Malbec World Day is an annual observance celebrated on April 17, to commemorate the day on which President

Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (15 February 1811 – 11 September 1888) was President of Argentina from 1868 to 1874. He was a member of a group of intellectuals, known as the '' Generation of 1837'', who had a great influence on 19th-century Argent ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

officially made it his mission to transform Argentina's wine industry. On April 17, 1853, Sarmiento tasked Michel Aimé Pouget, a French soil expert, to bring new vines to Argentina. Among the varietals Pouget brought was

Malbec Malbec () is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine. In France, plantations of Malbec are ...

.A. Domine (ed) ''Wine'' pg 840-844 Ullmann Publishing 2008 Pouget continued experimenting with the adaptation of French varietals to Argentina's diverse terroirs. A decade later, the

Great French Wine Blight The Great French Wine Blight was a severe blight of the mid-19th century that destroyed many of the vineyards in France and laid waste to the wine industry. It was caused by an insect that originated in North America and was carried across the At ...

affected the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...

region. The name "Malbec World Day" translates from the Spanish "Día Mundial del Malbec," meaning "Malbec throughout the world". The name stuck and continues to confuse English speakers to this day, as most refer to it "World Malbec Day" or "Malbec Mondo" for those who like the alliteration. In the meantime, Malbec flourished in Argentina, creating wines widely superior to those of its country of origin. Many decades later, in 1956, France faced another obstacle when a freeze wiped out the majority of Malbec vineyards. In the following years, specifically during the 1990s, Argentina positioned Malbec as their star varietal. More than 10,000 acres were planted and it became the undeniable leader of the country's exportations. Wine lovers around the world, especially in the United States, discovered and praised Argentine Malbec.

Origins

In 2011,

Wines of Argentina Argentina is the fifth largest producer of wine in the world.H. Johnson & J. Robinson: ''The World Atlas of Wine'', pp. 300-301, Mitchell Beazley Publishing 2005 . Argentine wine, as with some aspects of Cuisine of Argentina, Argentine cuisine, h ...

, responsible for communicating the Argentine wine brand around the world, established April 17 as Malbec World Day. Lis Clément, their Head of Marketing and Communications at the time, founded this day because she was convinced this celebration would help position Malbec as one of Argentina's wine gems. Excellent quality, ever surprising and diverse, Argentina's Malbec would lead the way to position Argentina as one of the main oenological centers of the world.

2012

The cities of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

simultaneously hosted "crushing parties" with Argentine grapes, with the intention of producing a special Malbec wine, which will be used for toasting at the 2012 edition of the Malbec World Day.

Argentina

On Saturday, April 16, 2011, Wines of Argentina held a cocktail party at

Tupungato Tupungato, one of the highest mountains in the Americas, is a massive Andes, Andean lava dome dating to Pleistocene times. It lies on the Argentina–Chile border, between the Chilean Metropolitan Region (near a major international highway about ...

Winelands for 150 people, who were there to toast with Malbec from three hot-air balloons floating at 30 meters of height.

United Kingdom

Two of the largest retailers in UK were promoting Argentine wines from the main regions:

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Salta Province, the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the List of cities in Argentina, 7th most-populous ...

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

, Mendoza and

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

. Promotions, direct sales, internet and in-store sales and tastings were some of the activities.

References

{{Reflist April observances International observances Observances about food and drink Argentine wine