This lovely sparkling wine from Argentina  graced my table and helped ring in the December holidays. It hails from Mendova from AltaVista. It was made using the Charmat method which works well in wines that want to show primary fruit aromas. This wine had plenty of charm with its bright pink color, fine bubbles, strawberry and citrus flavors and its zesty acidity, which was listed as 7.2 g/l. The wine is made from the French grape Malbec which is so omnipresent in Argentina. The grapes come from the Uco Valley. Altavista buys 50% of its grapes and the orther 50% are estate fruit.

The wine was full bodied with a dosage level of 8 g/l. I paired it with pizza and a calzone. The sweetness in the tomatoes worked with the wine. I would also have loved it with Salmon or other fish dish. The winery is in Mendoza but the family behind the winery is decideldy French, the D’Aulan family who founded the winery in 1998, bringing with them all the winemaking experience they have as the former owners of Piper-Heidsieck. They also brought French winemaker to the brand Didier Debono. They focus on making single vineyard varietal wines from Mendoza’s high altitude vineyards. ¡Salud!