Guys' Night Out in Buenos Aires--With Argentine Wine?

The other night, Tom came home at 3 in the morning (yes, on a Tuesday) smelling a bit
grapey. Winey. He had a big grin on his face, and told me all about his great evening out with the guys. Well, here, I'll let him tell it:

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Since Maya is wrapped up in writing The World is Your Campus, her Sexy Spanish Club blog has been neglected. In an effort to solidify my position as “the husband of the lady who writes the Sexy Spanish Club blog”, I am guest writing about something sexy, fun and delicious. How out of character for me.

One of the benefits of living in Buenos Aires is access to great wines at reasonable prices. Though I have done my best to try as many wines as I can, one can only open so many bottles of wine at one time—well, I could open more, but wouldn’t feel very good the next day.

Earlier this year, I went to Mendoza with a couple of friends (leaving Maya in peace) and signed up for the famous (infamous?) bikes and wine tour--an excellent example of a great idea that does not translate into practice. I quickly learned that for an educational (and far more comfortable) wine tasting, one’s feet should be firmly planted on the ground as opposed to one’s face in the dirt. Plus, I never felt like we got a chance to taste the really good wines or talk to anyone who really taught us anything.

Daniel Karlin of Anuva Vinos http://www.anuvavinos.com/ gave our group of assorted expat guys (we gather regularly at local pubs in Buenos Aires) an informative and very entertaining evening of wine tasting earlier this week. At a private apartment in a comfortable setting, Daniel lead us through a series of five wines, starting with a palate-tingling Hom Espumante and ending with a Don Juan Blend that was pretty much the best wine I have ever tasted.

The third wine of the evening was an Ikella Malbec. I know I said the Don Juan Blend was the best wine I have ever tasted but the Ikella was a very close second. Great wine, great company--it was a spectacular evening. Did I mention how nice the Hom Espumate was?

Though there were many experienced wine drinkers in the group, I think everyone was surprised at how much they learned about wine. Daniel is very good at letting people arrive at their own conclusions about taste, smell and looks but has a good teacher’s ability to gently nudge and suggest so the student can get the most out of the experience.

Anuva Vinos exports limited production wines to the US from Argentina. Customers can elect to purchase single bottles from their website or join their wine club for a two-bottle shipment each month.

If you are visiting Argentina and have a group of between three and twelve people who would like a wine tasting, contact Daniel at daniel@anuvavinos.com. Additionally, he will be in the US this summer on his “North American Tasting Tour”.

Teacher, explorer, chemist, entrepreneur and drinker of of great wine, Daniel has what has got to be one of the best jobs in the world.