Fred's Blog
  • Fred's Blog
  • 2023 Showcase Guidelines
  • Memoir Showcase
  • Fiction Showcase
  • Author Page
  • Info
  • 2022 Memoir Showcase
    • Shane Joseph 2022-1 (M)
    • Roger Knight 2022-1 (M)
    • Leslie Groves Ogden 2022-1 (M)
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2022-1 (M)
    • Shirley Read-Jahn 2022-1 (M)
    • Patsy Hirst 2022-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2022-1 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-1 (M)
    • Sharon Hayhurst 2022-1 (M)
    • Syd Blackwell 2022-1 (M)
    • Syd Blackwell 2022-2 (M)
    • Patsy Hirst 2022-2 (M)
    • Roger Knight 2022-2 (M)
    • John C. Rogers 2022-1 (M)
    • Thomas Laver 2022-1 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-2 (M)
    • Sue Bavey 2022-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2022-2 (M)
    • Lally Brown 2022-1 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-3 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2022-3 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2022-1 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-4 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2022-4 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2022-2 (M)
    • Jackie Lambert 2022-1 (M)
    • Valerie Poore 2022-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2022-5 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2022-3 (M)
    • Mike Cavanagh 2022-1 (M)
    • Mike Cavanagh 2022-2 (M)
    • Malcolm Welshman 2022-1 (M)
    • Nick Albert 2022-1 (M)
    • Denis Dextraze 2022-1 (M)
    • David McCabe 2022-1 (M)
    • Lizbeth Meredith 2022-1 (M)
    • Jill Dobbe 2022-1 (M)
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2022-1 (M)
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2022-2 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-5 (M)
    • Jennifer Rae 2022-1 (M)
    • Jennifer Rae 2022-2 (M)
    • Mitos Suson 2022-1 (M)
    • Patsy Hirst 2022-3 (M)
    • Jennifer Rae 2022-3 (M)
    • Therese Marie Duncan 2022-1 (M)
    • Carolyn Muir Helfenstein 2022-1 (M)
    • Carolyn Muir Helfenstein 2022-2 (M)
    • Kelly Reising 2022-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2022-6 (M)
    • Syd Blackwell 2022-3 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2022-4 (M)
    • Denis Dextraze 2022-2 (M)
    • Patsy Hirst 2022-4 (M)
  • 2022 Fiction Showcase
    • Shane Joseph 2022-1 (F)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-1 (F)
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2022-1 (F)
    • Keith Moreland 2022-1 (F)
    • Lindy Viandier 2022-1 (F)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-2 (F)
    • Robert Fear 2022-1 (F)
    • Lindy Viandier 2022-2 (F)
    • Janet Stobie 2022-1 (F)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-3 (F)
    • Philippa Hawley 2022-1 (F)
    • Daisy Wood 2022-1 (F)
    • Valerie Poore 2022-1 (F)
    • Lynn C. Bilton 2022-1 (F)
    • Sue Bavey 2022-1 (F)
  • 2022 Showcase Guidelines
  • 2022 Guest Blogs
  • 2021 Authors Showcase
    • John L. Fear 2021 - 1
    • Sue Bavey 2021 - 2
    • Valerie Poore 2021 - 3
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2021 - 2
    • Mitos Suson 2021 - 1
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2021 - 1
    • Donna O'Donnell Figurski 2021 - 1
    • Dolores Banerd 2021 - 1
    • Lynn C. Bilton 2021 - 1
    • Sverrir Sigurdsson 2021 - 1
    • Sharon Hayhurst 2021 - 1
    • Liliana Amador-Marty 2021 - 1
    • Sue Bavey 2021 - 1
    • Karen Telling 2021 - 1
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2021 - 1
    • Liesbet Collaert 2021 - 1
    • Susan Mellsopp 2021 - 3
    • Ronald Mackay 2021 - 6
    • Shirley Read-Jahn 2021 - 1
    • Jackie Lambert 2021 - 1
    • Valerie Poore 2021 - 2
    • Carolyn Muir Helfenstein 2021 - 3
    • Jennifer Rae 2021 - 1
    • Chris Calder 2021 - 1
    • Valerie Poore 2021 - 1
    • Mike Cavanagh 2021 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2021 - 5
    • Roger Knight 2021 - 3
    • Carolyn Muir Helfenstein 2021 - 2
    • Joanne Guidoccio 2021 - 1
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2021 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2021 - 4
    • Carolyn Muir Helfenstein 2021 - 1
    • Shane Joseph 2021 - 2
    • Susan Mellsopp 2021 - 2
    • Denis Dextraze 2021 - 2
    • Syd Blackwell 2021 - 2
    • Ronald Mackay 2021 - 3
    • Roger Knight 2021 - 2
    • Margaret South 2021 - 1
    • Denis Dextraze 2021 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2021 - 2
    • Susan Mellsopp 2021 - 1
    • Roger Knight 2021 - 1
    • Shane Joseph 2021 - 1
    • Syd Blackwell 2021 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2021 - 1
    • Adrian Sturrock 2021 - 1
    • Cherie Magnus 2021 - 1
  • 2021 Showcase Guidelines
  • 2021 Guest Blogs
  • 40 years ago today
  • 2020 Authors Showcase
    • Vernon Lacey 2020 - 1
    • Carolyn Muir Helfenstein 2020 - 1
    • Liliana Amador-Marty 2020 - 1
    • Alison Alderton 2020 - 1
    • Lizzie Jewels 2020 - 1
    • Robyn Boswell 2020 - 4
    • Lally Brown 2020 - 1
    • James Robertson 2020 - 2
    • Ronni Robinson 2020 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2020 - 6
    • Denis Dextraze 2020 - 5
    • Syd Blackwell 2020 - 2
    • Susan Mellsopp 2020 - 2
    • Robyn Boswell 2020 - 3
    • Val Poore 2020 - 1
    • Mike Cavanagh 2020 - 3
    • Helen Bing 2020 - 3
    • Neal Atherton 2020 - 1
    • Susan Joyce 2020 - 1
    • Leslie Groves Ogden 2020 - 1
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2020 - 4
    • Elizabeth Moore 2020 - 2
    • Denis Dextraze 2020 - 4
    • Patty Sisco 2020 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2020 - 5
    • Syd Blackwell 2020 - 1
    • Frank Kusy 2020 - 1
    • Malcolm Welshman 2020 - 1
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2020 - 1
    • Susan Mellsopp 2020 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2020 - 4
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2020 - 3
    • Denis Dextraze 2020 - 3
    • Robyn Boswell 2020 - 2
    • Ronald Mackay 2020 - 3
    • Helen Bing 2020 - 2
    • Roger Knight 2020 - 3
    • Amy Bovaird 2020 - 1
    • Patricia Steele 2020- 1
    • Elizabeth Moore 2020 - 1
    • Helen Bing 2020 - 1
    • Mike Cavanagh 2020 - 2
    • Ronald Mackay 2020 - 2
    • Denis Dextraze 2020 - 2
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2020 - 2
    • Roger Knight 2020 - 2
    • Mike Cavanagh 2020 - 1
    • Robyn Boswell 2020 - 1
    • Irene Pylypec 2020 - 1
    • Denis Dextraze 2020 - 1
    • James Robertson 2020 - 1
    • Andrew Klein 2020 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2020 - 1
    • Roger Knight 2020 - 1
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2020 - 1
  • 2020 Guest Blogs
  • 2020 Showcase Guidelines
  • 2019 Authors Showcase
    • James Robertson 2019 - 6
    • Val Vassay 2019 - 2
    • Syd Blackwell 2019 - 6
    • Dawne Archer 2019 - 1
    • Susan Mellsopp 2019 - 3
    • Ronald Mackay 2019 - 6
    • James Robertson 2019 - 5
    • Sarah Owens 2019 - 1
    • Syd Blackwell 2019 - 5
    • Dolores Banerd 2019 - 1
    • Val Vassay 2019 - 1
    • Helen Bing 2019 - 4
    • Ronald Mackay 2019 - 5
    • Tina Mattern 2019 - 4
    • James Robertson 2019 - 4
    • Robyn Boswell 2019 - 3
    • Helen Bing 2019 - 3
    • Syd Blackwell 2019 - 4
    • Adrian Sturrock 2019 - 2
    • Jill Stoking 2019 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2019 - 4
    • Tina Mattern 2019 - 3
    • Cherie Magnus 2019 - 1
    • Roger Knight 2019 - 3
    • Susan Mellsopp 2019 - 2
    • Robyn Boswell 2019 - 2
    • Syd Blackwell 2019 - 3
    • Catherine Berry 2019 - 1
    • James Robertson 2019 - 3
    • Nancy McBride 2019 - 2
    • Tina Mattern 2019 - 2
    • Ronald Mackay 2019 - 3
    • Susan Mellsopp 2019 - 1
    • Mike Cavanagh 2019 - 1
    • Helen Bing 2019 - 2
    • Nancy McBride 2019 - 1
    • Malcolm Welshman 2019 - 1
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2019 - 1
    • Patty Sisco 2019 - 1
    • Syd Blackwell 2019 - 2
    • Adrian Sturrock 2019 - 1
    • Tina Mattern 2019 - 1
    • James Robertson 2019 - 2
    • Ronald Mackay 2019 - 2
    • Roger Knight 2019 - 2
    • Liliana Amador-Marty 2019 - 1
    • Celia Dillow 2019 - 1
    • Helen Bing 2019 - 1
    • Syd Blackwell 2019 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2019 - 1
    • Robyn Boswell 2019 - 1
    • Kelly Reising 2019 - 1
    • James Robertson 2019 - 1
    • Roger Knight 2019 - 1
  • 2019 Showcase Guidelines
  • 2019 Guest Blogs
  • Competitions
  • 2018 Travel Highlights
  • 2018 Travel Stories
    • Robyn Boswell 2018 - 5
    • Apple Gidley 2018
    • Lindsay de Feliz 2018 - 5
    • Helen Bing 2018 - 3
    • Julie Watson 2018
    • Anisha Johnson 2018
    • Philip East 2018
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2018 - 2
    • Mike Cavanagh 2018 - 3
    • Ronald Mackay 2018 - 5
    • Malcom Welshman 2018 - 2
    • Celia Dillow 2018
    • Syd Blackwell 2018 - 5
    • Lee P. Ruddin 2018
    • Cat Jenkins 2018
    • Anierobi Maureen Ogechukwu 2018
    • Dede Montgomery 2018
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2018 - 2
    • Parishka Gupta 2018 - 2
    • Angie Clifford 2018
    • Emma Yardley 2018 - 4
    • Roger Knight 2018 - 2
    • Mark Boyter 2018 - 2
    • Laurel Casida 2018
    • Mike Cavanagh 2018 - 2
    • Alison Galilian 2018
    • Colleen MacMahon 2018
    • Zahra Makda 2018
    • Ronald Mackay 2018 - 4
    • Susmitha Subramanya 2018
    • Lindsay de Feliz 2018 - 4
    • Aleksandra Krysik 2018
    • Swarnabha Dutta 2018
    • Delores Topliff 2018 - 2
    • Sourabha Rao 2018
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2018
    • Swatilekha Roy 2018
    • Syd Blackwell 2018 - 4
    • Robyn Boswell 2018 - 4
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2018
    • Parishka Gupta 2018
    • Helen Bing 2018 - 2
    • Madeline Sharples 2018
    • Joe Dodkins 2018
    • Andrew Klein 2018 - 2
    • Roger Knight 2018
    • Rob Johnson 2018
    • Anu Devi 2018
    • Lu Barnham 2018
    • Amy Bovaird 2018 - 2
    • Helen Bing 2018
    • Emma Yardley 2018 - 3
    • Lindsay de Feliz 2018 - 3
    • Robyn Boswell 2018 - 3
    • Alan Passey 2018
    • Ben Stamp 2018 - 3
    • Susan Mellsopp 2018 - 2
    • Alyson Hilbourne 2018
    • Sunny Lockwood 2018 - 2
    • Syd Blackwell 2018 - 3
    • Ronald Mackay 2018 - 3
    • Brigid Gallagher 2018 - 2
    • Martha Graham-Waldon 2018
    • Mark Boyter 2018
    • Kristen Caven 2018
    • Neyda Bettencourt 2018
    • Robyn Boswell 2018 - 2
    • Logan Wood 2018
    • Ben Stamp 2018 - 2
    • Emma Yardley 2018 - 2
    • Wenlin Tan 2018
    • Tom Czaban 2018
    • Claudia Crook 2018 - 2
    • Lindsay de Feliz 2018 - 2
    • Dolores Banerd 2018
    • Piyumi Kapugeekiyana 2018
    • Stephanie Dagg 2018
    • Gabrielle Chastenet 2018
    • Bonnie Jean Warren 2018
    • Rasa Puzinaite 2018
    • Patricia Steele 2018
    • Ronald Mackay 2018 - 2
    • Syd Blackwell 2018 - 2
    • Louise Groom 2018
    • Malcom Welshman 2018
    • Delores Topliff 2018
    • Claudia Crook 2018
    • Robyn Boswell 2018
    • Amy Bovaird 2018
    • Emma Yardley 2018
    • Ben Stamp 2018
    • Jesus Deytiquez 2018
    • Ria Chakraborty 2018
    • Brigid Gallagher 2018
    • Jules Clark 2018
    • Nancy McBride 2018
    • Susan Mellsopp 2018
    • David Greer 2018
    • Lindsay de Feliz 2018
    • Aditi Nair 2018
    • Mike Cavanagh 2018
    • Frank Kusy 2018
    • Andrew Klein 2018
    • Ronald Mackay 2018
    • Syd Blackwell 2018
    • Sunny Lockwood 2018
    • Robert Fear 2018
  • 2018 Guest Blogs
  • 2017 Travel Highlights
  • 2017 Travel Stories
    • Matthew Dexter - 2
    • Sandra Walker
    • Rishita Dey
    • Lisa Baker
    • Patricia Steele - 2
    • Sue Clamp
    • Debbie Patterson
    • Jill Stoking - 2
    • Robyn Boswell - 2
    • Cherie Magnus
    • Mark Boyter - 2
    • Rita M. Gardner
    • Alex Curylo
    • Graham Higson
    • Jill Dobbe - 2
    • Amy Bovaird - 3
    • Elizabeth Moore - 3
    • KC Peek
    • Lucinda E Clarke
    • Nancy McBride - 2
    • Frank Kusy - 2
    • Yvonne Kilat - 3
    • Mike Cavanagh - 2
    • Susan Mellsopp - 5
    • Mather Schneider
    • Syd Blackwell - 5
    • Gundy Baty - 3
    • Elizabeth Moore - 2
    • Jill Dobbe
    • Heather Hackett
    • Bob Manning - 2
    • Mark Boyter
    • Jackie Parry
    • Matthew Dexter
    • Amy Bovaird - 2
    • Gundy Baty - 2
    • Susan Mellsopp - 4
    • Susan Joyce - 2
    • Syd Blackwell - 4
    • Yvonne Kilat - 2
    • Bob Manning
    • Elizabeth Moore
    • Yvonne Kilat
    • Olivia-Petra Coman
    • Susan Mellsopp - 3
    • Gundy Baty
    • Syd Blackwell - 3
    • Paul Spadoni
    • Phil Canning
    • Jill Stoking
    • Robert Fear
    • Anna Coates
    • Kelly Reising
    • Syd Blackwell - 2
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2
    • Sine Thieme - 2
    • Alison Ripley Cubitt
    • Angie Clifford
    • Philippa Hawley
    • Nancy McBride
    • Robyn Boswell
    • Mike Cavanagh
    • Amy Bovaird
    • Susan Mellsopp
    • Patricia Steele
    • Susan Joyce
    • Peggy Wolf
    • Sine Thieme
    • Syd Blackwell
    • Frank Kusy
  • 2016 Travel Highlights
  • 2016 Travel Stories
    • Robyn Boswell
    • Elizabeth Moore - 5
    • Susan Joyce - 3
    • Bob Manning
    • Jackie Parry - 2
    • Mike Cavanagh - 2
    • Lisa Fleetwood
    • Mark Boyter - 2
    • John Rayburn - 5
    • Mark Boyter
    • John Rayburn - 4
    • Elizabeth Moore - 4
    • Mike Cavanagh
    • Graham Higson
    • Philippa Hawley
    • Jill Stoking
    • Nancy McBride - 2
    • Susan Joyce - 2
    • Lucinda E Clarke
    • Elizabeth Moore - 3
    • John Rayburn - 3
    • Jill Dobbe
    • Richard Klein
    • John Rayburn - 2
    • Jackie Parry - 2
    • Elizabeth Moore - 2
    • John Rayburn
    • Jackie Parry
    • Elizabeth Moore
    • Kelly Reising
    • Susan Joyce
    • Nancy McBride
    • Stewart Brennan
    • Frank Kusy
  • Behind the Scenes
  • 2015 Travel Highlights
  • 2015 Travel Stories
    • Val Vassay
    • Doug E. Jones
    • Matthew Dexter (2)
    • Beth Haslam
    • John Rayburn (4)
    • Susan Joyce (2)
    • Jackie Parry (2)
    • Lucinda E. Clarke (2)
    • Jill Dobbe
    • Francene Stanley
    • Richard Klein (2)
    • John Rayburn (3)
    • Julie Haigh
    • Frank Kusy (2)
    • Nancy McBride (2)
    • Anne Durrant
    • Lucinda E. Clarke
    • John Rayburn (2)
    • Nancy McBride
    • Sarah Jane Butfield
    • Jackie Parry
    • Kelly Reising
    • Gareth Nixon
    • John Rayburn
    • Jeremy Parris
    • Matthew Dexter
    • Susan Joyce
    • Richard Klein
    • Frank Kusy
    • Robert Fear
  • Daily Diary
    • February Archive
    • March Archive
    • April Archive
    • May Archive
    • June Archive
    • July Archive
  • Reviews

​Confessions of an Accidental Wino - Episode 3 - by Ronald Mackay

​Bodega y Viñedos Familia Giaquinta


​​“It’s urgent, Ron! Send me a white wine as soon as possible.” David Henderson, our Edinburgh wine merchant through whom our most consistent sales were being made, was insistent. “CALEDONIA as a brand is an eye-catcher. You have a first-class red. But a single wine is not enough for long-term success. When I place my Christmas order it will be on one condition.” He paused and then announced very clearly over the phone: “You must provide me with a first-rate white as well as your Cabernet Sauvignon.”
 
Having issued his ultimatum, David hung up. My heart was pounding. We had only a single wine, made from our own Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. What to do?
 
“Bad news?” Viviana asked.
 
“David will feature our CALEDONIA brand over Christmas and the New Year.”
 
“But?”
 
“His order is conditional. He must have a white as good as our red. We’ve no white!”
 
“Damian promised to help!” Viviana was the pragmatist; I the worrier.
 
***
 
At dinner with Damian and Elba, we explained our problem.
 
“Can we buy, ethically, bulk white wine from a winery, then bottle and sell it under our label?”
 
“Of course! In any year, a winery may produce too much or too little for their market. Too little, they buy extra from another winery. Too much, they sell their surplus to another vintner. Provided the quality meets their standards.”
 
We were one step closer. Again, Damian was showing his value as friend and mentor.
 
“We need a thousand litres of a good white for Christmas sales.”
 
Damian shook his head sadly. “Wineries here in San Rafael are short of white. Frost damage in the vineyards.”
 
‘Typical.’ I thought. ‘A solution materializes, then evaporates.’
 
“But!” Damian was hopeful. “Martinelli may still have some. Tomorrow, we’ll visit his winery. He owes me.”
 
Damian could, it seemed, not only answer our novice questions, but also call-in favours. Amassing favours was how business was conducted here. Sadly, Viviana and I were too new to be owed any.
 
***
 
Martinelli was proud of his small winery. It had barely changed in appearance or equipment since his grandfather built it after leaving Italy in 1901. The adobe had withstood a century of baking summers, cold winters, and destructive hailstorms. Inside, it was cool and smelled of the fermentation within enormous oak barrels each as large as a small house, and the mountain-fresh melt-water from the Andes constantly used to flush the concrete floors.
 
Martinelli’s smile widened when Damian explained our need. “I have the white wine you need!” His certainty made me cautious. I’d learned that when an Argentine businessman expresses certainty, there may just be a hidden catch. ‘I must be on my toes!’
 
“My Semillon. Exceptional!” Martinelli drew wine into three glasses. More innovative wineries had switched to concrete vats or stainless-steel tanks and moved the great barrels into the vineyard to provide novel overnight accommodation for tourists from Buenos Aires.
 
I examined my glass. An attractive, clear straw-like colour. Good!
 
I smelled lemons, apples, and ripe pears. My spirits rose.
 
I swallowed, paused. No lingering aftertaste, just a clean palate. My spirits fell.
 
Wines are judged on appearance, nose, and palate, and aftertaste. Martinelli’s Semillon was adequate on the first, acceptable on the second but lacking on the third. I hesitated. ‘Beggars can’t be choosers. This might just serve to get us out of our immediate difficulty.’
 
Martinelli saw the growing acceptance in my eyes.
 
“Naturally, you’ll have to take all twenty-five hundred litres.” He pushed his advantage.
 
“You produce Semillon every year?” We needed a regular supply.
 
“That’s the last from my Semillon vines. I replaced them with Torrontés.”
 
As I’d discovered since becoming an accidental wino, every apparent solution came with a sharp sting in the tail! First, we couldn’t sell twenty-five hundred litres. If we bottled that much, we’d be paying high storage fees in the corner of a warehouse we rented in England. I knew enough to appreciate that stored wine earns nothing but costs much. Second, CALEDONIA had a reputation to keep up. Lose that and we would lose buyers like David Henderson who was keen to support us.
 
Martinelli nodded encouragingly. I realised now why he insisted I take all twenty-five hundred litres. He wanted the last of his Semillon off his hands. I looked to Damian for help.
 
“Good appearance,” Damian held his glass up to the light. “Strong nose.” Playing for time. “Adequate flavour.” He swilled and swallowed. “Maybe a little short on aftertaste?”
 
“Nooo!” Martinelli feigned injury. The Argentine wolf-howl of ‘Nooo!’ was used to erase truthful but unwelcome information.
 
He refilled his own glass and sipped, his face a parody of utter bliss. He swallowed, closing his eyes in fake extasy. Then he stared fiercely at me as if to force the sale.
 
“A good wine. Alas, it won’t suit my market,” Damian had given me the opening.
 
“What’s your market?” Martinelli asked.
 
“England,” I said. To most Argentines, the British Isles were simply ‘England’.
 
“England!” Martinelli beamed. “For England, this Semillon is perfect. All Englishmen are lords! They can’t tell wine from hog piss!”
 
As we left, he grabbed me. “Half-price for the lot!”
 
We left Martinelli shaking his head at my inability to appreciate a good deal.
 
Back home, Viviana agreed that our reputation depended on providing good wines with the guarantee of the same quality year after year.
 
***
 
“So, we must visit my friends at the Bodega Familia Giaquinta in Tupungato,” Damian’s tone suggested this might be our last chance. Tupungato was an hour-and-a-half’s drive across the scorching and parched uplands that separated our city of San Rafael from the Valle de Uco. “But,” Damian warned me, “don’t be too hopeful. Whites are in short supply.”
 
***
 
Damian, his wife Elba, Viviana, and I left for Tupungato next morning. Every time we drove across the drylands, the scenery took my breath away. The occasional scrawny cow perpetually searched for something nutritious on vast range of spiny shrubs. Dry gulches lined with ochre pebbles spoke of drought broken only by infrequent downpours. Beyond the dry flatness shimmered the foothills and above these the Andes rose in majesty, their snowy white peaks piercing the flawless blue sky. About half-way, the oasis of Las Carretas, fed by winter snowmelt from the mountains, provided life-saving irrigation for thousands of hectares of garlic, potatoes and vines. Slim windbreaks of identical poplar trees delicate in their green leaves, protected the fields from scouring winds that swept down to the plain. A tiny church, the Capilla de Paso de Las Carretas, gave evidence of the reverence of the original Italian immigrants. They’d been encouraged to settle and cultivate isolated regions for fear that Chile might spill east over the Andes.
 
***
 
“What a breath-taking location!” Viviana was struck by the surroundings of the Bodega y Viñedos Familia Giaquinta – Winery and Vineyards of the Family Giaquinta -- spread across an ample slope below Tupungato. Before us, the Valle de Uco stretched downwards across the high plateau where a quilt work of green vineyards merged into the horizon. Beyond the haze, the drylands would give way to the Pampas blessed by rain where the world’s best grass-fed beef cattle are herded by gauchos, Argentine cowboys, beautifully captured by Molina Campos in his series of drawings. Though caricatures, they represent the quintessence of gaucho life. Behind us, dry scrub swept upward to rise into the majestic snow-capped Andes that separated Argentina from Chile.
 
***
 
“Jorge Giaquinta,” Damian introduced us. “Jorge manages the vineyards.”
 
Jorge smiled his welcome at Damian and then us. But when Damian explained out mission, he looked crestfallen.
 
“White? Unlikely. But we can speak to my brother.”
 
Viviana looked at each other in disappointment.
 
“I manage the winery and sales from here.” Emilio gestured as he led us to the comfortable adobe building that served as his office.
 
Ignoring our predicament, both brothers spent a few minutes amiably chiding Damian for not visiting more often. It was clear that they enjoyed a solid friendship. Then, smiling, Emilio turned to us. “You need a white?”
 
Viviana gave a brief history of our two years growing grapes. How we enjoyed some small success exporting our 2005 cabernet sauvignon. How we needed a matching white. When she’d finished, Jorge shook his head sadly, but Emilio looked thoughtful.
 
“I appreciate your challenge!” Emilio opened the huge leather-bound ledger on his desk. “Friends of Damian’s are friends of ours. I may just be able to help.” With that, he and Jorge withdrew for a few minutes. They returned.
 
“We can offer you a small amount of one of two whites, a Pedro Ximénez or a Torrontés.” The brothers smiled affectionately at Damian. Damian smiled back. We were learning what friendship meant in Argentina.
 
Emilio led us to the winery where a busy bottling line was in operation.
 
Jorge poured each wine into glasses. Both were delicious. Viviana and I looked at each other in delight. Both would meet our standards. We opted for the Torrontés. Argentina was slowly building a reputation for two flagship wines, Malbec and Torrontés. Once our orders grew, we would offer both.
 
“How soon can we pick it up?” I was planning to drive two five-hundred litre plastic tanks and bring them back to the winery in San Rafael where we bottled our own.
 
“Bring your labels, stoppers, and capsules here. We will dress the bottles here.” Emilio said.
 
“And case them a dozen to a case,” Jorge added.
 
We were overjoyed. Wine is the better for less handling. Moreover, we could have our transporter pick up the laden pallet off the Giaquinta winery floor and take it to Puerto Nuevo near Buenos Aires for the boat journey to England.
 
Confident that we were in good hands, we sealed the deal there and then. Bottling of our new Torrontés would begin as soon as their bank in Tupungato received the transfer from our bank in San Rafael. We would provide the necessary paperwork to satisfy the bureaucracy, as well as our corks and labels.
 
“We’ll have lunch together in Tupungato to celebrate our new friendship.” Emilio, Jorge, and Damian were grinning from ear to ear.
 
Without consulting the menu, Jorge asked for a plate of grilled trout for six and baskets of bread. We accompanied the meal with the Torrontés that we had just bought. Soon, it would be enjoyed in Scotland as our CALEDONIA Torrontés.
 
***
 
“Torrontés?” David Henderson’s enthusiasm was evident despite the twelve thousand kilometres that separated us in San Rafael from his business in Edinburgh. “An excellent choice! I’ll begin preparations for our Christmas promotion immediately.”
 
***
 
We sat with Damian and Elba in the seclusion of our garden, toasting the consortium that was slowly growing around Fincas CALEDONIA the Scottish Tradition in Argentina. Viviana and I were learning that in Argentina nothing can be accomplished alone. Thanks to Damian’s extensive contacts bound by ties of friendship and obligation, to sage advice from our accountant and from our export agent – and just a little, perhaps, to our own daring, we were making modest progress as accidental winos.
 
But in Argentina, the most unexpected was often awaiting just around the corner!

Picture
Ronald with a pallet of CALEDONIA wine for export
​
Picture
CALEDONIA Torrontés
​
Picture
Viviana in Tupungato with the snow-capped Andes in the distance
Picture
Viviana with Cabernet grapes ready for harvesting
​
Picture
Viviana with Edgardo our winemaker
​

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

​Copyright © 2023
Proudly powered by Weebly