Charlie O´Malley
takes a look at a dazzling operation
In 1955 the president of French wine giant Moet et Chandon, Robert
Jean de Vogue, made an enlightening trip to Argentina. He was
impressed by the prodigous amounts of wine imbibed by the locals
- an impressive 90 litres per capita annually, 60% of which was
white. He also took note of their strange habit of adding ice
cubes and soda water to each glass.
"Wow," he thought, "this country is ready for
champagne!" And so began the story of Chandon in Argentina,
the original foreign wine investor. It just so happened that Argentines
took to champaña like ducks to water and joined the top
3 consumers in the world. They ignored the prissy custom of drinking
it on occasions only. Why keep it for weddings or anniversaries
when you can have it any day of the week, before dinner, after
dinner, in the shower.
"Valmont became the most widely
sold still wine in South America."
By 1986 Chandon were selling 4.5 million bottles
of the stuff. Studying Argentine taste, the company developed
a new champagne category called extra brut. It was light, friendly
and very drinkable. By 1996 sales topped a staggering 16.5 million.
Indeed sparkling wine became synonymous with the era, known as
"the pizza and champagne years", referring to the boom
of the Menem presidency.
Chandon Argentina became one of the most profitable
arms of the mother company in France - a winery dating back to
1743 and the biggest house in Champagne region. The company has
similar subsiduaries in Brazil, Spain, Australia and California.
The Argentine outfit didn´t stop at making sparkling wines
however. Their Valmont label. a light, fresh and fruity claret,
became the most widely sold still wine in South America. A recent
addition, Latitud 33, looks set to do the same.
Never one to lie back on its barrels, the winery
sensed early on the new direction of Argentine wine was towards
distant horizons. In 1998 they created a seperate winery to satisfy
this export need. Terrazas de los Andes refers to the different
altitudes or terraces of its vineyards in Perdriel, Vistalba and
Tupungato, each individually suited to the growing of Cabernet
Sauvignon, Malbec and Chardonnay respectively. A huge 19th century
building in Perdriel was refurbished: no mean feat considering
the original building had no foundations, no steel reinforcing
and was held together with absolutely no cement.
Thankfully Terrazas wines have a lot more structure
and are leading an export drive. 70% of Terrazas output is for
overseas and Chandons exports in general have jumped to 25% from
2% in 1998 and are set to continue increasing.
Such sales are attracting wine tourists from all
over the world and both the Chandon winery and Terrazas are two
of the most popular wineries to visit in the Mendoza region. A
marvellous tasting room at Terrazas overlooks the winery and is
made from oak beams originally used in the giant oak vats of yesteryear.
An additional attraction is a boutique guesthouse with 6 luxurious
rooms and a dining room with 5-star cuisine.
In tune with the times, Chandon is now part of the
luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, otherwise known as Moet Hennessy.Luis
Vuitton. This multi-billion dollar operation owns more luxury
brands than Kate Moss has tank tops, including Christian Dior,
Donna Karan, Tag Heur and Givenchy. The LVMH drinks cabinet is
a heady mix of Hennessey cognac, Glenmorangie whiskey, Dom Perignon
and of course Chandon. Sounds like a great party.
