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BODEGA PIATTELLI VINEYARDS

A Donde Vamos

'From Argentina to Minnesota: Piattelli Vineyards Launches Second Line'

Kelcie McKenney - Minnesota Monthly - July 2015
Try a taste from a new vine, and sip on wine from the heart of South America. Piattelli Vineyards from Argentina has just launched a new line from their second winery located in Cafayate, Salta—a northern province of Argentina located on the Tropic of Capricorn.

When their first line of wines—made at their original winery in Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina—made their way into the United States, Minnesota was the first state to get their hands on the freshly imported bottles.

The reason why? Piattelli Vineyards’ owner Jon Malinski is a Minnesota native and lifelong resident who has spent the past 15 years passionate about Argentina’s wine after he and his wife found the potential for a winery on vacation in 2000. While Argentina is the fifth largest wine producer in the world, hardly any of those bottles were being exported—hence the light bulb that went off in Malinski’s head when he realized there was an opportunity he couldn’t pass by.

Today, between both wineries, Piattelli Vineyards has a total of 16 different wines including Malbec, Trinità, Cabernet Sauvignon, Rosé, Torrontés and Malbec-Tannat, with many in reserve, grand reserve and limited edition bottles.

While Piattelli Vineyards’ first winery had 121 acres of land to grow red and white Argentinian grapes, the new winery in Cafayate, Salta, Argentina—a northern sister region of Mendoza—has over 470 acres of land. So beyond those delicious grapes, this new location makes Piattelli the only Argentina wine brand to produce two full lines of wine in two distinct wineries and wine regions.

Beyond their unique status, Piattelli Vineyards has won over 35 awards and is currently sold in 10 countries. But the best part is the affordability of the wine. With a price range falling between $10-$30, a bottle of this rich wine—whether on reserve or not—is hard to pass on.

For your first try from Piattelli Vineyards, we suggest their 2013 Cafayate Reserve Malbec. With its 90-point rating from the Wine Spectator and at only $17 a bottle, this wine from their newest vineyard is a delicious steal. Similarly, the 2012 Premium Reserve Malbec from Mendoza also received a 90-point rating and is an equally recommended option.

You can find Piattelli Vineyards at Surdyk’s Liquor Store, Haskell's, South Lyndale Liquors and your local liquor store.

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In Argentina, as in northern California, the pioneers of the wine industry have long been people of north Italian regional ancestry. Another connection is the deep roots of Lombard people in both Argentina and the Great Lakes region. For example, Cordoba, Argentina or Duluth, Minnesota are both fairly large cities with deep Lombard roots... although apparently they don't know each other. I guess to complete the circle, the late Robert Mondavi was originally from Minnesota, and achieved his fame and fortune in the Napa Valley wine industry; and his wife was Ticinese/Lombard. I suppose you could just as easily state that both, or even all three, regions also have deep German roots as well. I like this Minnesota-Argentina connection in any form it may take, and further so since I'm an Argentophile and I have family in the Great Lakes region.

Piattelli Vineyards website

"The Clan"

"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family; whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one." 

-- Jane Howard

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