One of my favorite visits on our last wine manager trip to Chile and Argentia was to Melipal Vina & Bodega in the Lujan de Cuyo region outside of Mendoza Argentina. The Bodega (winery) is located at over 3,000 feet above sea level against the Andes Mountains.The Bodega was just finished before our visit and getting ready for the next harvest, but they were gracious enough to take the time for an extensive tour of the winery and vineyards with a tasty lunch thrown in as an added bonus.

This is a section of  Melipal vineyards that still uses flood irrigation. Many modern wine makers frown on this practice as they believe that vines need to struggle for water to produce better grapes and therefore better wines; however after tasting through many of the Melipal wines I could see no argument against their continued use of flood irrigation. As there is basically no rain in this region the wineries have to use some sort of irrigation. Many of these vines are over 80 years old and looked pretty happy to me.  Speaking of happy;

Heidi and Seth are enjoying the view of an irrigation pond before a fantastic lunch. What would be the perfect wine for this lunch?  Just what Hiedi and Seth are enjoying, the Melipal Rose of Malbec. This is a wonderful Rose that is from 100% Malbec grapes from 80 plus year old vines, but as an interesting twist they use some early harvest grapes along wine grapes from their normal harvest.  This has a wonderful effect for me, it lowers the total alcohol level in the wine and makes it a true Rose. Unfortunately many Rose producers make them just like thier reds with high levels of alcohol. Now the Melipal Rose is crisp, light bodied with flavors of wild strawberries, raspberries and just a hint of watermelon. The finish is light and dry a perfect wine for a light lunch or grilled chiken and vegetables.

Cheers, Martin the Resident Wino