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 “For me the most important priority is to fight against inflation and to rebuild the statistics system. They are lying to people by saying that inflation is 10% when it’s 27% or even 30%. Because they lie about the statistics, the producers take the wrong decisions,” says Susana Balbo, with a track record of speaking out against the corruption and social inequality that she believes hamper the growth of Argentina.
When I met her for the second time in 2013 she had told me in an interview after the tasting, ‘my company pays salary increases twice a year, in January and September, once based on the inflation and the second time based on performance, besides looking after the welfare and education of the children of my staff. With a devaluing currency, one would think exports would be easier but unfortunately, the currency is not devalued officially and while the costs are going up, the receipts are not,’ she had said.
She says she wants to move from the side where people are always complaining to make things change, according to the Report by the Dinks Business which had once placed her at the 30th position in the World’s Most Powerful Wine Women and went on to choose her Woman of the Year at The Drinks Business Awards 2015.
After a failed wine business attempt with her ex-husband, Susana Balbo founded Dominio del Plata winery in 1999 and likewise, after a failed visit to India when she came to the IFE India wine show about 8-9 years ago and appointed a defunct importer, her second visit in 2013 was successful and she tied up with Vishal Kadakia of the Wine Park in Mumbai. She had come with 12 importers in a delegation and he had organized a special tasting at the Taj Palace Hotel for a select group of people when I had met her the second time; the first time was at the IFE India Wine Show. ‘We import Crios Malbec and Ben Marco Malbec from Susana, and from August onwards we have added the Crios Torrontes too,’ says Vishal.
 Balbo claims she has the desire to tackle obstacles facing the country’s wine industry, which endanger the livelihoods of people and prevent Argentina from competing effectively with other wine producing nations.“There are so many opportunities in Argentina that haven’t evolved in the last 20 years; it’s a huge challenge,” she says, indicating her ambition to ‘improve the level of decision making about our regional economy, to get support from the national government to help us promote our wine industry, and to have better international agreements.’
Balbo says that the sector accounts for 11% of Mendoza’s GDP. It provides direct employment for 100,000 people, with another 200,000 indirect beneficiaries. “So for Mendoza’s 1.5 million people population, wine industry is very important, giving 25% of our employment,” she asserts.
Fighting inflation is her biggest priority, if she wins. A particular problem in the last three years, she claims, has been official data predicting a shortfall of grapes, which encouraged growers to produce their own wine, thereby fetching higher prices than if they simply sold the fruit. However, in reality there was oversupply of grapes, and the growers were forced to sell off their wine cheaply. ‘There is a huge crisis. Inflation is taking all our profit, the grape prices are low and the wineries are full of wine,” she asserts.
“My intention is to work closely with the national government to help producers make good quality wine and decide their focus: wine, concentrate or raisins and fresh grapes. In that way we can help them become more efficient and make a profit. They cannot be efficient if they don’t have focus,” says Susana.
In addition to this core objective, Balbo highlights the need to encourage a more sustainable approach to water management -a very limited resource, and to work with the international affairs commission to establish Free Trade Agreements for Argentina. “Our neighbour Chile has 120 Free Trade Agreements and we have none,” she exclaims.
 Susana talks tough but is very soft spoken with a mild demeanour. She was a fellow judge at the 6th edition of the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Competition last October. She had been invited by Debra Meiburg MW, Competition Director, as the special invitee judge (HKIWSC invites only Asia-based judges except one special judge who is a renowned personality globally). She had impressed all the judges with her tasting acumen, empathy for the wine makers and feminine charm. She is also the first Argentine enologist hired as a consultant by European wineries.
In order to win, she has to first clear the Primary round of voting on August 9 and then the general election on 25th August. She is sure she can combine the work at the Parliament and the winery which is being looked after by a professional CEO and her children on a day to day basis.
In a special message, Susana who is soon to become a grandmother, writes to delWine, ‘Dear Subhash, throughout many years I have seen Argentines-from colleagues to grape growers complain about our country's situation and about our industry's difficulties, but only a few have taken action. I feel proud of what we have achieved as an industry, our exports' growth, how we have been able to position our wines in highly competitive markets focusing on quality. But I felt that a more structural and long-term change had to be done from within. I dream of a better country for my kids and soon-to-arrive grandson. That´s why I decided to run for a place in the Congress. We can only transform our political reality by being actively involved in it".
delWine wishes Susana Balbo the best to win the elections and hopes that she visits India next year for the Malbec Day 2016 as a Member of Parliament.
Subhash Arora |