All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion and desire.”

- Aristotle

I had the fortune, or so it seemed at the time, to be invited to an “exclusive” presentation and tasting of the new releases of Clos de los Siete and its associated wines – this is the wine group for which Michel Rolland is both partner and consulting winemaker. The hours were quite specified – 1pm until 3pm. I envisioned a sit-down layout with a few dozen people in the wine trade – journalists and sommeliers – a chance to, perhaps, be guided through the details of each of their new wines, be able to ask questions, etc., etc. Not so much. It was in some ways a typical wine trade tasting, with a half dozen tables setup with the wines displayed, a rep from each of the wineries behind the table, ostensibly to answer questions, and someone from one of the local sommelier schools pouring tastes. On arrival I still expected something oriented towards wine professionals, but I was there right at the start – within a half hour the place was jammed with what I presume were the wineries’ customers from their mailing lists, swilling glasses as fast as possible, pretty much just getting blitzed on their lunch hours. I think I saw no more than half a dozen people from the trade that I recognized and given the shoving matches at some of the tables to get glasses refilled, and the lack of… spitting… I’d guess that very few were there.

There were also rules, or at least an order of sorts – during the hour I was there we were only allowed to taste the Argentine reds. At some point a signal was to be given to the tables that they could then offer tastes of the associated French reds, and then at some point after that, the Argentine whites and roses. Given that half the time had elapsed and those of us who’d been there since the beginning were standing around waiting, or reaching the too tipsy point, with no sign that anything was soon to change, I gave up and left after just the local reds and talking one rep into popping a bottle of a rose.

All that aside, I was there to taste the wines and managed to make my way through all the Argentine reds, and that’s the most important part, right? Except for the Yacochuya all the wines are produced in Mendoza. US prices are estimates based on online search, local BA prices from the corner store near me on the ones they carry. In order of tasting:

Diamandes de Uco Malbec 2010 – Although asserted to be 100% Malbec by the sommelier student pouring the wine, according to the tech sheet on the winery’s website, it’s 90% Malbec, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Syrah and 2% Petite Verdot, aged 12 months in French oak, half of which is new each year. 80,000 bottles produced. On the nose, red plums and naugahyde, a strange sort of aroma to get in a wine from this region. Good acidity and very drying tannins upfront with prominent oak. Lots of fruit, a long finish that picked up another odd note, of toffee, though most of the finish was just acidity. The wine is too young to even be presented let alone being sold (which it is, for around us$19-20/ar$?), and while there was something intriguing about it, I’d want to retaste it in a year before thinking about recommending it or not. In limbo.

Diamandes de Uco Gran Reserva 2008 – 75% Malbec and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged 24 months in French oak, 70% of which is new each year. Dark plum, leather and floral on the nose. Good acidity upfront, dry but relatively soft tannins. Really nice depth and balance, the oak well integrated. Plenty of fruit. Long finish, again showing a fair amount of acidity, but not overwhelming. Really excellent wine and worth the splurge at us$35-40, ar$150.

Mariflor Malbec 2010 – I believe this is 100% Malbec, though on the Rolland Collection website, the link to the wine’s technical specs is broken. Nice classic notes of blue plums and violets on the nose. Disappointing on the palate with flabby lack of acidity and dry tannins. There was plenty of fruit flavor but it just fell flat without the structure to back it up. A bit more acidity towards the short finish, but not enough to carry the wine. For me, the us$20-25/ar$120 price tag isn’t justified.

Val de Flores 2006 – 100% Malbec. On the nose and over-the-top presence of oak and vanilla with a decent hint of dark plum and blueberry behind it. Good acidity and soft tannins on the palate, but again the vanilla and oak dominated the fruit. Long finish, all oak and acidity. Given that the wine is already five years old I’d have expected it to be far better integrated, so I’m left a bit disappointed, particularly for a wine that tops us$50/ar$? in price.

Yacochuya 2005 – My first impression of this Malbec from Cafayate, Salta, was one of dust – but not in a bad way, it was just this very immediate sort of sense of being out in the open air, in the hills, with the smell of windblown earth in the air. A fair amount of black fruit backs it up, though there was an odd hint of rubber band in the nose too. Medium-high acidity, soft tannins, well integrated oak, really well balanced all around. Flavors of black fruit and tar dominate the palate with a slightly bitter dark chocolate finish that wasn’t as long as I expected it to be, but was perfectly respectable. Even at six years, I think this wine is a trifle young, and while perfectly drinkable could probably benefit from another year or so to really come into its own. Certainly a better choice at that us$50/ar$265 price point than the wine above.

Clos de los Siete 2009 – Ostensibly the star of the show, the reason we were there, the new release of this wine. Given the build-up, could any wine have lived up to it? Nah, there was no build up – other than having the star position in the room, nothing in particular made note of this wine. It’s a blend of 57% Malbec, 25% Merlot, 15%, Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petite Verdot and 1% Syrah (yes, that adds up to 101%, but rounding and all that). I have no idea why, but the wine was being served ice cold from an ice bucket. As such it was so muted that the only thing that came through was a bit of red plum in the nose – I hung around and did my best to warm it in the glass, but after about five minutes it was still beyond refrigerator cold, so I gave up. Perhaps I should have gone back later and re-tried it at the end, just letting it sit out in the glass for a bit, but I didn’t. So, overall not a real favorable impression – red plums, searingly high acidity (though that was likely because it was so out of balance with the temperature), dry tannins, and a short finish. I’d guess it’s way too young to be open, but then again, it’s not the high-end of the group’s wines, coming in between us$15-20/ar$81 in price. Still, I’d want to try it at room or cellar temp again to be able to rate it.

Bodega Monteviejo “Petite Fleur” 2009 – Lots of blue plums on the nose with just a hint of floral character. I found it to be very acidic with dry tannins, and lacking in weight – if we can talk about a wine’s depth, this wine needs to be talked about in terms of its shallows. Short finish with acidity and red fruit. I’ve had past vintages of this wine and been far more impressed, so a disappointment all around, particularly at us$20/ar$85 price tag.

Bodega Monteviejo “Calypso” Malbec 2009 – 100% Malbec, 12 months in oak. I have to say, this new wine line from Monteviejo completely blew me away and in many ways was the star of the show. A couple of the high-end wines were certainly better in overall quality, but have to be balanced against their price points. Packed with blue plum and violet, it has a classic Malbec nose. Medium-high acidity, soft tannins, well-integrated oak, great balance, and, quite decent depth. At a us$20-25/ar$85 price, it’s well worth it.

Bodega Monteviejo “Monteviejo” 2006 – 60% Malbec, 20% Syrah, 10% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon aged for 16 months in new French oak. The flagship of the Monteviejo line. A bit too young to be out of the box, with a very closed nose, high acidity on the palate, very drying tannins and a short finish. The fruit, a mishmash of dark fruits like blueberry, black cherry and black plum, with a touch of graphite and licorice, was just too muted to be of any great interest. Try again in a year, I have the feeling it will develop quite well, but at us$35-40/ar$128 right now, it’s just not ready to drink.

Bodega Monteviejo “Lindaflor” 2007 – 100% Malbec. Again, being shown too young, but better than the preceding wine. Black fruit and tar on the nose, fairly high acidity on the palate with dry tannins, though the soft oak is integrated nicely. It needs a little time to smooth out but is already drinking well – maybe another six months. At around us$30/ar$? a bottle it’s currently a better choice than the Monteviejo itself, though I liked the Calypso better for around $5-10 less.

Cuvelier Los Andes “Colección” Merlot 2010 – 100% Merlot, 60% of the wine is aged in French oak for 11 months, the other 40% in tank. I think this is the winery’s first release of a varietal Merlot, and it’s an impressive one – I’m not usually much of an Argentine Merlot fan, the grape doesn’t seem to take well to the terroir. Packed with raspberry and strawberry fruit aromas, lots of floral notes. Medium-high acidity, soft tannins, well balanced, good depth, and a long finish, and all those fruit and floral flavors carry through the entire length of the wine. For around us$15-20/ar$95 I think it’s a great value.

Cuvelier Los Andes “Colección” Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 – 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, 60% of the wine is aged in French oak for 11 months, the other 40% in tank. Really classic – cassis and graphite and green leafy notes on the nose. Medium high acidity and soft tannins on the palate with great balance and great fruit. Long finish. It paled only in comparison to how good the Merlot was and is likewise a great value at us$15-20/ar$95.

Cuvelier Los Andes “Colección” Malbec 2010 – 100% Malbec, 60% of the wine is aged in French oak for 11 months, the other 40% in tank. Here, I ran into a problem. The bottle was simply off – the wine was visibly bubbling in the glass, and tasted sour, sharp, and, well, bubbling away. I pointed it out to the sommelier student pouring, she tasted and agreed and went to get another bottle, however, stopped to say something to the winery rep who was there. Now, I don’t know who he was, or what his qualifications were, but he was blatantly rude – starting off with, more or less, “we don’t have bad bottles of our wines” (everyone does, get over yourself), and then when I tried to press the point, responded with a sneered “this wine is perfect the way it is – where are you from?” – an unfortunately common experience I find here in Argentina if I don’t happen to like some local product, as if my place of origin will automatically disqualify me from understanding. I unfortunately snapped back at him at which point he turned away and ignored me. Calming down I tasted through the rest of their wines, but, I can only go by his assertion that the wine was perfect as is – as such, it’s easily the worst wine Cuvelier los Andes has ever produced, and one of the worst Malbecs I’ve tried anywhere. I don’t really believe that, but without a good bottle to taste, it’s all I can give you.

Cuvelier Los Andes “Colección” Blend 2008 – 60% Malbec, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 5% Syrah, 5% Petit Verdot, 60% of the wine is aged in French oak for 12 months, the other 40% in tank. A really nice mix of black fruit aromas on the nose, ranging from cassis to blue plum to blackberry and blueberry, plus a strong whiff of chocolate. On the palate medium acidity, soft tannins, well integrated oak, and a good carry through of all the aromas. Medium length finish. An absolutely delicious wine that I’d be thrilled to drink again. Running in the same price range of just under us$20/ar$114, this is spectacular.

Cuvelier Los Andes Gran Vin 2007 – 73% Malbec, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot aged in French oak for 18 months. Dark fruit and chocolate notes on the nose. Medium acidity, soft tannins, well balanced, good depth of fruit, long finish. In character very much like the Blend above, but with just more oomph added to every note. Running more around the us$30-35/ar$252 range (quite a disparity!) it was probably my favorite wine overall of the tasting, though edging up there a little in price – still, a nice treat.

L’Argentin de Malartic Rosé 2011 – 90% Malbec, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. I was able to get one of the winery reps to open this bottle and grab a taste before he got caught and had to put it away again – so as I said earlier, I didn’t get to the whites, nor the French reds – not that there were many of either. Very minerally style rosé with lots of red fruit and wet stone on the nose, medium acidity, soft fruit notes on the palate, a medium finish. It’s a wine I’ve liked quite a bit in past vintages and used here at Casa S for several dinners. One of the country’s pricier rosés it still comes in at under us$10/ar$40 a bottle and is a fantastic value for summer drinking.

I realized recently that at the end of each month there are always a bunch of photos sitting in a folder that I haven’t gotten around to writing about because they’re just things that caught my eye or, if they’re restaurant/food related they just don’t quite merit a review. So, perhaps this will be a new monthly feature to “use them up”….

For those who don’t read Spanish the drawing says, basically, “I make myself crazier every day.” Ignoring the defacing scribble.

Bringing new meaning to the term “mystery meat”, there was a whole display of these packages of varied meats and cuts at my local supermarket. The label reads: “Pieces of prosciutto and/or stuffed beef or chicken and/or turkey breast and/or pastrami”. That, and they’re charging 120 pesos/kilo, or nearly $13/pound.

I mentioned earlier this month that my friend Huy was in town with a group of his friends. We hit La Querencia one night and he valiantly finished off the evening with this towering slab of Torta Querencia – cake, meringue, dulce de leche, whipped cream, chocolate, and more.

Let me just say I can’t quite bring myself to review Club V in Palermo, but I will say that the charming and attentive bartender mixes a mean, and properly made, martini. And I had great company over dinner. I leave you to infer whatever you wish beyond that.

A burger with the works at Novecento in Las Cañitas. By candlelight outside when a few moments into dinner the power for the two block surrounding area went out. Good toppings, a bun that fell apart within seconds leaving me to use a fork and knife, and a burger that despite being ordered rare was so overcooked it was dry and crumbly, and soggy, greasy fries. Given how much I’ve liked brunches at Novecento on numerous visits, this was a big disappointment. Service was great.

A line-up of federal police motorcycles while the associated officers were inside Los Maestros pizzeria across the street sharing a large pie and some beers. Yes, beers.

Continuing on my recent post checking out GlamOut’s recommendations for pastrami sandwiches, I dropped in on Nsalad downtown. The menu offers the NY Bagel – with pastrami, mustard and pickles – a promising offering. Unfortunately, the bagel was nothing more than a soft bread roll with a hole poked through the middle, the pastrami was limp, insipid and cold pink strips of meat with absolutely no flavor – packaged lunchmeat from the ’60s held out more promise – the pickles were a whopping two slices of dills with no crunch left, and the mustard was a sweet Savora mustard served in packets alongside the sandwich. The only thing that was worth eating on the plate was the lettuce leaf adorned with a few shreds of onion. For 27 pesos it would have been a decent price if it had been a decent plateful of food.

I liked these shoes when I saw them at Zara. Just the look. Generally I find the quality of the goods at the store a bit below par. And the shoes felt cheap when I picked them up. But, since they’re likely a knockoff of someone else’s design, I’ll be keeping my eye out.

Just an octet of sips from the last few weeks….

Dante Rubino Extra Brut NV, Mendoza, Argentina – Blend of Pinot noir and Chardonnay with a touch of Semillon – light gold color, fine bubbles, orange creamsicle on the nose, moderately high acidity, medium bodied, creamy, orange peel, butter and vanilla, long finish. Quite good.

Graffigna Pinot Grigio Reserve 2010, San Juan, Argentina – for local PG, this is pretty impressive; light straw color with a faint steely tint at the edge; ripe pear on the nose, very fruit forward, with just a hint of a metallic note; on the palate, medium high acidity upfront, medium bodied, chalk, pear, green leaves, ever so slightly hot finish, but overall really well balanced.

Punto Final Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Casablanca Valley, Chile – light yellow in color, full blown on the nose with green bell pepper and grapefruit, on the palate, green bell pepper, grapefruit rind, fresh cut grass, plenty of acidity and length, medium bodied, smooth finish. Delicious wine.

Dirler Muscat Grand Cru Spiegel 1995, Alsace, France – medium gold color, holding to the rim; lovely honeycomb and floral nose with a touch of old yeast; medium-high acidity, medium bodied, floral, honeycomb and peach skin, long finish with a bit of petrol. Delightful, beautifully aged wine.

Bodega Putruele Finca Natalina Rosé Merlot 2010, San Juan, Argentina – Bright cherry red, slightly watery rim; red fruit and spice on the nose; high acidity, light bodied, touch of gas, hint of stemminess, juicy red fruit, spice, short to medium finish, slightly metallic. Good quaffing wine.

Lagarde Blanc de Noirs 2010, Mendoza, Argentina – Watermelon pink, clear rim; berry fruit, wet stone on the nose; dry, soft tannins, high acidity, bright berry fruit, minerals, hints of spice, medium length finish, all mineral. One of the most elegant rosés I’ve tried in Argentina.

Salentein Pinot Noir Reserve 2009, Valle de Uco, Mendoza, Argentina – deep red with violet touches, holding to the rim; packed full of cherry fruit on the nose with a hint of tobacco; medium bodied, moderate acidity, soft tannins, plenty of cherry fruit, a trifle astringent particularly on the finish, and a bit hot (14.5% alcohol). Good wine, but not my favorite Pinot from Argentina by any stretch.

Caliterra Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 2003, Rapel Valley, Chile – garnet red, fading to an orange-red at the rim, red fruit on the nose with a hint of graphite and dried tobacco, on the palate, medium bodied, forward fruit, high acidity, soft tannins, the tobacco flavor dominates over the red fruit and the graphite comes in on the finish along with noticeable alcohol. Good wine, but starting to fade.

 The problem is when you are writing something in retrospective, it needs a lot of courage not to change, or you will forget a certain reality, and you will just take in consideration your view today.”

- Boutros Boutros-Ghali

It’s always tough to wrap-up a year, but it’s also kind of fun to just look back and see what happened, what stood out, what didn’t…. So here, a mix of Casa SaltShaker and personal – the best and, perhaps, the worst, of the year:

We started up our dinners on January 15th, after returning from vacation in Peru. With only a one week gap while I headed off to NYC for some personal business, we didn’t miss a weekend (have to change that, the whole idea was to take some time off, you know?) with at least one dinner. At the end of May we raised our prices to reflect ever increasing costs here in BA (that 35% inflation really adds up). Overall, 117 dinners and 2 brunches, the smallest of which had 5 folk at it, the largest, 14 (twice actually, both times when I somehow put down reservations for the wrong day and we ended up scrambling for the sudden arrival of two extra guests over what we’d planned – that’s when I switched to a different computer program for tracking reservations!). Sixteen of those were private dinners, ranging from 6 to 12 people. In total, 1,207 people attended the dinners, though probably about 150 of those were repeat customers – at the top of that heap, local friend and expat, Allan, at 10 times, tied with new friend Jon who lives here part of the year. That’s over 6,000 plates of food out of our little apartment kitchen. No wonder I need a vacation!

Brunch, twice, was an experiment that didn’t go the way we’d hoped, so we dropped the idea. We had a good number of last minute cancellations, and no shows, in mid-year, which launched a long discussion on our facebook page resulting in us deciding to take a 20% deposit from folks we don’t know. Even with that, it was surprising how many people (fewer at least), simply give up their deposit because they change their plans and wait until last minute to tell us about it – hey, we even had three different reservations over the last few months who prepaid in full and just didn’t show up.

Allergies were a bigger thing this year than in past year with 153 requests (virtually all, interestingly, norteamericanos), some of them I suspect weren’t really allergies, but simply dislikes phrased that way. A few people simply had to be told “no” with laundry lists of what they would and wouldn’t eat and they aren’t included here. Not surprisingly, the biggest category for allergies was shellfish – 10 folk none at all, 5 specifically crustaceans, 4 specifically molluscs/bivalves, and then a smattering of individual ones like scallops or mussels. On the other hand, nuts weren’t a big thing, which did surprise me – only 2 people all year for no nuts at all, and a couple with individual nut allergies to peanuts, pistachios, cashews or coconuts. Seven folk asked for completely vegetarian dinners, eleven for pescetarian, and a whopping 27 for no red meat of any kind (not including folk who simply came to one of our scheduled vegetarian dinners so I didn’t track stuff like this) – and, thankfully, for the first time in five years, we didn’t have a single occasion of someone showing up at the dinner and announcing there that they were vegetarian as if it was a challenge I needed to meet – everyone let me know upfront.

Another dozen or so were specific to beef or pork (mostly religious reasons), 3 folk who don’t eat any baby animals like bunnies, lamb, kid or veal (but adult animals were fine), and one “no red meat except pork”. A half a dozen no fish or seafood of any kind (mostly more “yuck” expressions than allergies), and two who only eat raw fish, not cooked. And a mix of those – a half dozen what I call “pseudo-kosher” – people who don’t eat pork or shellfish “for religious reasons”, but otherwise wouldn’t know a kosher law if it bit them, having no problem eating other banned items. A good number of no dairy, or only specific dairy, and four gluten free requests. And the rest, a smattering of various individual ingredients – these tend to be the ones I suspect aren’t necessarily allergies, though some of them may be – figs, avocado, kiwi, artichokes, cilantro, curry powder (with no idea which ingredient out of the dozen plus spices that make up curry powder is actually the culprit?), blueberries, pineapple, buckwheat, mayonnaise (but eats eggs, oils, and lemons), chicken, eggs, asparagus, sesame, raw foods, non-raw foods, basil, garlic, onions, rabbit, beets. I’d say the two most common that were a surprise were mushrooms, and mangoes, each actually coming in with a half dozen claims.

Favorite dishes (mine) over the year:

Smoked Herring Risotto

Salmon and Tigerfish Pizzettas

Prawn Ceviche

Tian of Piquillo, Pumpkin & Eggplant

Oxtail Pappardelle with Goat Cheese & Garlic

Duck Curry with Lychees

Milky Way Cheesecake

Eggplant Tarte Tatin

Poppyseed Pionono with Licorice Custard & Lime Syrup

Most interesting wines I’ve tasted this year: Finca La Luz Sangiovese and Kooch Pinot Noir, both, not surprisingly given what’s available here, from Argentina.

On a personal level… here’s where retrospectives are interesting, at least to me, I actually get to see where my focus has been this year. Let’s see, the trip to Chiclayo and Chachapoyas, in Peru, during the first two weeks of January was absolutely fascinating. For the most part, it wasn’t a gastronomic delight, but there was some interesting cuisine – and possibly one of the most unusual dishes I’ve ever tried, chirimpico – “a chopped mix of baby goat’s heart, liver and intestines that are stewed with the blood of the same goat and then mixed with cilantro, peas, squash and chilies”.

My brief trip to New York didn’t yield any amazing dishes, but generally decent meals – some really good pasta at A Voce Madison (particularly the fava bean, walnut, rosemary, meyer lemon & whipped lardo pappardelle), some quite good food, particularly the desserts, at Print, great sushi at Kanoyama, steak tartare at Locanda Verde, but mostly just good, casual eats, like a day out at Brighton Beach and a sampling of cured meats at Salumeria Rosi. Here in BA, a very few excellent dishes – the smoked potato and seafood “pizza” at Bardot (also probably my favorite new restaurant of the year) being, I think, the highlight of all the dishes I’ve tried over the year out and about in town.

All in all, a tranquil year. I didn’t read anything that amazed me, outside of our vacation the first two weeks of the year, we didn’t do anything of great note, import or interest. This is the first year of the 5½ that I’ve been here that no friends from the States came to stay with us, and, come to think of it, other than some wine and food world colleagues, really no visitors at all. And, another year passes with no family visits (hint, hint) (actually, that’s not fair, at the end of 2009, a distant cousin whom, to be honest, I’d never heard of before, looked me up while she and her husband were passing through town – we had coffee – that’s the extent of family visits). Hmm, when it comes down to it, on the “doing” side of the equation, other than work, I really didn’t do much this year, so NY resolution #1 – get out there and do more! Back to exploring, which I’ve let slide away. We did make some wonderful new friends through Casa S, some of whom I hope will remain so for a longtime to come, and that makes it all worthwhile.

Last, but by no means least, a thank you to everyone who reads this blog, who came to Casa SaltShaker, who touched our lives in some way this last year. We, I, couldn’t do it without you.

My favorite photo of the year.

(Click photo or here for the high res original)

 No coffee can be good in the mouth that does not first send a sweet offering of odor to the nostrils.

- Henry Ward Beecher

That was the title, in Spanish anyway, of a panel presentation I just returned from. The presentation was held at the University of Palermo’s School of Design and Communication and included seven speakers, followed by a coffee and pastry tasting. Of the roughly 150 people there, 120 came for the free pastries and coffee, evidenced by the slow disappearance of the audience to the outer lobby during the course of the two hours of talks (not to mention the couple of dozen who never even bothered to enter the auditorium), and the mad, near trampling rush for the door when the seventh speaker had said goodnight. That and the wild grabbing of pastries, cups of coffee, and stuffing of purses with the former. I managed one brownie before being body-checked by a 70-something year old woman who screeched at me to get out of her way as she grabbed a half dozen of them and then careened off to the next table. Deciding on corporal safety as my best bet I beat a retreat – I don’t need the extra sugar calories anyway, and it was too late in the day to start downing cups of java.

The presentations were, while perhaps a trifle dry, given that the focus was on the marketing of the image of coffee (after all, that’s what the school is about), quite enlightening. Mostly from a cultural perspective – five of the speakers were each from a different country and talking about different brand developments, and while one brand does not an entire culture make, my personal experience would suggest that they weren’t far off of being representative. The remaining two speakers were both Argentine, one a psychologist, the other a sommelier….

First up, the psychologist, who nattered on for about ten minutes about coffee being not just a form of alimentation and nutrition (really???) but that it also offers up pleasure (no question) and is symbolic of the cultures in which it is consumed – agreeing with my point above and what I think you’ll see below.

Next, a rep from Starbucks. Now, you know I’m not a fan of the coffee nor the company’s carpet bombing approach to expansion, on the other hand, I do like their commitment to things like Fair Trade and organic coffees. According to the panelist, the company’s purpose is to Create a Coffee Community or Culture – something that sounds so very left-coast U.S. He spent most of his 20 minutes talking about the history of the company, growing from its first store in 1971 in Seattle, opened by a duo of professors and a writer with a passion for the bean. By the mid-80s there were 6 locations. By the early 90s the company was opening a new store every day. And today, despite this year announcing the closing of 900 stores in the U.S., they expect to grow by another 900 stores outside of the country – I know my neighborhood now has three of them in 10 minute walking distance with a fourth opening in a few weeks. The rep talked proudly about how the company has changed Japanese and Chinese culture by getting the younger generation to frequent Starbucks rather than traditional teahouses and how the company expects that they will outstrip the teahouse market within a few years. The last few minutes of his talk he devoted to their Fair Trade and Shared Planet initiatives, but it clearly wasn’t the focus of the talk. He then fiddled about impatiently while the next speaker talked and as that person finished, stood up, vaguely apologized and announced that he had other things to do rather than sit there and listen to the rest of the panel, and walked out.

Next up, an Argentine brand, Cafe Martínez, which was founded in 1933 as a strictly roasting and retail operation, which it continued as until 1994 when they opened their first cafe (starting in the mid-70s they offered, Italian style, espressos standing at the counter, but no seating). The founder, Don Atilano, ran the business until 1975, and it continued as a family run operation until 2000 when it converted to a completely franchised structure. The interesting thing, they don’t seem to have any clear branding strategy – design and architecture is left to the individual locations and franchisees, and is expected to conform to the neighborhood look rather than a corporate image. They do offer a comprehensive education program to their franchisees, and employees at each location are offered a tracking program that after five years has them rotate through all positions and then moved into management of the store, and then another three years later they are offered the franchise training gratis, followed by an offer to open their own store, with financing from the company. Beyond that, everything seemed a bit haphazard, with some varied recycling initiatives that come and go, training classes in conjunction with one of the local sommelier schools (Escuela Argentina de Sommeliers), and a sort of “whatever comes up” attitude.

On to a representative of Nespresso, a Swiss company. The plan, to be the Icon of Perfect Coffee. The method – flawlessly functioning machines, foolproof capsule packaging, precisely designed cups, taking the human element out of the process completely, in order to have the customer not have to deal with any variability. Does that sound as stereotypically Swiss as I think it does? 27 different blends of coffees, a commitment to only the finest of beans, 24/7 customer and technical service worldwide, and a relatively new initiative to open “boutique” locations (200 to be in place by the end of this year) where customers can come and enjoy the coffee and go glassy eyed looking over the machines. Oh, I forgot, the first half of his 15 minute presentation was the company’s slick marketing video with pounding music (first tribal, then pop, then operatic) and ADD style imagery that zooms by nearly too fast to follow.

Following these three company agents, two national folk – first, someone representing Colombian coffee. No, it wasn’t Juan Valdez, though he was a big part of the focus of her talk (other than a five minute tourism video on the natural splendors of Colombia). Valdez became the face of Colombian coffee beginning in 1960, representing the growers’ coalition that had started up in 1927. There have been three Juan Valdez since that time, each one selected in competitions of various campesinos, or field workers, who vied for the chance to be the face of the nation. The most recent JV came on the scene in 2006, the winner out of 2,800 applicants. The focus of Colombia’s marketing campaign is one of making it all seem very family and friends oriented, and it’s clearly a successful campaign, with Juan being, according to various marketing research studies, one of the most recognizable food or drink icons on the planet. We also found out a bit of the coffee statistics – the country produces 8% of the world’s coffee, however, according to her, near 100% of that is of premium grade, which puts it in the top 10% of beans. It’s also likely the only country in the world with a coffee theme park, Panaca – officially a park for urbanites to get back in touch with nature, but much of that nature is apparently coffee related – not surprising given that the coffee industry makes up 35% of Colombia’s workforce.

It was borderline hysterical to watch the woman seated to the Colombian’s right, who was the rep from Costa Rica. She could barely contain herself as the first talked on about quality and marketing, and plunged in immediately with asserting, more or less, “we thought of all that first” – having started their own growers’ coalition in 1906 and utilizing a campesino with his wagon laden with sacks of beans as their marketing image for the last 104 years. On the other hand, who recognizes that? Costa Rica’s approach to brand image is one of a “Unique Country with Unique Coffee”, grown on volcanic soils, and is all about peace and love, two themes she repeated often. It is also apparently, or at least claiming, to be the only country with a national law that protects growers – what those protections are wasn’t clear, but the law is there. It is also one of the few countries with UNESCO declared production zones of historical interest – I was pleased to find out that the one considered the top of the heap is Tarrazú, the place where we get our coffee from at Casa S after having tasted through a couple of dozen possibilities.

Finally, the sommelier, from the school mentioned above, spoke very briefly and just, more or less, to let everyone know that there’s a place in town called Espacio Gasset where the public is invited to come to various types of food and beverage tastings on a weekly basis. He spoke for only about 3-4 minutes, said goodnight and the crowd rushed for the door, while the organizer was trying to announce all the various thank yous to the presenters. Virtually no one heard her.

Bodegas Esmeralda Estiba I Chardonnay 2009, Mendoza – medium yellow gold; on the nose, white peach, green apple, wet stone, brioche. Medium bodied, high acidity, touch of oak, well balanced, fruit forward, medium length finish all juicy fruit. Nicely put together Chardonnay.

Familia Perulán Tannat-Malbec, Mendoza – interestingly undated; inky, impenetrable violet color; black fruit – black cherries, black plums, black currant, dried mushroom, vanilla, toast on the nose; full-bodied, fairly high acidity, dry but soft tannins, light oak, noticeable alcohol, particularly on the finish, but overall well integrated. Really pretty delicious!

Viña Bisquertt Casa La Joya Reserva Syrah 2004, Colchagua Valley, Chile – Dark cherry red, a fair amount of particulate matter; black currants and blackberries, light spice; full bodied, jammy, very fruit forward, moderate acidity, soft, sweet tannins, light oak, sweet finish. Quite good.

Fabre Montmayou Trilogie Merlot-Malbec-Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Luján de Cuyo – medium purple red; mixed berry fruit and milk chocolate; medium bodied, spicy, high acidity and alcohol, very noticeable milk chocolate oakiness that continues on the finish. Good, but very commercial tasting.

Nieto-Senetiner Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz 2007, Luján de Cuyo – deep violet; green leaves, blackberry, red currant; full bodied, green tobacco, pepper, high acidity, moderate alcohol, well-integrated but noticeable oak, hot finish.

LaMadrid Bonarda Reserva 2007, Luján de Cuyo – deep red purple; mixed dark berries, spice and toasted oak; medium to full bodied, moderate acidity, fruit forward, sweet tannins, dark fruits, spice, well balanced. This is a single vineyard wine, aged in new French oak for 9 months. One of the best Bonarda’s I’ve tasted in Argentina.