Malbec World Day

Malbec World Day is celebrated on April 17, to commemorate the day when president Domingo Faustino Sarmiento of Argentina officially made it his mission to transform Argentina's wine industry. On that day, back in 1853, he tasked Michel Aimé Pouget, a French soil expert, to bring over new vines. Amongst his selection, was Malbec. Pouget continued experimenting with the adaptation of French varietals to Argentina’s diverse terroirs. A decade later, France underwent a Phylloxera Plague that affected the Rhône region. In the mean time, Malbec flourished in Argentina creating wines widely superior than those of its country of origin. Many decades later, in 1956, France faced another obstacle: a freeze wiped out the majority of Malbec vineyards.

In the following years, specifically during the 90’s, Argentina positioned Malbec as their star varietal. More than 10.000 acres were planted and it became the undeniable leader of the country’s exportations. Wine lovers around the world, especially in the United States, discovered and praised Argentine Malbec.

In 2011, Wines of Argentina, responsible for communicating the Argentine wine brand around the world, established April 17 as Malbec World Day. Lis Clément, their Head of Marketing and Communications at the time, founded this day because she was convinced this celebration would help position Malbec as one of Argentina’s wine gems. Excellent quality, ever surprising and diverse, Argentina’s Malbec would lead the way to position Argentina as one of the main oenological epicenters of the world.

Nowadays, more than 60 cities around the world (coordinated by the Foreign Affairs Office of Argentina) host events around Malbec, Argentine food and lifestyle. Each year, a theme is created to link Malbec and Argentine culture. This framework allows every celebration to be creative and adapt to each country’s idiosyncrasy. Malbec was first planted in France, then reached its highest point of development in Argentina and is currently travelling the world over to manifest itself as one of the key players in the international wine industry.

The cities of New York City, Toronto and Ottawa simultaneously hosted "crushing parties" with Argentine grapes, with the intention of producing a special Malbec wine, which will be used for toasting at the 2012 edition of the Malbec World Day.

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Wikipedia