The Masters adventure began in Buenos Aires at an extraordinarily beautiful hotel. The historic Park Hyatt Palacio Duhau is a grandiose and elegant mansion in the style of Paris’ Avenue George V. This hotel is a marriage of the rich culture of Argentina and old world European tradition. Paris born General Manager, Christophe Lorvo, told us that he was “enchanted with the cultural life of Buenos Aires because of its similarity to France”. He added that “Argentina is a country of passions : passion for life, for culture, for tango and for wine.

This makes Argentina the perfect location for the Masters. It boasts a flourishing wine industry, a sophisticated gastronomy, a very important cultural life and that is why it has become a thriving tourist destination.” The initial event attracted le tout of Buenos Aires. Representatives of the art scene mingled with wine and food journalists, businessmen, chefs, sommeliers and foreign guests in the elegant Palacio Duhau rooms and on the stone terrace overlooking the manicured gardens.
We were treated to a Malbec, Torrontes and Cheese Tasting. Ten stations displayed an amazing assortment of cheeses, from spicy to sweet, from Blue to Brie, from Pategras to Crottin – the best of Argentine cows, goats and sheep. All of them paired imaginatively with 14 exquisite wines from unique Argentine wineries : Viñas del Adagio, Norton, Felipe Rutini, Pascual Toso, Doña Silvina, Viña Alicia, Luigi Bosca, Fin del Mundo and Jacques & Francois Lurton.

I marveled at the “then and now” of the Argentine wine and food industry. Things have come a long way. My adventure continued in Mendoza, the eighth wine capital of the world. I was welcomed by Mr. Antonio Alvarez Campillo, the General Manager of the newly reconstructed Park Hyatt – the city’s only five star hotel. Arriving in Mendoza a short four months prior to the Masters 2008, Antonio immersed himself like a toreador in the complicated logistics of this, one of the major wine events of the year. “This is a very important event for the city and for us. It has tremendous impact on tourism - it showcases the province, the mountains, the ski resorts and the wineries.”

The opening night cocktail and tasting was fabulous with live tango, fireworks and over 1000 people on the big patio under the stars. We strolled by the many food stations tended by a galaxy of international and local chefs including Paola Carosella, Andrew Ormsby, Goving Amstrong and Pepe Pintos. And we tasted over 200 wines poured by the producers and wine makers in the ballroom, the “Salon de los Espejos”.
The next two days were a whirlwind. The huge crowd of bon vivants, amateurs and connoisseurs, journalists and special guests were divided into six different groups who were escorted to the top wineries. Early morning, we tasted wines at one famous winery and by lunch time we found ourselves at another top winery enjoying a leisurely lunch prepared by a great chef on site.

I still have vivid memories of the very special single vineyard wines at Alta Vista as well as the incredible vertical tasting of various vintages at Achaval Ferrer.

And then, there was the exceptional pairing of the Norton Reserva Malbec 2005 with the pancetta wrapped breast of quail, quail egg, fuji apple-sauce with a calvados glaze prepared by Mark Ayers and the Lagarde Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 with the pork medallions with sweet potato puree prepared by the famous local chef Luis Acuña. Life is so hard in the wine world !

Friday was a bit of a departure because I attended with great curiosity the seminar taught by Andreas Larsson, Best Sommelier of the World 2007. And with the rigor of a professional wine tasting, we proceeded to taste S. Pellegrino and Acqua Panna with six different wines and foods. It was an eye opener to discover the subtle effects of water in the harmony between wine and food.

And then of course I have to tell you about the evenings. In Mendoza the newest trend - restaurants by famous chefs in unique wineries. On one occasion we dined at La Bourgogne. Chef Ziegler prepared a fabulous Malargue goat with curry sauce which worked wonderfully with the Vistalba Corte B 2003. One of the intriguing marvels that night was Vistalba’s underground cellar which has a three meter high naked wall covered by glass revealing the many layers of the vineyard’s soil.

The final tour de force of the week was the official closing banquet. Six different chefs prepared a remarkable feast such as the amuse bouche by Montse Estruch, Michelle Bernstein’s sweetbread beignets with caramelized vinaigrette and camote risotto paired with the Salentein Primus Pinot Noir and the Dominio del Plata BenMarco Malbec and Nicolas Le Bec’s lamb with a red pepper and eggplant puree doused with the Norton Quorum and the Navarro Correas Alegoria.

This exceptional meal was choreographed by Andreas Larsson who guided the hundreds of diners to a greater understanding of the interrelationship of the individual courses and the wines.

The logistics for this week-long enterprise could not have succeeded without the efforts of Marcelo Rebole, Sommelier extraordinaire of the Park Hyatt Palacio Duhau and Chef Alejandro Escudero of the Park Hyatt Mendoza. They steered a team of over 250 wine and food professionals including sommeliers and chefs from, San Paulo, Santiago, Lima, Buenos Aires, Dallas, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boca Raton, South Florida, New York, Carmel, Washington DC, Toronto, London, Sidney, Lyon and Barcelona....

It was a major undertaking. On the following day we were surprised to be invited to a celebration hosted by Zuccardi to thank the numerous visiting chefs and sommeliers that helped make the Masters a success. It included a delicious barbecue and a delightful harvest competition where we all cut grapes. It was a fun way to round up an exceptional week.

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