We are excited to be joining forces with Wines of Argentina to celebrate their 5th World Malbec Day.  Stop by Cork as we participate in this global event.  We will be sampling a few of our favorite Malbec wines.

Malbec originated and was for long cultivated in the southwest of France. The resulting wines, named “from Cahors” after their region, have enjoyed increasing recognition since the times of the Roman Empire. Their prestige became consolidated in the Middle Ages and they gained full recognition in modern times.

Malbec was brought to our country from France in 1853 by Michel Aimé Pouget (1821-1875), an agronomist who was hired by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento to run the Quinta Agronómica de Mendoza. After the French model, this Quinta Normal sought to incorporate new varietals as a way to boost the national wine industry.

On April 17th, 1853, with the support of Mendoza’s governor Pedro Pascual Segura, a bill was submitted to the Provincial Legislature for the foundation of a Quinta Normal and a School of Agriculture. The bill was enacted as law by the House of Representatives on September 6th, 1853.

By the end of the 19th century, viticulture experienced an exponential development in the hands of Italian and French immigrants, and so did Malbec, which adapted quickly to the varied terroirs offered by our geography and developed even better than in its original land.

In this way, over the course of time and after much hard work, Malbec came to be Argentina’s flagship variety. The efforts made by Pouget and Sarmiento for the Quinta Normal of Mendoza played a key role in that process. To Wines of Argentina, April 17th not only represents the transformation of Argentina’s wine industry, but it is also the starting point for the development of Malbec as the iconic variety and international flagship of Argentina’s viticulture.