Monday was just one of those days. Cold, dreary and idle. Too lazy to go to the store we decided to clean out the fridge. Utilising your semi-neglected contents can be a dangerous business. Our cellar was even more sparse than our pantry, making for some exotic combinations.

This morning while taking my coffee I shuffled through the news and listened to a few podcasts. I subscribe to quite a few from NPR but always make time for Garison Keillor’s News From Lake Woebgon.

Cavagnaro is probably not a name that rings a bell. Especially when talking about one of the grandfathers of Argentine winemaking. But that’s exactly who Cavagnaro is. The Cavagnaro family started planting and producing wine with the Rutini family back in 1891.

In an attempt to make wines easier to understand, my company, Anuva Wines, has taken the liberty to use brief catch phrases to sum up, in an albeit “high concept” way, all of the wines we carry. Hom espumante is “The Crowd Pleaser”, Cavagnaro Malbec “Opens Like Violets in the Morning”, and Anecon Torrontés is “For Poolside Sipping.” Why? Try the wine and you will understand.

Wine Enthusiast, one of the United States’ most respected and well-read wine publications, recently named Mendoza as the Wine Region of the Year for 2008. Frankly, the news doesn’t come as a great surprise. In a matter of a short few years, Argentina has shot up to be the fifth largest wine producer in the world, with Mendoza being, as Wine Enthusiast says, “the heart, mind and soul of the Argentine wine industry.”

Buttery, rich and hedonistic. Nine months in new oak barrels and only 4,000 bottles made. This treasure of Argentine wine making was first discovered by Anuva about 18 months ago and I have been pouring it a wine tastings ever since. Lucky me, since I get to taste it every time. It has aged beautifully.

Picking up right where we left off: if you looked at the wine, discerning its colour (the ‘eye’) and smelled the wine (‘nose’), deciding whether you liked it and whether you could put any descriptors on it, it is time to put the wine in your mouth

What’s the deal with swirling? Swishing? Looking at a wine with your finger behind it? Legs? Nose? Body? Length? Blah? Blaahh? Blaaahhh? Let’s break it down.

I asked myself the question: “Could I truly recommend a good wine for under 15 pesos?” The answer espouses my wine philosophy: yes, because taste, by definition is subjective. I, for one, find very few wines that please my wholly pompous palate at that price.