9th Malbec World Day Celebrated at Alfresco at The Lalit in Style

Over 20 wines including a couple of Roses and a refreshing sparkling wine a blend of Malbec and Tocai grapes and Charmat Method, opened their heart out to impress the palates of the tasters. The reds had a wide spectrum of fruity to complex wines but with smooth and silky tannins and sweet frontal attack that would make them so loveable and enjoyable with Indian cuisine, especially for the vegetarians.

It was a matter of pride for Arora that the AmbassadorH.E. Daniel Chuburu  requested him to say a few words before leaving for another engagement and had already tasted around 10 wines. Arora welcomed the guests and mentioned a couple of mistakes many Indian and even international media make while writing about the Day which incidentally was postponed by a week from the fixed date of 17 April due to the Easter holiday season. It is christened as Malbec World Day (MWD) and not World (or International) Malbec Day as most of the English speaking Press chooses to call it.

The other thing was to correct the wrong impression that 17 April 1853 was when Malbec World  Day was being celebrated. It was in fact on that day that the President of the Republic of Argentina, Domingo Sarmeinto officially announced his mission to transform Argentina's wine industry and asked Michel Pouget, a soil expert from France to import new varieties.  Pouget included Malbec and continued experimenting with various French varieties to see how they grew in the local diverse soil.  (Source: Wikipedia)

A decade later, France suffered the horrific phylloxera, destroying all the vineyards in the region. The name, "Malbec World Day" comes from "Día Mundial del Malbec" meaning "Malbec throughout the world". But most English speakers just ended up calling it "World Malbec Day". In the meantime, Malbec flourished in Argentina creating wines widely superior to those from its local grapes.  In 1956, France faced another problem : a freeze wiped out the majority of Malbec vineyards. Malbec became the top grape for Argentina, though not by quantity compared to other varieties. It really flourished in the 1990’s when it became the darling of countries like the USA.

 It is interesting that the grape known for its plump, dark fruit flavours and smoky finish, offers a good value-for-money alternative to higher priced Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. In fact there is more to Malbec than just value. It can age well and gives different, complex flavours in diverse soils even at higher altitudes of Argentina and with the proximity to the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean, the possibilities for diversity are numerous.

Arora found this to be one of the best organised Malbec World Days from commercial perspective though the one in 1913 at the Oberoi Delhi was more impressive with international tango dancers and different cultural troops travelling globally. Arora had a couple of suggestions for the embassy to consider though.  Firstly, the Event must get out of the embassy and into restaurants selling Argentine wines. They must be motivated to celebrate their own Malbec World Day. In any case, the wine lovers must be brought together to taste different Malbec wines.

The other suggestion related to getting our Indian wineries interested in a project similar to what the wineries in Toronto, Ottawa and New York did in 2011-they celebrated crushing grapes to produce Malbec Wine that was tasted at the MWD in 2012. Not an easy task but it would highlight the Argentinean Malbec grape variety and create a buzz.

The evening saw a host of Malbec from various wineries, namely- Alfredo Roca Fincas, El Enemigo, Barrica 29, La Mascota, Domaine le Billoud, Finca Las Moras, Bodega San Telmo, Trapiche, etc. Each label had easy to understand Tasting Notes with most relevant details given on the Sheet. For more information about the wines, you may directly contact  ventas@espaciogasset.com.

A minor point that stuck an unpleasant chord – wines were not cooled to the right temperatures. Reds and Roses –both had alcohol vapours coming into the nose- the temperature for Rose ought to have been 12°C. It was not a degree lower than 20°C.

Similarly reds should have been at 15 °-`16°C in the  warm though fresh and green ambience of Alfresco restaurant-they were all above 22°C. It’s time the organisers of such events start start investing in a wine thermometer and with the temperature charts on hand, the sommeliers must look at it. A couple of reds that had touched the ice by design or default, were outstanding to drink without snacks. Even Cabernets, kept cool on ice in the bowl, were full, fruity and complex, as if they were ready to be the second line of defence/offence after Malbec.

All in all, it was an excellent evening. The snacks were bountiful and delicious small plates. Service was very good, barring the temperature problem.
Incidentally, the Malbec World Day is organised by the Wines of Argentina, an export promotion agency (India apparently does not see the need for it!) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Malbec Day is taken very seriously by the Argentine-producers and the government- as one could see today.

For a couple of related Articles, please visit,

Argentina Celebrates Malbec World Day in Delhi
Wine May Become Argentina’s National Drink

Subhash Arora   

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