NI visit for top Argentine wine-maker

Alberto Arizu, the third generation producer of Argentina’s Luigi Bosca wines, made his first visit to Northern Ireland in September when he was a guest of Belfast -based distributor, Direct Wine Shipments.

Alberto  Arizu from Bodega Luigi Bosca in Argentina was hosted during a two-day trip to Belfast recently by Neal and Peter McAlindon of Direct Wine Shipments (DWS).

He was in the province for a two-day stay as part of wider visit during which he met wine-sellers across Europe.

During his brief stop-off in Belfast, he hosted a well-attended wine-tasting and supper evening at his hosts’ premises in Corporation Square.

Bodega Luigi Bosca was founded more than a century ago when Mr. Arizu’s great-great-grandfather, Don Leoncio Arizu emigrated to Argentina from Spain. Don Leoncio planted his first vines – which had been brought from Europe – in 1901. Many adaptations and cross-cultivations followed before grapes emerged that were ideally suited to the conditions in Mendoza, the region in north-central Argentina where the modern winery is situated.

Bodega Luigi Bosca is still a family-owned business today, looked after by the third and fourth generations. And speaking to LCN during his trip to Belfast, Mr. Arizu indicated that the winery deliberately looks to work with other small, family businesses in its markets around the world:

“We make a point of seeking out this type of business,” he explained. “We have relationships with some of our customers that go back 30 years or more. We do that because businesses like this have a similar mentality to our own, they have longer-term aspirations concerning what they are trying to achieve. We’re not just building up a company here so that we can sell it on, this isn’t just our job, it is our way of life.”

Direct Wine Shipments (DWS) is one such company. The Luigi Bosca brand has been exported to the UK for the last 20 years or so and DWS has been the exclusive NI agent for the label for the last decade:

“This really is an amazing selection of wines,” said Peter McAlindon, co-owner at DWS. “It has really struck a chord with clients in the hospitality sector here where these wines have been very successful, particularly the La Linda Malbec.”

Mr. Arizu studied business in Argentina and the United States in the early 90s before joining the family wine-making business. In the early days, he concentrated heavily on strategising for the brand and developing new markets:

“These days, I really enjoy creating wines and I love the whole production process, I love all the aspects of what we do, but at the start, I took a different approach. At that time, Argentina wasn’t known in the world for its wine, despite being the fifth-biggest producer globally. We were drinking all of the wine we were producing ourselves,” he continued.

“But I was able to see the opportunity that existed for us to open up our economy to the world. We first began to export wine from Argentina in the mid-90s and it was the start of a new era for us and the industry.”

During that initial period, Argentina was exporting around $30m dollars of wine per annum. Now, it exports a staggering total of around $1000m in wine every year. Along with New Zealand, Argentina is widely regarded as the most dynamic wine-producing country in the world over the last 20 years, now commanding around five per cent of the global market.

The wine produced at Bodega Luigi Bosca in the foothills of the Andes is very distinctive. These vineyards are situated at altitudes of more than 1000 metres above sea level, so the wine matures more slowly, making for an elegant, fruit-filled finish.

It’s also very dry, so the vines are irrigated using nutrient-rich, melted snow from the Andes. This, combined with fresh, cool winds and more sunshine than most other vineyards could hope for, helps produce rich, flavoursome wines that are sought-after everywhere. The region of Mendoza, where Bodega Luigi Bosca is situated, is particularly well-known for the high quality of its Malbec.

Looking to the future, Mr. Arizu – who was elected president of Wines of Argentina for the third time in April this year – said that he believed his winery would continue to produce new, high quality varieties of wine for a market which, he says, is becoming increasingly dynamic:

“People are always looking for new things, for innovation, it’s becoming a very important part of this business, and so I am looking forward to being able to show our customers the great diversity that can come from our valleys.”

Our picture at the top shows Neal McAlindon (right) and Peter (left with Alberto Arizu outside their Corporation Square premises in Belfast.

Luigibosca.com

Directwineshipments.com