta Reguladora de Viños (Wine Regulating Committee) which would later become the Instituto Nacional de Vitivinicultura (INV) in 1959. These national bodies sought to deal with overproduction, especially during the Great Depression when wine consumption fell dramatically. The INV regulated when and how much the growers could plant, when the harvest was to occur and how much the grapes would sell for. On the production side, INV monitored quality and encouraged diversification. All this would change after the crisis of overproduction of the 1980s and the liberal economic policies instituted by President Carlos Menem and Economic Minister Domingo Cavallo.

Several factors contributed to the crisis that the wine industry faced in the 1980s. The most important issue was the dramatic fall in domestic consumption of table wine. Table wine is usually defined by any wine that falls below the $3 peso barrier (about one US dollar). Oftentimes this wine comes in a cardboard box but it can also be packaged in a bottle. Traditionally, Argentines mix this bargain priced wine with carbonated water to dilute its taste. Additionally, table wines use grapes from growers that use much less sophisticated technology in growing the grapes. Conversely, higher quality wines use grapes that are grown using irrigation systems that deliver water directly to the vine. Table wine is grown by small producers who usually have under 5 hectares of cultivated land and don’t use the same advanced techniques.

These low-quality wines suffered gravely when beer and soda sales rose in the 1980s. In 1968, Argentines drank on average 86 liters a year, while in 1986 that number had dropped to 60 liters per year. As a result, grape production in Mendoza fell by 60 percent between 1976 and 1993. This crisis generated by a drop in domestic demand signaled a necessity to look outside of Argentina for new markets. But capital controls imposed by the state and poor wine quality limited any efforts to sell a considerable amount of wine abroad as their counterparts on the other side of the Andes were doing with success.

Sources:
Sawers, Larry. The Other Argentina. Boulder: Westview Press, 1996.
Rodolfo Richard-Jorba, “Modelos vitivinicolas en Mendoza”. In Historia Economica & Historia de Empresas III. (2000)
Gobierno de Mendoza, 1992.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Sorting Through the Vines: The Growth of the Mendoza, Argentina Wine Industry, Part I

In 1835, Charles Darwin laid eyes upon the spectacular Andes Mountains that lay before him. At the foot of the jagged, snow-capped ridges lay a small town called Mendoza. To many travelers, Mendoza looked like a paradise after the rugged two-week trek across the pampas from the European metropolis of Buenos Aires. But experienced explorer Darwin thought otherwise, “To my mind the town has a stupid, forlorn aspect to it…but, to those who, coming from Buenos Ayres, have just crossed the unvaried pampas, the gardens and orchards must appear delightful.” Those very gardens and orchards that Darwin observed were fed by carefully constructed canals designed to carry the melting snow water from the mountains, which fifty years later would serve the wine industry.

The canals and the contrast in fauna are some of the only aspects that remain in present-day Mendoza. Twenty-first century Mendoza is home to multi-billion dollar wine industry that is world renowned for its Malbec red wine. This paper will explore the evolution of the wine industry since its initial growth in 1880, with a special emphasis on the past 15 years. Although special attention will be paid to the impact of political institutions in the province of Mendoza, economic and historical factors will be explored as well.

In 1861, an earthquake leveled Mendoza killing over 8,000 people. At the time, the majority of agricultural land was used for alfalfa, which fattened the cattle passing through from the provinces of Cordoba and Santa Fe en route to Chile. Yet, by the mid 1880s Mendoza found itself in the midst of an economic transformation due to the arrival of the railroad, rising agricultural production, and a steady influx of European immigrants. Winemaking technology was improving and demand for wine was increasing due to the growing number of immigrants who created the demand. In fact, acreage in vines increased sixfold between 1893 and 1913. By World War I, vine acreage exceeded that of Chile and California.

During the latter part of the nineteenth century, agrarian provincial economies greatly benefited from government intervention. In Mendoza’s case, the Andes Railroad was built in 1885, connecting Villa Mercedes (San Luis), Mendoza and San Juan with Buenos Aires, coastal markets, and the northern part of the country. In addition to infrastructure, provincial laws were passed in 1881 exempting grape production from taxes. Laws in 1889, 1895, and 1902 exempted all grape production from taxes for the first five years of production. The province understood that the demand for wine would one day yield high tax gains, and indeed, in 1907 over 60% of state revenue originated in the wine sector.

In addition to subsidies, the federal government offered generous protection to the wine sector, by imposing high import tariffs, much like other agricultural sectors in Argentina. Transport by ship from Europe to Buenos Aires was still cheaper than railroad transportation from Mendoza, so the infant wine industry needed protection from the well established industries in Europe. By 1914, the wine tariff had reached 80%. The federal government even erected barriers to trade ensuring no foreign wine could enter Argentina. For instance, no wine could be imported from countries in which sugar was added to grape juice to increase the alcoholic content of the wine, even if the particular wine that was sent to Argentina didn’t use this technique. Since this method was used in at the least one instance in every wine producing country, foreign wine was effectively prohibited from entering the market.

More to come later...

Sources:
Charles Darwin, Journal of Researches, new ed. (London: John Murray, 1890), p. 353.
James R. Scobie. “Argentina: Patterns of Urbanization in Argentina, 1869-1914” in Latin American Research Review, Vol. 10, No. 2. (Summer, 1975), p. 132.
Sawers, Larry. The Other Argentina. Boulder: Westview Press, 1996, p. 82
Rodolfo Richard-Jorba, “Modelos vitivinicolas en Mendoza”. In Historia Economica & Historia de Empresas III. (2000), p. 119.

Discúlpame / Sorry

Me da mucha vergüenza que hace tanto que no he escrito una entrada. No hay excusas (bueno, ¡mucho trabajo!). Ahora estoy en el proceso de escribir mi trabajo final sobre la industria vitivinícola. ¡Mientras que escribo podés leer las partes que estoy escribiendo, aunque no son las versiones finales!

I’m really embarrassed that it’s been such a long time since I’ve written a post. There simply isn’t an excuse (ok ok, lots of work!). Right now I’m in the process of writing my final paper on the wine industry in Argentina. Since I’m writing it right now, I will be posting the parts that I’ve written, although by no means are they the final versions. I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors or just flat out poor writing!

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Argenvino gets some publicity / Un poco de publicidad para Argenvino

This doesn’t have anything to do with the wine industry in Mendoza, but it does have everything to do with why this blog exists.

"College initiated Buenos Aires study abroad program." October 11, 2006. The Phoenix.

Este enlace no tiene nada que ver con la industria vitivinícola en Mendoza, pero habla sobre el programa de estudios que es la razón de que este blog existe.

"College initiated Buenos Aires study abroad program." 11 de octubre de 2006. The Phoenix.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

New York Times article on Michel Rolland / Un artículo de New York Times sobre Michel Rolland

Today's Times has a very good article about the most influential wine consultant in the world: Michel Rolland. Criticized in the documentary "Mondovino" for the globalization of wine, Mr. Rolland has had an impact on the Mendoza region as he is not only a consultant here, but owns a vineyard as well.

"Satan or Savior: Setting the Grape Standard." October 11, 2006. The New York Times.

Hoy salió un artículo muy bueno en el New York Times sobre el consultador más influyente del mundo: Michel Rolland. Criticado en el documental “Mondovino” por la globalización del vino, el señor Rolland ha generado impacto en la región de Mendoza porque no sólo es un consultador acá, sino también es un dueño de una bodega.

"Satan or Savior: Setting the Grape Standard." 11 de octubre 2006. The New York Times.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Day 2 / Día 2

Monday, October 8, 2006

Lunes 9 de octubre 2006

Today I was fortunate enough to meet with Alfredo Aciar, who is the Chief of Cabinet in the Economic Ministry in Mendoza. He was grateful enough to give me an hour of his time and his insights into the recent growth of the wine industry.

Hoy fui afortunado porque me reuní con el Jefe de Gabinete del Ministerio de Economía de Mendoza. Él fue muy amable conmigo al ofrecerme una hora de su tiempo para charlar sobre el crecimiento de la industria vitivinícola durante los últimos quince años.

Before discussing the current state of the industry, Mr. Aciar gave me a brief history in order to have a better understanding of current policies. To begin, he made very clear that there have been two great wine crises in Mendoza over the past one-hundred years (the wine industry in Mendoza dates back hundreds of years, but only really began to develop when the railroad was arrived in 1880, allowing Mendoza to tap into the Buenos Aires market). Not surprisingly, the first crisis came during the Great Depression. The wine industry was one of the agricultural industries hit the hardest because of the elasticity of wine consumption. During this period the state intervened, as it did with virtually every industry, and enacted even higher barriers to trade than what had been previously established. In fact, the wine industry had gone through smaller crises of overproduction twice before in 1901 and 1914-1915. In 1901 the government responded by eliminating a tax on wine while in 1914-1915 the government intervened by destroying over 10 million liters of wine and over 16,500 hectares of vines. Due to the dramatic drop of wine consumption during the Great Depression, the federal government created the Junta Reguladora de Viños (Wine Regulating Committee) which bought grapes, wine, and vineyards, taking them off the market to maintain a stable price. In 1959, the Junta would become what is now known as the Instituto Nacional de Vitivinicultura (National Wine Production Institute). (Sawyers, pp. 84)

Antes de discutir el estado actual de la industria, el señor Aciar relató una historia breve de la industria con la intención de contextualizar el conocimiento de la política actual. Para resumir, él estaba convencido de que hubo dos crisis en Mendoza durante los últimos cien años (la industria de vino en Mendoza tiene siglos, pero empezó a crecer rápido cuando el ferrocarril llegó en 1880, que permitió a Mendoza hacer llegar sus producciones a Buenos Aires). No es una sorpresa que la primera crisis del vino haya tenido lugar durante los años de la Gran Depresión. La industria vitivinícola era una de las industrias más afectadas debido a la elasticidad del consumo de vino. Durante este período el gobierno intervino, como hizo con todas las otras industrias (en reacción al Smoot-Hawley tarifa), e impuso tarifas más altas de las que había establecido. De hecho, la industria de vino había experimentado algunas crisis menores de sobreproducción en 1901 y 1914-1915. En 1901 el gobierno respondió a la crisis con la eliminación de un impuesto al vino y en 1915-1915 destruyó 10 mil millones litros de vino y más de 16.500 hectárea de la vid. A causa de la caída dramática del consumo de vino durante la Gran Depresión, el gobierno federal creó la Junta Reguladora de Vinos y compró las uvas, el vino, y los viñedos para sacarlas del mercado y mantener un precio estable. La Junta se convirtió en 1959 en lo que actualmente se llama el Instituto Nacional de Vitivinicultura.

The second great crisis to hit the industry was during the 1980s when there was a dramatic drop in domestic consumption. Aciar described hearing stories from politicians of that era in Mendoza, who said that they did everything they possibly could to boost demand in the country, but nothing was able to solve the sharp decline in consumption. Between 1977 and 1992, consumption in Argentina fell by 30%. By late 1992, the wine factories in Mendoza and San Juan were operating at an incredible 22 percent of capacity (Crecer 1993, cuadros 20 and 21, via Sawyers p. 88).

La segunda crisis que afectó a la industria ocurrió durante los años ochentas cuando tuvo lugar otra gran caída del consumo doméstico. Aciar describió las historias que él ha oído sobre todo lo que hacían los políticos en Mendoza para estimular la demanda en el país. Entre 1977 y 1992, el consumo de vino en Argentina cayó un 30%. A fines de 1992, las fábricas de vino en Mendoza y San Juan estaban operando a 22 %de su capacidad (Crecer 1993, cuadros 20 y 21, vía Sawyers p. 88). No entiendo bien.

The 1990s would be a decade that forever changed the wine industry. A national political economy that supported the Washington Consensus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Consensus) and a peso pegged at a one to one ratio to the dollar allowed massive foreign investment into Mendoza. Perhaps most importantly, the industry was able to use the overvalued peso to pay for the introduction of technical human capital. Before, the Argentine wine producers were unable to pay top enologists from Europe and the U.S. With the favorable exchange rate, new technology and expertise rushed into the Cuyo region. Even renowned French wine consultant Michel Rolland came to Argentina where he subsequently began his own vineyard.

Los años noventa representaron a una década que cambió para siempre la industria vitivinícola. Una política económica que siguió al Consenso Washington y respondió al sistema económico de la convertibilidad (un peso = un dólar) dólar que dejó una masiva inversión extranjera en Mendoza. Quizás lo más importante fue la introducción de un capital humano muy tecnológico desde Europa y los Estados Unidos. Antes, los productores del vino no tenían la capacidad de pagar a los enólogos de estos países. (Con un cambio favorable, la tecnología nueva y conocimiento vino rápidamente al región Cuyo) No entiendo qué querés decir con esta frase. Aun el famoso especialista y sommelier francés Michel Rolland vino a la Argentina y puso su propia bodega.

However by the end of the nineties investment and sales were sagging. The vineyards looking to export could not compete on the global scale due to the pegged peso. When the peso was unpegged in December of 2001, and immediately dropped to more than 3 pesos to the dollar, the exports quickly increased. Today the wine industry in Mendoza is worth over one billion dollars. More importantly, the peripheral industries – tourism, consultants, enologists, engineers, etc – are also worth about one billion dollars, according to Aciar.

Sin embargo, al final de los años noventas, las inversiones y ventas estaban descendiendo. Las bodegas que estaban buscando exportar no podían competir al nivel internacional a causa del peso a un nivel muy alto. Cuando el cambio del peso fue de tres a uno, las exportaciones incrementaron rápidamente. Hoy la industria vitivinícola en Mendoza vale cerca de un billón de dólares. Además, las industrias perfórales – el turismo, los consultores, los enólogos, los ingenieros, etc. – valen un billón de dólares, según Aciar.

After Aciar’s historical background, he discussed at length the actions of the provincial government in relation to the wine industry. In 1995, the governments of Mendoza and San Juan agreed to set aside 30% of all grape production for concentrated grape juice. At first I was a little confused by this, because 30% of all grape production is a lot of grape juice and I had never seen any grape juice in Argentina. Aciar explained that this juice in its pure form can be used as sugar concentrate. He said Argentina is currently the number one exporter in the world of sugar concentrate, with about 70% of it destined to the United States to be used in things such as soft drinks. Each year the Mendoza and San Juan governments meet to discuss the percentage of the grape harvest that must be used for sugar concentrate; in 2006 25% of the harvest is destined for sugar concentrate production.

Después de contar esta historia, Aciar discutió las acciones del gobierno provincial en relación con la industria de vino. En 1995, los gobiernos de Mendoza y San Juan acordaron limitar la cosecha de las uvas. El acuerdo proponía que el 30% de toda la producción de uva tenía que ser mosto. Al principio yo estaba un poco confundido porque el 30% de toda la producción de uvas es mucho jugo y nunca lo había visto en la Argentina. Aciar explicó que este mosto en su forma pura puede ser usado como una forma pura de azúcar. Él dijo que Argentina es actualmente el número uno exportador de mosto en el mundo, con el 70% del mosto destinado a los Estados Unidos para ser usado en, por ejemplo, las gaseosas. Cada año los gobiernos de Mendoza y San Juan se reúnen para discutir el porcentaje de la cosecha de uvas que puede ser usado para mosto. En 2006, el 25% de la cosecha es destinada para mosto.

Another governmental body that is very interesting is the ProMendoza Foundation. Started in 1996, ProMendoza is called a public-private foundation, receiving the majority of its funding from the provincial government and three private actors: the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Stock Exchange and the Economic Federation of Mendoza. ProMendoza was established to help promote Mendoza wine to the rest of world. For instance, if there is a wine festival in San Francisco, ProMendoza is probably there with a stand promoting Mendoza wine. ProMendoza also connects importers with wineries looking to expand their exports. What is interesting about ProMendoza is that it is a blend of two fields of thought: it combines neoliberal private enterprise ideals with the need for government oversight.

Otra institución del gobierno que es muy interesante es la Fundación ProMendoza. Iniciada en 1996, ProMendoza es una fundación publico-privada, y recibe la mayoría de sus fondos del gobierno provincial. Pero la fundación es manejada por cuatro actores: el gobierno, la Unión Comercial e Industrial, la Bolsa de Comercio y la Federación Económica de Mendoza. ProMendoza fue establecida para promover el vino de Mendoza al mundo. Por ejemplo, si hay una feria de vino en San Francisco, es probable que ProMendoza esté allí con un stand. También, ProMendoza conecta los importadores con las bodegas que buscan incrementar sus exportaciones. Lo que es interesante sobre ProMendoza es que combina los ideales neoliberales con la necesidad de la supervisión del gobierno.

Besides ProMendoza, the government is very active in preventing hail damage. Hail is an extremely serious problem in Mendoza, because a hail storm that only lasts 5 minutes can completely ruin a year’s harvest. In the San Rafael area of Mendoza, in the central part of the province, it is well-known that there is a 1 in 6 chance each year that your harvest will be destroyed by hail. The government combats hail using several measures. The main preventative method is to use airplanes that fly above the storm clouds and spray a chemical into the cloud, attempting to break up the hail that might be forming. The government pays the full cost of these flights. In addition, many winemakers use small roofs to put over the vines to protect against the hail. The government pays a large part of the interest rate when the winemakers borrow from a bank to install the protective roofs. Aciar said that a normal loan would have an interest rate of about 15%, but with the government subsidy the winemaker pays about 5% interest. The third way the government protects against hail is by paying a minimal insurance policy against the hail.

Además de ProMendoza, el gobierno trabaja para la prevención de los daños del granizo. El granizo es un problema muy serio en Mendoza, porque una tormenta de granizo que sólo dura cinco minutos puede arruinar toda una cosecha. En el área de San Rafael, en el centro de la provincia, todos saben que hay una probabilidad de 1 en 6 cada año de que la cosecha pueda ser destruida por el granizo. El gobierno lo combate con el uso de algunas medidas. Por ejemplo, la prevención con el uso de aviones que vuelan arriba de las nubes y ponen un químico en las nubes, intentando hacer pedazos al granizo. El gobierno paga el costo completo de los vuelos. Además, muchas de las bodegas usan techitos para proteger la vid contra el granizo. El gobierno paga una parte grande de la tasa de interés cuando las bodegas prestan el dinero para instalar los techitos. Aciar dijo que un préstamo normal tendría una tasa de interés cercana al 15% pero con el subsidio del gobierno, la bodega pagaría una tasa de interés del 5%. Una tercera ayuda del l gobierno a las bodegas contra el granizo es la compra de un plan de seguro mínimo.

In addition, the government pays for the electricity that is used to extract water from wells for irrigation. And, more importantly, there are no taxes on the wine industry from the provincial government. All in all, about 20 to 25% of the wine industry is subsidized by the government with the majority being measures taken to prevent crop loss from hail.

Además, el gobierno paga por la electricidad que se usa para extraer el agua de los pozos para la irrigación. Y, más importante aún, no hay impuestos provinciales para la industria. En síntesis, entre el 20 y el 25% de la industria vitivinícola es subsidiado por el gobierno con la mayoría de los fondos usados para las medidas preventivas contra el granizo.

Aciar concluded that the provincial government actively acknowledges that government intervention is necessary. In fact, the government has calculated that every six years there is a crisis in the industry. The next crisis should be occurring within the coming year, and in preparation the government bought thousands of hectares and kilos of grapes in order to try and counteract the pending crisis.

Aciar concluyó que el gobierno provincial reconoce que la intervención del gobierno es necesaria. De hecho, el gobierno ha calculado que cada seis años hay una crisis en la industria. La próxima crisis debe ocurrir durante el año que viene y en prevención el gobierno compró miles hectáreas de vid y kilos de uvas para intentar a aliviar la crisis.

Monday, October 09, 2006

A chronicle of my adventures in Mendoza, Day 1 / Crónica de mis aventuras en Mendoza Día 1

Sunday, October 8th

Domingo 8 de octubre

Well, I have finally arrived at the heart of the wine industry in Argentina: the Province of Mendoza. I will be here for the next seven days and will be doing my best to report back to the blog with my stories, impressions, experiences, and things I’ve learned. I will hopefully be meeting with government officials, academics, and owners of vineyards in order to find out first-hand their view on the rapid growth of the industry over the past fifteen years. I apologize in advance for the delay on the Spanish-language version, as I will be running it through my Spanish professor in Buenos Aires for grammatical errors.

Finalmente he llegado al corazón de la industria vitivinícola en la Argentina: la Provincia de Mendoza. Estaré acá por los siete días siguientes y espero poder escribir una crónica con relatos, impresiones, experiencias, y todas las cosas que vaya aprendiendo. Espero estar reuniéndome con oficiales del gobierno, académicos, y dueños de las bodegas para averiguar de una manera personal datos sobre el rápido crecimiento de la industria durante los últimos quince años.

This morning I awoke at 4:35 in order to make a 6:30 flight to Mendoza. I wanted to get to Mendoza early to settle in and organize myself. The flight was uneventful (I watched an episode of the new NBC series “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” written by Aaron Sorkin of West Wing fame) and we arrived in Mendoza around 8. After picking up my baggage I was walking out of the airport in search of a taxi when I ran into a soccer team. At first it was just a team, and then I saw the warm-ups that they were wearing. It was Independiente, one of the “Big 5” of Argentina, along with River Plate (more on them later), Boca Juniors, San Lorenzo, and Independiente’s rival, Racing. Unfortunately I’m not a fan of Independiente and didn’t recognize any of the players. I would later find out that they were heading back to Buenos Aires after suffering a humiliating 3-1 loss to Godoy Cruz of Mendoza City the night before.

Esta mañana me levanté a las 4.35 para tomar el vuelo que partió del aeroparque a las 6.30. Quería llegar a Mendoza muy temprano para acostumbrarme y organizarme. El vuelo fue tranquilo (miré un capítulo de la nueva serie de NBC, “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” escrito por Aaron Sorkin quien es conocido por su trabajo con el show “West Wing”) y aterrizamos cerca de las 8. Después de buscar mis valijas, estaba caminando por el aeropuerto cuando vi a un equipo de fútbol. Al principio, pensé que se trataba de un club cualquiera . Pero cuando me acerqué vi el símbolo de sus camperas. El equipo era Independiente, unos de los más grandes de la Argentina, junto con River Plate (hablaré sobre ellos más tarde), Boca Juniors, San Lorenzo, y el propio rival de Independiente, que es Racing. Desgraciadamente no soy un fanático de Independiente y no reconocí a ningún jugador. Después supe que ellos estaban regresando a Buenos Aires luego de sufrir una pérdida vergonzosa contra Godoy Cruz de Mendoza la noche anterior.

I got to the hotel around 9 and at first thought that I had made a mistake. I knew it wasn’t going to be the classiest of establishments – I had chosen it because it was the only hotel I could find that had in-room internet access – but it was located in a nondescript neighborhood right next to a major highway. Anyway, I paid the cabbie and checked in, leaving my bags behind the desk because my room wasn’t ready yet. I proceeded to sit down with my laptop when I remembered that I needed a power strip that allowed the U.S. plug to be connected. I had one of these power strips in my room in Buenos Aires and had seen them all around in hardware stores, so I figured the hotel would definitely have them in the rooms or at least have one to borrow. Unfortunately I was wrong. Not only did they not have the power strip, but they couldn’t find the correct single-plug converter either. Thus, the adventure began. Obviously, on a Sunday morning the hardware stores wouldn’t be open. So they told me to head two kilometers away to Wal-Mart of all places. I must say that I’m not a big fan of Wal-Mart (I spent considerable time in them this past summer for my job, and I can confidently say that Target is far superior) but it was my only option. So the front desk ordered up a taxi which was at the front door within 5 minutes. I hopped in and asked the driver if he could wait for me at Wal-Mart while I looked for the power strip.

Llegué al hotel cerca de las 9 y al principio pensé que sería un error escoger ese hotel. Sabía que no era u de cinco estrellas – lo escogí porque fue el único que pude encontrar que tenía acceso a Internet en los cuartos – pero estaba ubicado al lado de una autopista en un barrio anondino. Pagué al taxista e hice el check-in, dejando mis valijas atrás del escritorio central porque mi cuarto no estaba listo aún. Procedí a sentarme con mi notebook cuando me acordé de que necesitaba una zapatilla . Yo tenía una zapatilla que habría podido utilizar pero la había dejado en mi cuarto en Buenos Aires, porque asumí que el hotel tendría una para prestarme. Desgraciadamente me equivoqué. Así que comenzó la aventura de encontrar una zapatilla. Fue obvio que no iba a ser fácil durante la mañana de un domingo. La empleada del hotel me sugirió que fuera a Wal-Mart. Tengo que decir que no soy un fanático de esa cadena de supermercados (pasé bastante tiempo en Wal-Mart el verano pasado por mi trabajo, y puedo decir con confianza que Target es muy superior) pero era la única opción. Fui en un taxi y pregunté a la taxista si podría esperar mientas que buscaba una zapatilla para poder enchufar mi computadora portatil.

We rolled into the Wal-Mart and I quickly realized this wasn’t a normal Wal-Mart. It was a “SuperCenter”, meaning it had an auto center, a garden center, and a bunch of other things. So I jumped out of the cab and was greeted with a “Buenos Dias” by an old lady at the door and promptly got lost. I finally found the electric department which had an entire wall of power strips, although none of them has the inputs that I needed. I left and we proceeded to Carrefour, which was basically the exact same size as Wal-Mart. I wondered how these big box stores had affected downtown Mendoza. Carrefour had basically the exact same selection as Wal-Mart. When I returned to the cab, the driver, Carlos, offered to call his son who had lived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for some time and was likely to have what I was looking for. When I thought about it, everything I needed was on my computer – my contacts, the addresses of the agencies I was going to be going to, the emails between me and the people in the wine industry – so I said, why not. His son didn’t have the plug, but he proceeded to call his wife who thought she had what I was looking for.

Cuando llegamos a Wal-Mart me di cuenta de que no era un Wal-Mart tradicional. Era un “SuperCenter” que tenía un centro de autos, un vivero, y muchas otras cosas más. Cuando entré a la tienda, fui saludado con un “Buenos Días” por una señora mayor en la puerta (algunas cosas no se diferencian entre continentes ¿??), de pronto me sentí perdido sin ninguna idea de dónde debía buscar la zapatilla. Finalmente encontré el pasillo de electricidad y había una pared entera de zapatillas, aunque ninguna tenía las fichas que yo necesitaba. Salí y fuimos a Carrefour, que era prácticamente idéntico a Wal-Mart en su apariencia y tamaño. Me pregunté sobre el efecto que estas tiendas gigantescas habían causado en los negocios del centro de la ciudad. Carrefour tenía la misma selección que Wal-Mart. Cuando regresé al taxi, el chofer, Carlos, me ofreció llamar asu hijo quien había vivido en Fort Lauderdale, Florida, por algunos años y probablemente tenía la zapatilla que yo buscaba. Cuando pensé en la situación, me di cuenta de que todo que lo que yo necesitaba estaba en la computadora – mis contactos, las direcciones de las agencias que iba a visitar, los mails dirigidos a la gente de la industria de vino – así que, yo le respondí: “¿Por qué no?”. Su hijo, finalmente, no tenía la zapatilla, pero su esposa pensó que ella sí la tenía.

We headed to Carlos’s house where I met his wife, who had a power strip that wasn’t what I was looking for, but would do. By this time, Carlos and I had become good buddies. A retiree from the printing press plant of a major paper in Mendoza, Carlos now has to drive a taxi because he can’t live off his retirement check. He has one son who is an illegal immigrant working as an electrician in Florida and a son who is a taxi driver in Mendoza. Interestingly, he is the son of Syrian immigrant and visited his relatives there a number of years ago. He has two Syrian brothers, due to his father’s dual marriages – one to his Argentine mother and one with his Syrian mother. As Carlos said, “He was a good Muslim.”

Entonces, fuimos a la casa de Carlos donde conocí a su mujer quien tenía una zapatilla que no era exactamente la misma que yo buscaba sin embargo me sería de mucha utilidad a. En ese momento, Carlos y yo ya éramos amigos. Un jubilado de un taller de imprenta de un periódico grande en Mendoza, el propio Carlos, ahora tiene que conducir un taxi porque no puede vivir sólo con la plata de su cheque de jubilación. Él tiene un hijo que es un inmigrante ilegal en Florida, donde trabaja como electricista y otro hijo que conduce un taxi en Mendoza (fue él que había vivido en Florida. No entiendo esta parte. Cuántos hijos?). Lo que fue interesante fue el hecho de que Carlos era un hijo de un inmigrante de Siria y había visitado a sus parientes allí hacía ya varios años. Tiene dos hermanos sirios, debido a que su padre se ha casado dos veces. Como Carlos dijo, “él era un buen musulmán.”

After waking up so early and an hour touring around Mendoza, I was happy to return to the hotel to find my room ready. I went upstairs and took a great siesta for two hours. The rest of the afternoon was spent eating some lunch at the hotel’s restaurant, shooting off some emails, and listening to my River Plate beat Boca Juniors 3-1 in the “superclasico.” I’m starting to think that I really am a “mufa” – as Argentines call someone who brings bad luck – as yesterday I went to see Ferro play against Aldosivi and left disgusted at halftime as Ferro looked horrible and was losing 2-0. I later found out that Ferro came back to tie the game at 2-2. Then today I didn’t make the effort to go to a café to watch the game and instead listened to the game to only have my millonarios win 3-1. Who knows…

Después de despertarme tan temprano y de pasear por Mendoza durante casi una hora , estaba contento de regresar al hotel para ocupar un cuarto disponible. Siguiendo la tradición del interior del país, tomé un gran siesta que duró aproximadamente dos horas. Pasé el resto de la tarde comiendo en el bar del hotel, enviando mails, y escuchando la victoria de River contra Boca, 3-1, en el súper clásico del domingo. Estoy empezando a pensar que soy verdeadamente verdaderamente mufa, porque ayer fui a ver el partido de Ferro contra Aldovisi y me fui a la mitad del partido, indignado porque Ferro estaba jugando horrible y estaban perdiendo 2-0. Más tarde supe que Ferro empató 2-2. Hoy ya no intenté ir a ningún café para ver el partido, preferí mirarlo por televisión. Por supuesto, mis millonarios ganaron 3-1. ¿Quién sabe…?

Last night I took the bus into the city, which was an adventure in and of itself. I ended up asking someone on the bus to tell me where to get off, and everyone was very helpful. I hate being the dumb tourist or sticking out in those kinds of situations, but this time it was necessary. I finally got to the center of the city, which I remembered quite well from the time I came to Mendoza last year for a few days. I was in the mood for some brick oven pizza and came across, “Ché Pablo’s” right on the main drag. I ordered up a medium pizza and a small (375 mL) bottle of Norton 2004 Classic red wine. I’m sure ordering this generic wine in Mendoza would be looked down upon by wine enthusiasts, but I had drank this wine a couple nights before and had really liked it. After dinner I walked around a bit before taking a taxi back to the hotel for 6 pesos.

Anoche tomé el colectivo al microcentro y esto fue otra aventura. Pregunté a alguien en el micro sobre el lugar donde debía bajarme y todos me ayudaron mucho. Detesto ser el turista estúpido en estas situaciones, pero esta vez fue necesario. Llegué al centro de la ciudad alque recordaba bastante bien desde mi última visita. Quería pizza a la piedra y encontré “Ché Pablo’s”, ubicada en la Avenida San Martín. Pedí una pizza mediana y una botella chica de Norton 2004 Clásico (vino tinto). Estoy seguro de que l este vino genérico sería muy mal visto por los conocedores de vino, pero yo lo había probado en otras ocasiones y me había gustado mucho. Después de cenar, caminé un poco por la ciudad antes de tomar un taxi al hotel que me salió seis pesos.

Tomorrow morning I will be heading to a couple different libraries to make photocopies of articles and books that are only available in Mendoza. Hopefully it goes well. Saludos.

Mañana a la mañana iré a algunas bibliotecas para hacer fotocopias de artículos y capítulos de libros que sólo pueden conseguirse en Mendoza. Espero que todo ande bien. Saludos.

Friday, September 29, 2006

Un Diario de las investigaciones

Empecé este blog con las intenciones de ofrecer una oportunidad de seguir mis investigaciones. Desgraciadamente, el proceso de investigar ha sido más problemático y lento que de que había esperado. Pero, aquí estoy para contarles a ustedes lo que he ido encontrando.

I started this blog with the intention of offering the oportunity to follow my research. Unfortunately, the research process has been more problematic and slower than I had hoped it would be. But, here I am to to let you know what I have been finding out.

La semana pasada fui a la Biblioteca del Ministerio de Economía, que está ubicada en la Plaza de Mayo. Allí, las bibliotecarias me ayudaron mucho y me dieron materiales importantes. Unos de los documentos que me mandaron por mail en el formato PDF fue un “Panorama Sectorial” del vino, que es un informe en cuya primera parte hablase sobre la Estructura del Sector. Allí, se puede ver la situación de la Argentina dentro del espectro mundial de consumidores de vino. Para mi sorpresa, Luxemburgo es el consumidor de vino per cápita número uno del mundo, según datos del 2000. Argentina queda en el sexto puesto.

Last week I went to the library inside the Economic Ministry which is located in the Plaza de Mayo. The librarians helped me a lot and gave me a bunch of very helpful materials. One of the documents that they sent me via email in PDF format was a “Sectoral Panorama” of the wine sector. The first part of the report specifically addressed the structure of the wine sector. There, you can view Argentina in comparison to other countries that have a high rate of wine consumption. To my surprise, Luxembourg is the number one consumer of wine per capita in the world, according to 2000 statistics. Argentina ranks in as the sixth highest consumer of wine in the world.



Fuente / Source: "Panorama Sectoral." Abril 2006.

Sin embargo, cuando se ven las estadísticas de la importación, Argentina queda en el puesto 44 a causa de una historia de tarifas elevadas de los vinos importados. Es muy evidente que Argentina consume casi únicamente vinos nacionales. Pero, un dato que cuenta más es que la Argentina ocupa el onceavo puesto de los exportadores (1.4% de las ventas mundiales).

Para un observador externa de la Argentina, la industria vitivinícola ha crecido dramáticamente durante los quince años pasados. Pero éste no es el caso. De hecho, la producción de vinos ha bajado desde 1961.

However, when you look at the import statistics, Argentina is 44th in the world, most likely due to a history of high tariffs on imported wines. Thus, it’s really obvious that Argentina consumes almost solely wine from Argentina. But, a statistic that tells an important story is that Argentina ranks as the 11th largest exporter of wine in the world (1.4% of all world sales).

To an external observer of Argentina, the wine industry seems as if it has grown dramatically in the past 15 years. But this is not the case. In fact, the production of wine has decreased since 1961.


Fuente / Source: "Panorama Sectoral." Abril 2006.

No obstante, lo que pasaba en los quince años pasados es que la industria argentina se daba cuenta de que el mercado internacional era un destino más lucrativo en comparación con el mercado interno. También, la industria fue forzada a buscar otros mercados porque el consumo interno bajó considerablemente durante los últimos cincuenta años.

What happened in the past 15 years was that the Argentine wine industry realized that the international market was more a lucrative destination for the wine in comparison to the domestic market. In addition, the industry was forced to seek other markets because the internal consumption decreased considerably during the last 50 years.

Fuente / Source: "Panorama Sectoral." Abril 2006.

Así, como evidencia el cuadro, se puede ver un crecimiento en las exportaciones de vinos.

Thus, as the graph vindicates, you can see a notable growth in the export sector.

Fuente / Source: "Panorama Sectoral." Abril 2006.

Y, ¿cómo está la industria actualmente? En comparación con los años previos, parecería que las ventas siguen mejorando. Lo que se destaca en este gráfico es la influencia del momento del año en las ventas.

How is the wine sector currently doing?
In comparison to past years, it seems as if sales continue to improve. What sets this graph apart is how it shows the influence of the time of year on sales.
Fuente / Source: "Panorama Sectoral." Abril 2006.

Pero todo no es perfecto en la industria. Por ejemplo, el informe dice, “Comparando los 12 meses del año 2005 con igual período de 2004, se observa una caída del 1,3% en la venta de vino (en litros).” La inestabilidad del mercado de vino lleva a la industria a buscar otros mercados para exportar.

La importancia de las exportaciones originó la creación de un mecanismo de marketing al exterior. La organización se llama “Wines of Argentina” que es una rama de “Bodegas de Argentina.” Escribiré más sobre la organización en las crónicas próximas.

But not is all perfect with the industry. For example, the report says, “Comparing the 12 months of the fiscal year 2005 with the same period in 2004, one can observe a decrease of 1.3% in wine sales (in litres).” The market instability of wine makes the industry search for other markets to export to. The realization of the importance of the exports led to the creation of a marketing mechanism to foreign markets. The organization is called “Wines of Argentina” and is a branch of “Bodegas de Argentina.” I will write more later about the organization in future posts.

Monday, September 25, 2006

To Wine by Jorge Luis Borges / Al vino de Jorge Luis Borges

Al Vino

En el bronce de Homero resplandece tu nombre,
negro vino que alegras el corazon del hombre.

Siglos de siglos hace que vas de mano en mano
desde el riton del griego el cuerno del germano.

En la aurora ya estabas. A las generaciones
les diste en el camino tu fuego y tus leones.

Junto a aquel otro río de noches y de días
corre el tuyo que aclaman amigos y alegrías,

vino que como en Éufrates patriarcal y profundo
vas fluyendo a lo largo de la historia del mundo.

En tu cristal que vive nuestros ojos han visto
una roja metáfora de la sangre de Cristo.

En las arrebatadas estrofas del sufí
eres la cimitarra, la rosa y el rubí.

Que otros en tu Leteo beban un triste olvido;
yo busco en ti las fiestas del fervor compartido.

Sésamo con el cual antiguas noches abro
y en la dura tiniebla, dádiva y candelabro.

Vino del mutuo amor a la roja pelea,
alguna vez te llamaré. Que así sea.


Soneto del vino
¿En qué reino, en qué siglo, bajo qué silenciosa
conjunción de los astros, en qué secreto día
que el mármol no ha salvado, surgió la valerosa
y singular idea de inventar la alegría?
Con otoños de oro la inventaron. El vino
fluye rojo a lo largo de las generaciones
como el río del tiempo y en el arduo camino
nos prodiga su música, su fuego y sus leones.
En la noche del júbilo o en la jornada adversa
exalta la alegría o mitiga el espanto
y el ditirambo nuevo que este día le canto
otrora lo cantaron el árabe y el persa.
Vino, enséñame el arte de ver mi propia historia
como si ésta ya fuera ceniza en la memoria.

Jorge Luis Borges
1923/1985, Buenos Aires, Enecé, 1977.


Jorge Luis Borges es conocido como la gran figura de la literatura argentina. Afortunadamente, él era un gran consumidor de vino también. Los temas que corren por “Al Vino” y “Soneto del vino” valen la pena de explorar. En mi opinión humilde, el tema central de los dos es la idea de que el vino es algo que todas las culturas pueden compartir. Él escribe: “Siglos y siglos hace que vas de mano en mano desde el ritón del griego al cuerno del germano.” Asimismo en el soneto, destaca, “El vino fluye rojo a lo largo de las generaciones como el río del tiempo…”. Es claro que el vino aparece caracterizado como un elemento atemporal de las culturas.

Es notable que Borges conecte el Medio Oriente con el vino. Él se refiere al Éufrates en el poema, y dice “…lo cantaron el árabe y el persa” en el soneto. En el poema, él menciona lugares mitológicos como el Rió Leteo, que era unos de los ríos del Hades. Los antiguos griegos creían que si se bebieron sus aguas, olvidarían sus vidas pasadas antes de reencarnarse (wiki citation).

Pero tengo una pregunta para los lectores, ¿que quiere decir Borges cuando invoca “Sésamo” en el soneto? No he encontrado en ningún lado una significa griega o clasica del sésamo. Y, ¿que tiene que ver el sésamo con el vino? Espero sus respuestas.

Monday, September 18, 2006

“Un cumpleaños de vinos”

Una crónica de “Vinos y Bodegas” en La Rural

18 de Septiembre de 2006

Desde el miércoles pasado me he sentido muy enfermo con tos, faringitis, y un poco de fiebre. Pero cuando llegó la noche del sábado, me sentí mucho mejor después de una dosis sustantiva de antibióticos que había empezado la noche del jueves. El sábado fue mi cumpleaños y hacía varios días que no salía de la casa. Yo sabía que era imperativo que fuera a este evento que sólo tiene lugar una vez cada año.

Así, me levanté de la cama, me bañé y me vestí con la única camisa respetable que traje a BsAs. Fui a un cajero automático porque me di cuenta de que sólo tenía un billete de cien pesos y los taxistas usualmente no tienen cambio. Había pensado que habría podido tomar el colectivo a Plaza Italia, donde queda La Rural, pero tenía prisa porque el sábado era mis cumpleaños y mi familia argentina planeó una fiesta que empezaría a las 9:30 pm.

Subí a un taxi en la esquina de la Avenida Pedro Goyena y Emilio Mitre. Mi aventura había comenzado. Saqué mi cuaderno de castellano de mi mochila para releer lo que Lucia y yo habíamos escrito para introducirme a la gente de vino en la exposición. Intenté memorizarlo:

“Soy un estudiante universitario de EEUU y estoy investigando la industria vitivinícola argentina y su crecimiento durante los últimos 15 años.”
“Necesito preguntar si usted conoce a gente del área que yo pueda entrevistar durante el viaje a Mendoza que realizaré a principios de octubre y que durará 10 días.”

El viaje tardó una media hora de mi zona de Caballito hasta Plaza Italia que queda en el barrio de Palermo. Ésa era la primera vez que estaba en Palermo desde el año pasado. Tengo sentimientos variados sobre Palermo. En mi programa del año pasado la mayoría de los norteamericanos vivieron allí y yo tenía la imagen de un barrio lleno de norteamericanos, una imagen que ningún norteamericano quiere tener cuando viaja fuera del país. También, había tenido una experiencia bastante mala en Plaza Serrano: es una historia larga; lo que ocurrió es que al pagar la entrada de un pub, el hombre de la puerta me estafó. Pero, mientras pasaba por las calles en el taxi tuve que admitir que Palermo es un barrio muy lindo, con zonas residenciales y boutiques en casi todas las esquinas.

La Rural es un predio para congresos y eventos grandes. Por ejemplo, la competición internacional de tango tuvo sede allí hace algunas semanas. Este evento que se llamaba “Vinos y Bodegas” sólo ocupó una parte pequeña del complejo de espacios. Por accidente, entré a otro lugar que tenía una exposición de “la vida country”.

Después de pagar al taxista (12 pesos, exactos) bajé y encontré la cola para comprar las entradas. Las entradas salían 25 pesos y cuando intenté pagar con mi billete de cien el hombre de la caja me preguntó en una manera que me recordó Nueva York, “¿No tenés una de cinco?” Respondí que no, no tenía una de cinco, y sentí la necesidad de mostrarle mi cartera. Él me dedicó una mirada desagradable otra vez, y me dio la entrada y el cambio. No me acuerdo bien, “era yo el cliente, ¿o no?”

Entré a La Rural y la primera vista fue espectacular. Detrás de los edificios de La Rural y de la bandera gigante de la Argentina, se podía ver el “skyline” de Palermo que nunca había visto; era muy linda esta perspectiva. Me sorprendió mucho porque no se veía bien desde la calle externa a La Rural.

Ingresé a la exposición y decidí hacer un paseo antes de presentarme a la gente. Caminé por los alrededores y reconocí algunos nombres de las bodegas, pero no la mayoría. Había impreso un plano de la exposición unos días atrás pero no pude encontrarlo porque salí muy apurado. También, me di cuenta de un problema bastante malo. Yo quería introducirme en el mundo de las bodegas de Mendoza, pero este evento acogía gente de muchísimas provincias y regiones del país como Salta, La Rioja y Patagonia. Más tarde, aprendí que debía buscar con anticipación la botella de cada bodega mendocina y despues conversar con la gente vinculada a la industria del vino.

Durante mi breve paseo por los alrededores me di cuenta de un fenómeno muy destacable de este evento. Las mujeres que fueron contratadas por las bodegas eran muy lindas. Es decir, eran modelos y algunas podían ser supermodelos. Era un placer contar con bellezas argentinas en mi trabajo de campo.

Después de caminar por todos lados diciéndome a mi mismo “Sí Gavin, tenés el coraje para hablar con gente que no conocés en una lengua que no es la tuya” decidí empezar a hablar con unas de las mejores mujeres que había visto allí y que estaba en el stand de La Nación. Me acerqué allí porque quería saber si ella podía contactarme o darme la tarjeta de algún periodista de ese diario que escribiera sobre vino. Desgraciadamente ella no tenía idea de lo que le pedía y, excepto por su buena presencia, de nada me sirvió; sólo me dijo: “podes ver en el periódico.” Detesto cuando la gente me dice cosas muy obvias.

Pero bueno, ya no era un neófito en “Vinos y Bodegas” y estaba dispuesto a hablar con más gente especializada. Hacia la noche, había entregado mi tarjeta a veinte personas y había recibido de otros unas 10 tarjetas. La persona más importante que conocí fue un representante de “Bodegas de Argentina” que es una organización que hace marketing para las bodegas. Él me dio contactos en Mendoza y una lista de todas las bodegas de las que se encarga Bodegas de Argentina, con sus teléfonos y mails para comunicarme con ellos. Esta lista me ayudará mucho durante las semanas que vienen.

Después de todo el estrés, decidí probar algunos vinos. Tenía algunos minutos antes de regresar a casa y me dije: “Pagué veinticinco pesos, ¿Por qué no?” Los vinos eran buenos; lo único que sé es que un vino no es bueno si tiene un envase de cartón así que si tuvieras que hacer una crítica como un sommelier consultaría a SaltShaker.

Cuando salí de La Rural pensé que mi noche de vinos había terminado. Al llegar a mi casa mi familia argentina me bombardeó con regalos vinculados con el vino. Gerardo (mi padre argentino) me regaló un set de vino, que tiene un mecanismo específico para abrir el vino, para cortar el papel de la botella, y un termómetro. María Eugenia (mi mamá argentina) me dio dos copas grandes que sirven para catar el vino. Son “re-copados” (no pude resistirme a la palabra entre tantos vinos). Y Pablo (mi hermano argentino), Andrea (su novia), y Tony (un norteamericano que vive en mi casa) me dieron tres botellas de vino, un vino blanco, un vino rosado, y un vino tinto.

Así que, no estaría mal decir que éste fue un día de “Cumpleaños de vinos.”

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Aromatic Descriptions / Descriptores Aromáticos

Section: “Curiosities”

Every two weeks, this section will include different interesting items related to wine.

Sección: “Curiosidades”

En esta sección, cada dos semanas serán expuestos diversos elementos vinculados al mercado del vino que despiertan curiosidad.


This poster (right) is a must for any Argentine wine aficionado.
It features “54 of the over 150 aromas and tastes that one can perceive in wine.” Some of the descriptors? How about graphite, smoke, dry leaves, and asparagus? I never knew! You can get
one at www.mercadolibre.com.ar (the eBay of Argentina) for $60 pesos.

El poster (a la derecha) es un objeto que todos deben tener si es un aficionado al vino argentino. Se destacan “51 de los más de 150 aromas y sabores que pueden percibirse en el vino.” Algunos de los descriptores son el grafito, el humo, las hojas secas y los espárragos. ¡Jamás habría imaginado tantos descriptores en el vino! Puede comprarlo en www.mercadolibre.com.ar por $60 pesos.

Source / Fuente: Zemma & Ruiz Moreno – Vino y Diseño