H.E. Mr. Hector Horacio Salvador, Ambassador of the Republic of Argentina in the Netherlands during the opening of Malbec Day 2018.
By Michael Bonté.
The 8th edition of Malbec wine celebration once again kicked off at the ‘Gauchos restaurant’ located on a lovely lake at Weissenbruchlaan in Rotterdam. Dionysus, the God of Wine looked favourably upon us as the weather turned out fine.
The Embassy of Argentina had invited wine connaisseurs to participate in a Malbec wine tasting. A whopping 18 wine importers showcased their Malbec wines. The guests were certainly in for a treat as about 100 wines were presented for tasting.
From the North of Argentina wines with a balanced structure and a good ageing potential. From the famous Mendoza region come wines with lighter tannins and from the South of Argentina, which has more rain and more extremer temperatures, comes more complex and fruity wines.
The guests went about the tasting room in a spirited way as they nibbled on crackers to get ready for yet another tasting of the excellent wines. As one of the invitees remarked: ‘Who doesn’t like day time drinking’.
As tradition dictated a short Malbec master class was presented by Fransbert Schermer. Who educated the guests in an amusing way about one of Argentina’s great exports.
Ambassador H.E. Mr. Hector Horacio Salvador said: “ In a country where the winemaking tradition is as deeply rooted in its culture as tango, football and asado.” he also remarked that: “Wine is a vehicle for culture” and with those words he presented us with a couple who performed a tango dance.
As the sun was out all the guests moved to the lake side lawns of the restaurant to enjoy 100 wines served with an lovely empanada and two different freshly grilled meat dishes from the food truck grill.
Among the participants were the Ambassador from Peru H.E. Mr. Carlos Herrera and his spouse Veronique Miclea, the Ambassador of Brazil H.E. Mrs. Regina Dunlop and H.E. Mr. Philippe Couvreur, Registrar at the International Court of Justice.
As the sun faded and the bottles were almost empty it was time to head homewards. Yet another excellent event and the invitees already looking forward to the 2019 edition.
For additional Kim Vermaat’s pictures, please open the following link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157695907814301
