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

Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (; born Domingo Faustino Fidel Valentín Sarmiento y Albarracín; 15 February 1811 – 11 September 1888) was an Argentine activist, intellectual, writer, statesman and the second President of Argentina. His writing s ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

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 n ...

.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 affected the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

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'' pg 300-301 Mitchell Beazley Publishing 2005 Argentine wine, as with some aspects of Argentine cuisine, has its roots in Spain. Duri ...

, 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 or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

and Ottawa 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 Andean lava dome dating to Pleistocene times. It lies on the border between the Chilean Metropolitan Region (near a major international highway about east of Santiago) and t ...

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 Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...

, San Juan, Mendoza and

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...

. 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