Eat, drink, learn

Every Tuesday on the BottleBlog, we'll focus on interesting or exciting industry news from here in New Jersey, to the valleys of California, to the vineyards of New Zealand. Today we're staying close to home as our very own Deborah Miller Nelson was recently featured in the Courier News and Home News Tribune.

Editor's note: Debbie Miller Nelson, certified specialist of wine and wine manager at Joe Canal's Discount Liquor Outlet in the Iselin section of Woodbridge, recently traveled to Argentina to immerse herself in the country's culture, food and, most importantly, wine. This is a first-person account of her experience.

At Joe Canal's, all managers and wine staff travel at least once a year to a wine-growing region somewhere in the world. By meeting the actual winemakers, walking the vineyards and tasting new wine from the barrel, we can see firsthand the passion that goes into each bottle.

In April, I was fortunate enough to be selected to travel to Argentina. My weeklong adventure took me first to Buenos Aires, then to the Michel Torino winery in Salta, and finally to the Trapiche winery in Mendoza.

While April is our spring, Argentina is in the Southern Hemisphere and so has the opposite season of fall. Therefore, during the week of my visit, crushing was occurring. I was thrilled to be a part of it.

I had a short one-night stay in Buenos Aires, where I dined at the best steakhouse in town and sampled the wines of Michel Torino. I flew to the Torino winery in Salta the next day. I stayed at the winery itself, which has a wine spa as well. On my first evening in Salta, I went to the spa before dinner and bathed in Torrontes, an indigenous white grape, while sipping the matching wine. You wouldn't believe how soft Torrontes can make your skin!

The next morning we toured some of the vineyards, and Torino's vineyard manager showed us the irrigation process. At the time of my visit, Salta hadn't had rain in almost eight months, and water had to be brought in to help the vines thrive.

We also were able to see Torino's certified organic vineyard called Cuma, where employees' horses roam free, feed on the grasses and the vines are trellised in canopies to protect the vines from the extreme sun.

After our tour, we met the winemaker to taste the wines from start to finish. First, we tasted from the steel tanks, then the barrel and then from a formal tasting of the full lineup of 13 wines.

In addition to drinking wine, Argentines love to eat. I must admit that I gained 5 pounds on this trip, sampling specialties such as empanadas, sweetbreads, fresh vegetables, rabbit and short ribs.

Trapiche

Later in the week, I flew to Mendoza to spend time at Trapiche's wineries. This was where I was able to take part in the grape harvest. I clipped Cabernet Franc grapes from the vines and gave my bushels to the vineyard manager, collecting one coin per bushel. This is how Trapiche's field workers get paid. They collect their coins as they pick, and then cash out at the end of the day.

Back at the winery, I worked through the grapes on the sorting table. I hand-crushed the grapes one at a time, separating the skin from the pulp and putting them in separate buckets.

After sorting, I was given full access to the cellar where wines were quietly aging. I was able to make a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, a single vineyard Syrah and two different single-vineyard Malbecs. I called the wine Vina de Sol, and while I didn't win the competition to create the best blended wine, I was thrilled to take part in this process. I brought home a shirt that is still stained with grape juice.

The next day I went horseback riding in the country and enjoyed a gaucho-style lunch over an open fire, with plenty of Trapiche wines. (Gaucho, a term used to describe some local residents, is loosely equivalent to our "cowboy.")

In the evening, we toured Trapiche's oldest winery, which is newly biodynamic. On our tour, we saw how old and new practices had come together. The winery was quite rundown when it was purchased, but its new owners saved all the old machinery for historical purposes. On the modern side, the winery installed a state-of-the-art tasting room with glass ceiling and a cellar.

After the tour, we enjoyed some of Trapiche's sparkling wines on the balcony before a formal wine tasting with the head winemaker, Daniel Pi. We tasted through eight wines, from which I selected some of my favorites, including the Trapiche Oak Cask Syrah, which is under $10 and Trapiche's two single-vineyard Malbecs, the Vina Francisco Olive and the Vina Frederico Villafane, which are about $45 each.

After sampling Torino's Cuma wines on my trip, I urged my wine buyers to bring in both the Malbec and the Torrontes. I have since introduced many of our customers to these inexpensive, delicious wines.

In addition to the food and wine on my trip, I was exposed to Argentine tango dancing and gaucho-style dancing, with traditional costumes resembling old-world cowboys. We also enjoyed some late-night dancing at discotheques. My dancing earned me a nomination from the Trapiche staff of "party person."

Back home in Woodbridge, my customers enjoy hearing about my travels and, of course, experiencing the wines I found along the way. By bringing my trip to my customers, they are able to appreciate the wines on a more personal level.

My colleagues this year have been to Spain, Chile and Portugal. Next year's trip is still a mystery, but wherever it does bring me, I'm ready.

**Originally printed in the September 15, 2010 editions of the Courier News and Home News Tribune