A Trip to the Uco Valley

If Lujan de Cuyo is the valley floor in Napa, Uco valley would be the various mountain designations and the buzz surrounding them. It is the south of Lujan and slightly cooler and at higher altitudes. the soils tend to be rockier and with more sand. All these factors improve the possibilities of growing high quality grapes. The French and Italians bought in while the land was still cheap and are now making some of the most expensive Argentine wines. This wasn't always the case however, as past generations realized that excellent drainage and cooler nights meant lower yields and less profit. Having had and tasted some of the differences between the two regions was more than enough reason for me to get up at 7am on Saturday (the day after 'Boxing Day') and take the 1+ drive with Guille to check out the vineyards.

Much like our previous outing, I threw him every question I had and his responses were always calm and measured. The main issues to keep in mind are the dramatic temperature shifts from day to night (better balance and acidity), the drainage of the sandy, rocky soils and lack of organic matter (lower yielding vines of higher complexity), and intense sunlight due to the higher elevation (thicker skins, thus more tannins and polyphenols which will enhance color and complexity).

I have had the pleasure of growing up in Napa Valley and visiting the surrounding wine regions. The beauty of this area is so striking that I frequently find myself veering into the other lane while driving up the Silverado Trail. I have also taking a ferry down the Rhine River in Germany and sat in the back seat of vintage bug (top off, of course) as we buzzed around the famous Langhe in Italy, visiting towns like La Morra and Barolo. In Bulgaria I took a 5 hour car ride with two unknowns to check out the vineyards of Melnik tucked back into sandy mountains and in Croatia the vines hug the beautiful Dalmation coast. Each place is stunningly gorgeous and each place is unique. None of them, however, are set in as majestic a setting as are those in Uco Valley. I am not talking about asethic beauty, although the snow capped Andes certainly are that, instead I'm referring to the imposing background they provide. They loom over the vineyards with a regal elegance and also act as a natural compass so that one never loses track of their orientation.

We spent the day collecting samples, driving down one lane roads littered with pot holes and stray dogs. We said hi to the people that live in tiny houses along the dusty, rocky roads that head into the vineyards. Nobody seemed to notice when we strayed into other lots and tasted fruit that wasn't ours and it made me think about how many mix ups have happened over the years, both intentionally and unintentionally, where wineries didn't end up getting what had originally been planned. We picked out which lot we'd buy of the three available and decided to go with the least vigourous of the three. We drove North, South, East and West and stopped off to get some deli meats, cheese and bread. We stopped off at an abandoned vineyard and took some souvenirs. Vestiges of a time when quantity trumped quality, these gnarley vines were as thick as telephone polls and had 4 main arms instead of the two we see today. It made me think of Morimoto Napa and how one of the poshest, trendiest places in Napa Valley had old dead plants highlighting its interior design. I ate grape after grape and crunched on seed after seed. I prentended that I knew which were 'better' and which were 'worse' but came to the conclusion that those that I liked the taste of more were not necessary better or worse. In time, I trust that I will know. I ate so many grapes that the tip of my tongue became numb and prickly and when I was tired of the sweet juice and drying tannins, I scooped up the various soils into my hands and wished that somehow by touching it and smelling it, I would understand it better, as if by osmosis. It's exciting to feel that I have learned something from these two field trips with Guille and humbling to think that I know so little.

As we did before, we came back and analyzed the various samples. We ooed and awed about the color of the Bonarda and Tempranillo, we quadruple checked the brix of one of the Malbec plots which had actually gone down in brix (yet another case of the produce watering even though they've been instructed not to at this point), and we speculated as to how much longer it would take the seeds to mature. Basically, it was the first day that I started to feel like I could at least hold a conversation about viticulture and not be completely full of it. That's a good enough start for me.