[EVENT & PHOTOS] WINE CAMP FOR ADULTS: THE VINES OF MENDOZA PRIVATE VINEYARD ESTATE OWNERS CONFERENCE

Many of you may not realize that we (Nicole & Jennifer) got involved with the Vines of Mendoza project in its earliest days back in 2006.  [That’s almost 10 years ago! Yup – it takes a lot of patience to be in the wine business!]

We invested in the greater project which includes private vineyard estates, wineries, a world class resort (called The Vines Resort & Spa) and Francis Mallman’s Siete Fuegos restaurant. 

Their story: In December 2004, Michael Evans (CEO) went to Mendoza for a long weekend of wine tasting and he never left. The magic and majesty of Mendoza, along with the chance meeting of co-founder Pablo Gimenez Riili, resulted in the creation of The Vines of Mendoza in the Spring of 2005.

Media Luna was one of the earliest vineyards planted as part of this incredible project!  As part of The Vines of Mendoza we participate in The Private Vineyard Estate (PVE) Owners Conference or as I like to call it – Wine Camp for Adults!

It’s a phenomenal life experience where we are ‘in class’ (which might be in the winery, out among the wines, in the bottling room) and tasting, making and reviewing wines for several days. In fact one day I counted that we tasted 24 different wines – all starting at 10:30 am by tasting our Sauvignon Blanc right from the tank. What a joy! I believe there is an adage and it is true. . . ‘you need to drink a lot of wine to make good wine!’

Some of the sessions covered topics like Oak and it’s impact on the wine. We tasted wine aged in oak from France (where our barrels are from) and the US as well as the impact of barrel toasting on the wine. We also got a good sense of the terrior in our amazing Uco Valley and how our vines/babies get stressed from the high dessert region and thus shoot out small roots to best absorb the water from our nurturing drip irrigation lines.  It’s all fascinating stuff and the more we learn the more humble we become.

Ok so it’s highly educational, ridiculous fun and I have not even mentioned the amazing people! The teams that grow, guide, consult, ferment, etc. our wine are truly lovely souls and have become dear friends. There’s more about some of the team members on our Story page. . .but here is a shout out to the entire Vines of Mendoza team as they are deeply knowledgeable and superbly fun people and we’re blessed to have them on our team. We also adore our fellow vineyard estate owners as they are clearly kindred spirits – not a single person is risk adverse but rather pioneering and also are really fun people who LOVE WINE!

We could go on. . .if you ever want to see more pictures or hear stories, just reach out! Please consider coming with us next time we're home in Mendoza or go and visit and the team will warmly greet you at The Vines.

Here are a few fun pictures from the event!