The Travel Chica

Live Simple. Consume Less. Experience More.

I Came All the Way to South America to Drink Gato Negro

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I was so happy to arrive in Buenos Aires because I could finally find good red wine for reasonable prices (not possible in Central America).  Of course, my definition of cheap wine has changed since I became jobless and started backpacking in Latin America.  In the US, $7-12 was the range for what I would consider a cheap bottle.  In Argentina, you can get much higher quality wine for that price range.  So now that I am on a budget and in Argentina, cheap now means US$5.00 or less.

Los Vinos de Tu Chino

When I was invited to a wine tasting called Los Vinos de Tu Chino, I was very excited.  In Buenos Aires, the place to buy cheap wine is at the chinos.  That is what they call the supermarkets run by the Chinese, and I think there is one on every single block in this city.  The chinos buy their wine together in bulk, which is how they offer discount prices.  I have also heard that there is an arrangement between governments, and the Chinese owners don’t have to pay taxes for 10 years, another reason they are cheaper.  There was another story about a Chinese mafia.  But I digress…

The whole premise of this event was to learn about cheap wine.  I have tried several cheap wines since I arrived in Buenos Aires.  Some have been highly disappointing and some have been surprisingly delicious.

Now I was ready for an expert to guide me to the best cheap wines.

Off To A Bad Start

I was starving when I arrived.  The first thing I noticed was a beautiful display of food on the table.  I purposely did not eat because I was told there would be food.  However, in typical Argentine fashion, we did not start at 8pm but rather 45 minutes late.  And then when we did start, we were told we couldn’t eat the food yet because there were specific items we would taste with each wine.

A hungry Stephanie is not a happy Stephanie.

The Food

That beautiful display of food was quite delicious.  There were a variety of cheeses and meats, crackers, veggies, dried fruit, nuts, and spicy toasted bread (my favorite).

Photo of food

Photo of bread

The Wines

Out of the 4 wines we tasted, 2 were absolutely disgusting. If you gave me a free bottle, I would pour it down the drain.  I would not give it away because I would not want anyone else to suffer.

The best wine of the tasting was….

Gato Negro

Photo of bottle of wine

Yep, that’s right.  The cheap wine I’ve been drinking in the US for years is the cheapest decent wine I have had in Buenos Aires.  The bonus here is that it only costs 13.50 pesos or US$3.25.

To help you avoid the same disappointment I had, the two disgusting wines were Colon Torrontes 2010 (13.50 pesos or US$3.25) and San Telmo Cabernet 2007 (probably the same price).  Seriously, don’t drink these.

Reality Check

What was I expecting at a cheap wine tasting?  I was expecting every wine to be delicious.  However, when you are experimenting with cheap wines, you’re going to get some bad ones.  I should have known this from my own experience trying various cheap wines in Buenos Aires.

As I have gotten older, I am no longer drinking wine to get a buzz. I drink it because I enjoy the taste. So I am not looking for the cheapest wine possible.  I am looking for a good cheap wine.  And that means US$3.00 wines in Argentina are NOT for me.

If you are willing to spend US$4.50-6.00 (and I am), you can get a pretty nice wine in Argentina.  And if you are willing to splurge and spend US$10.00-15.00, you will be amazed by the quality.

I would rather not drink wine at all than drink wine that I don’t enjoy. I have done A LOT of experimenting with different wines in Buenos Aires, and I will share my favorite good cheap wines soon.

What I Learned

Despite going into this thing with the wrong expectations, I did actually learn a few interesting things about drinking cheap wine that are worth passing along.

  • The indentation at the bottom of the bottle is an indicator of quality. The more concave, the more the sediment can be filtered.  Seriously, take a look at a cheap bottle and a medium or high-priced bottle.  You will see a big difference.  The US$3.00 wines have no curve at all.
  • Apple slices are good for cleaning your palate between wines.
  • With cheap wines, exposure to light impacts the quality rapidly. If buying cheap wines, grab the bottle in the back that has had less exposure to the lights in the store.
  • Cheap wines are more alcoholic.  You will notice the “legs” are faster.

The ladies at Vinoteca Latinoamericana are really great and knowledge about how to taste wines.  This is an enjoyable (and cheap) evening in Buenos Aires… if you don’t show up hungry and don’t expect that every wine will be spectacular.

If anyone has suggestions on good cheap wine, please share.

Comments

  1. Interesting, I never though of grabbing the bottle in the back. will do that next time!

    As a student I always have to look after my budget and that means that cheap wine is normal even though I rather prefer beer. While living in Australia I started drinking goon. Do you know that wine? it comes in boxes and it tastes disgusting. I bet even worse than the two you had. The good thing about goon is that you can use the bag later as a pillow when you pass out :)

    I’m surprised by the San Telmo I saw this wine couple of times here in the shop and it is sold for about 10 € which is compared to there super expensive and already in the section of good wines. I never tried it though…
    Sebastian recently posted..Guest Post- What are you doing in life

  4. I laughed when I read that part about the disgusting wines! It reminded me of when I was backpacking around Cambodia and went to a winery in Battambang.

    The winery was just some random house, and the wine was ridiculously bad!

    The concave indentation in a bottle you mentioned is called a ‘punt’, the notion that a large punt makes the wine better is very old school, did they really tell you that at the winery?
    Slice recently posted..Bangkok to Cambodia

    • This “cheap wine” tasting was not at a winery. It was in someone’s apartment. I hope a real winery wouldn’t plan on serving US$2.50 bottles at a wine tasting :-)

      Thank you for the term ‘punt.’ I sounded a little silly trying to describe it before. It may not make the wine better, but I have now started looking at the bottom of wine bottles (even though people look at my like I’m crazy) and there are no cheap wines with much of a ‘punt.’ My guess is that the bottle with the ‘punt’ costs more, whether it does anything or not to the quality of the wine.
      The Travel Chica recently posted..Take Off Your Shirt and Don’t Mind the Suction Cups

  5. Enjoyed the article. I find it is better to have no pretensions about wine, or many other things for that matter. If you enjoy the experience, then does it matter if it came out of a wine box, or a bottle with GatoNegro on the label?
    Same goes for travel, clothes brands, the car you drive, if you have to pay a massive amount to try to tell the world you are someone, then you have been taken in by marketing hype. Measure the world by your experiences not by labels and brands.
    John recently posted..Britain’s most popular canal

  7. That is great information on wines! I don’t drink it very often but I really liked the what you learn section. Not sure I would do a cheap wine tasting but where I live, wine is in abundance (tasty and cheap too!) :)
    Jeremy B recently posted..Where in the world am I

  8. Sounds like you had a great time tasting wine! I love drinking wine and am like you in price range although from time to time I’ll sneak in a bottle costing $15! OOh livin life large :) I knew the bottles are dark so the light doesn’t mess with the wine but never thought to grab one from the back. Will make a note to do so.
    Debbie Beardsley @ European Travelista recently posted..Honoring D-Day

  9. Excellent post, mi amiga. As I sit here with a pounding headache and disastrous hangover from having three cocktails, I vow to only drink wine. I can’t believe I veered off my wino path! Interesting about the curve on the bottom; I never knew that. So funny about the chinos — Marina totally took us to one to buy wine for Rease’s party!
    Abby recently posted..White Party at Nikki Beach

  11. “As I have gotten older, I am no longer drinking wine to get a buzz.”

    So… no more 30 for $30.00 tastings when you get back? Haha.

  14. Good tips on signs of bad wine—I haven’t heard that concave bottom before. I know for a fact that the cheaper the wine, the worst headache I get the next day. When I was younger I used to drink “Cheap Red Wine” and Cheap White Wine” that sells for about $4. Not bad when you’re drinking it, but good lord the headaches that comes with it would leave me in bed all day.
    Christina recently posted..Central Park and Musings on John Lennon

  16. Very cool. :) The only thing I’ll recommend, Stephanie, is that if you ever make it over here to the UK, whatever you do, DON’T try the cheap wine. No, really. We’re a nation of binge drinkers and, as a result, there are some (and by some I mean ‘a lot’) of heinous drinks out there. Wine is no exception.
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  18. A few years ago I tried every red wine below $15 at my local grocery and my favorite turned out to be a Callia shiraz bonarda which goes for $18 pesos now and still remains my favorite cheap option.

    I think your punt theory is a myth however maybe by chance there are several cheap wineries that use flat bottom bottles. The punt itself has no affect on the quality of the wine but it does provide several benefits to the bottle itself.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_bottle#Punts
    Eric Northam recently posted..Finally the Next Start-Ups Buenos Aires this Wednesday

  20. One problem I have is that once I discover a nice wine it is often only on the market for a year or two and then disappears. I don’t know if this is a marketing trick or not. Another is that I find it hard not to be attracted to the label, rather like the cover of a book. Unfortunately a nice label doesn’t necessarily translate into a nice wine!
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  24. Hey,Nice tips here – when we lived in Paris we found that the 3-4 euro bottles of French wine from the supermarkets were really good. John once bought a 12 euro bottle and it was awful…sorry to hear that’s not the case in BsAs.

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