Wine Travel Stories

In-depth Tales of Winery Visits Around the World

Trapiche Winery – Amazing History & Focus on Sustainability in Mendoza, Argentina

Entrance to Trapiche Winery We received an unexpected invitation to visit Trapiche Winery in the morning before my first seminar, so we were delighted to accept because Trapiche is one of the largest and most famous brands in Argentina. The winery is located on the outskirts of Mendoza in an industrial area near the old railroad. Established in 1883, Trapiche was the first winery to ship their wine to Buenas Aires. The original brick winery buildings have been lovingly renovated, and now include a wine museum, the original concrete tanks in the cellar, and a beautiful tasting room on the [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:24:28-08:00May 29, 2014|

Visit to the Spectacular Salentein Winery in Uco Valley, Argentina

Horse Drawn Wagon in Uco Valley After breakfast at our hotel, we left the city of Mendoza around 10am in order to make our 11am appointment at Saletein Winery in the Uco Valley. It was a sunny warm day and we could see the snowcapped Andes mountains in the distance. As we drove through the hills and vineyards, we passed small villages, and at one point, saw man driving a horse-drawn wagon filled with branches. As we crested the hill and saw our first view of the Uco Valley everyone caught their breath in awe. So we stopped the car [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:25:06-08:00May 28, 2014|

Wine Tourism Advantages & Challenges in the Mendoza Area

Dancing at Vendemia Wine Festival in Mendoza As home to more than 400 bodegas (wineries) and with an international airport, Mendoza is a logical place for wine tourists to start. It has the advantages of large well-known wineries such as Catena Zapata, Achaval-Ferrer, Norton, Trapiche and many others. It also has a large number of wine tour companies that can schedule and transport tourists to wineries in the Maipu and Lujan de Cuyo areas near Mendoza, and an hour south to the famous Uco Valley. Plentiful restaurants with excellent food at bargain prices and upscale hotels make Mendoza and the [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:36:21-08:00May 23, 2014|

Visiting the Town of Chakras and Carinae Winery in Mendoza, Argentina

Malbec Vine in Mendoza Vineyard On Monday after a visit to the University of Cuyo in Lujan and a meeting with the Dean and other wine economics professors, we visited the charming “wine village” of Chakras. It is situated in the middle of the vineyards and wineries, and just a short 20-minute drive from downtown Mendoza. Filled with shops and restaurants, I thought this would be an ideal place in the future for wineries to establish mini-tasting rooms, similar to the town of Healdsburg in Sonoma County. We had an excellent lunch at the Chakras at Tea & Company where [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:25:29-08:00May 23, 2014|

Snapshot of the Argentina Wine Industry

Wines Regions of Argentina According to the National Institute of Viticulture in Argentina, the country now boasts 894 wineries, with more than 300 exporting wine to the US. The signature red grape is Malbec, which has become a favorite in the States because of its velvety texture and blueberry notes. Torrontes, which produces perfumed and spicy wines, is the signature white grape. Argentina also produces large quantities of excellent cabernet sauvignon, Syrah, tannat, merlot, and chardonnay. Its sparkling wines, which are rarely exported, are refreshing, well priced, and similar in style to Prosecco. There are 8 major wine regions, with [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:36:53-08:00May 18, 2014|

Wine Tourism Healthy in Mendoza, Argentina

Vineyards of Mendoza with Andes Mountains Ironically Malbec is not the best pairing with empanadas – the small meat and cheese filled turnovers of Argentina. Instead most locals recommend Torrontes wine as a better match. This is just one of the tips wine tourists learn when they visit the fifth largest wine producing country in the world. Wine tourism in Argentina is on the rise, spurred on by the devalued peso that has recently dropped 30% against the US dollar. This makes visiting Argentina attractive not only to Americans, but to many Brazilians as well who find excellent deals on [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:37:26-08:00May 18, 2014|

Chateau Bacchus – The Fairytale Wine Estate of Ningxia, China

Sunset at Chateau Bacchus (Dec. 2013) - Chateau Bacchus was a great winery to visit in that everything about it was “over the top.” It was extravagant, from the red carpet they rolled out to greet us, to the status of Bacchus standing proudly in the courtyard, and the fancy King Louis 16th décor dripping with chandeliers, gold leaf and rococo furnishings. Red Carpet Treatment at Chateau Bacchus The winemaker gave us a tour of the winery with its marble floors, and showed us the new membrane filter machine. Everything was state of the art and impressive. Chateau Bacchus has [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:37:45-08:00January 16, 2014|

Xixia King Winery – Largest in Ningxia, China

Standing in Front of Xixia King Winery (Dec. 2013) We visited Xixia King Winery on a sunny winter afternoon, and I was very impressed with all of the large signs and entry gates signaling the approach of the huge Chinese style visitor’s center, which is named Chateau Yuachan. Xixia King is the oldest winery in Ningxia having been established in 1982. They are also the largest, farming over 100,000 mu (1/3 of the vineyards in Ningxia) and, have extensive housing for their workers. It was originally a cooperative and has 14 farms. Today is it owned by the regional government, [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:38:06-08:00January 9, 2014|

Chateau Lanyi – Winery of Rocks and Music, Ningxia, China

(Dec. 2013) - In the afternoon we visited Chateau Lanyi (also spelled Lanny), which has as its symbol the native grey-blue rock of the region. The tasting room is fittingly designed in a Chinese style with a long low building and wide porch with posts. There is also a restaurant, game room, and beautifully decorated hotel rooms on site. The front of the property has a small pond, picnic tables with Chinese roofs, and a table grape vineyard in addition to the wine grape vineyard where tourists can walk in arbors under hanging grapes in the summer. The winery is [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:38:26-08:00January 7, 2014|

Chateau Helan Quingxue – Winner of 2011 Decanter International Trophy, Ningxia, China

(Dec. 2013) - The next afternoon we visited Chateau Helan Quingxue which is housed in a more modest structure of red brick and reminded me of a combination of Soviet and Chinese architecture. Inside there is a modern winery with stainless steel tanks, a small barrel room, and a very large visitor’s center. Though not finished yet, this part of the winery is designed to showcase all of the wines of Ningxia so that visitors can taste all of the brands in one location. We were greeted with much enthusiasm by the petite and vivacious winemaker, Zhang Jing. She speaks [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:38:45-08:00January 2, 2014|

Chateau Yuanshi Winery – Luxurious Stone Winery Designed with Local Chinese Desert Architecture, Ningxia

(Dec. 2013) - This winery is massive and very impressive as you approach and see the tall stone walls designed in the traditional Chinese fortress style of the region. It includes pathways paved in native stone and breath-taking art sculptures designed of wood and petrified rock. The owner is a very gracious Chinese woman who has hired a French winemaker from Bordeaux to produce some excellent local cabernet sauvignon. Production is around 150,000 bottles (12,500 cases). The winemaking facility is state of the art, with new stainless steel fermenters, and top of the line basket press. Hundreds of French oak [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:39:07-08:00January 1, 2014|

Yuange Winery – Modern Chinese Architecture With Ice-Covered Pond and Geese, Ningxia

(Dec. 2013) - The first winery we visited was Yaunge, which is owned by a woman with a female winemaker. (NOTE: Many Chinese women seem to be involved in the wine business here, and have the roles of owner, general manager, or winemaker). The architecture is modern Chinese with large brick walls made of native stones and artwork that includes beautiful statues carved from native wood. The winery is is situated on the edge of a pond, which was covered with ice when we visited. A curved bridge allows you to walk across the pond to the vineyards, which were [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:39:27-08:00December 30, 2013|

Photos of Winery Architecture in the Ningxia Wine Region of China

(Dec. 2013) On my second trip to the Ningxia wine region of China, I was able to visit six additional wineries and drive past many others along the new Ningxia wine route. Presently they have 100 different wineries with a lofty goal to reach 1000 in the next decade. What surprised me the most was the different types of architecture used for the wineries. They ranged from traditional and modern Chinese, to French Chateau, Industrial and Urban Ghetto. Quite Fascinating. Following are some photos of these wineries. Chateau Bacchus (Photo by L. Thach) Xixia King Winery (Photo by L. Thach) [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:39:47-08:00December 21, 2013|

A Snapshot of Wineries and Vineyards in the Ningxia Wine Region of China

(Dec. 10, 2013) According to our host, Mr. Cao, Ningxia now has over 100 wineries, with a plan to grow to over 1000 in the next decade. I visited 6 wineries on this trip as part of the conference, in which we lectured on best practices in wine tourism in the morning and visited local wineries in the afternoon. Each of these wineries is described in more detail in other posts. Vineyard Acres in Ningxia Now Equal Approximately 57,500 Acres We were informed that Ningxia now has 300,000 to 400,000 mu of planted vineyards. A mu is the term for [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:40:07-08:00December 21, 2013|

Second Visit to Ningxia Wine Region of China

(Dec. 9, 2013) Though the weather temperature averaged 32 degrees Fahrenheit (F) during the day with lows around 8F at night, my most recent trip to Yinchuan was filled with warm hospitality and many positive experiences. Yinchuan is the capital city of the Ningxia wine region, and a two hour flight West of Beijing. The local government had decided to host a 5-day wine tourism conference and invited me and two other colleagues, Larry from Australia and Damien from France, to speak. I flew from San Francisco to Beijing, and was met at the airport by my good friend, Qin, [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:40:28-08:00December 21, 2013|

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