• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Vindulge

BBQ and Grilling Recipes with Wine Pairings

  • Home
  • About
    • About Mary
    • Portfolio
    • TV Appearances
    • Work With Me
  • Cookbook
  • Wine
    • Food and Wine Pairing
  • All Recipes
  • Travel
  • Resources
    • Fundamentals For Learning How to Grill
    • Guide to Pellet Grills – Common Q and A
    • Best Pellet Grill – MAK Two Star General – Versatile American Made Pellet Smoker
    • Blogger Resources
  • Contact
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About
  • Shop Wines
  • Cookbook
  • All Recipes
  • Travel
  • Wine Guides
  • Blogging Resources
  • Connect with us!

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    You are here: Home » Wine » Red Wines » Malbec Wine

    Malbec Wine

    November 3, 2009 By Mary Leave a Comment

    Sharing is caring!

    0 shares
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    Malbec Wine has a fun story that starts in Bordeaux. But it doesn’t end there. This flavorful and fruit forward wine varietal is a delicious wine as a blending group or on it’s own.

    malbec grape cluster from lake chelan

    Malbec, once popular in Bordeaux, is still permitted by all major red Bordeaux appellations, but it is now usually more of a minor blending grape (usually less than 10% of the blend).  The grape became less popular in Bordeaux after 1956 when frost killed off around 75% of the crop, becoming replaced with other varietals less susceptible to frost.  Malbec, which was at one time planted in nearly every area of France, began losing acreage to other more popular varietals, like Cabernet Franc in the Loire.

    Although Malbec (which has hundreds of local synonyms) has lost significant popularity in France, it still remains the backbone grape in Cahors (located in Southwest France), where the grape is known as “Côt”.  Here “Côt” must constitute a minimum of 70% Malbec (with Merlot and Tannat usually making up the remainder).
    Argentina wine regions
    These days the word Malbec is synonymous with Argentina where it is the major red varietal planted.  In fact, Argentina is the worlds fifth largest wine producer with over 60% of wine production being red wine (and a majority of that being Malbec)… basically, there’s a lot of good and affordable Malbec being produced in Argentina.

    Malbec was introduced to Argentina by French agricultural engineer Michel Pouget in 1868.  However, for the next 100+ years the wine being made was basic jug wine, with no real worldwide popularity or accolades.  In the late 20th century things changed when Argentinean wine producers shifted their focus to exporting and Malbec there increased significantly in quality and finally hit its boom.

    Today, Malbec is most widely planted in Argentina with Mendoza being the most important wine growing province, accounting for about 70% of all Argentina’s wine production.  The grape grown is different from Malbec in France in that it has smaller, tighter, clusters and creates dark color with intensely ripe fruit flavors with a velvety plush texture and light tannins and goes down way too easy.  One of my personal favorite things about Argentinean Malbec is its incredible value!  You can find absolutely delicious bottles easily for around $10 a bottle making it one of my favorite everyday wines year round.

    Outside of Argentina and France, Malbec is also planted in Chile and small amounts in Australia and the US where it is more often used as a blending grape in Meritage (Bordeaux style) blends.

    So there you have it.  Malbec, in a nutshell.

    Argentinian Malbec Producers:

    • Gouguenheim Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina,  $10.99
    • Gascon Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina, avg. retail approx $10.00
    • Altos Las Hormigas Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina, avg. retail approx $12.00
    • Vistalba “Corte C” Malbec-Merlot, Mendoza, Argentina, avg. retail approx $12.00
    • Doña Paula Estate Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina, avg. retail approx $13.00

    Outside Argentina:

    • Cosse Maisonneuve le Combal, Cahors, France
    • Seven Hills Malbec, Walla Walla Valley, WA, $28
    • Steltzner Vineyards Malbec, Stags Leap District, Napa Valley, CA, retail approx $36

    « A Grape By Any Other Name… Is it Spätburgunder or is it Pinot Noir?
    Finding My Muse: The Condado de Haza Ribera Del Duero »

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Mary-Cressler-Sept-2015-smI'm Mary, a wine/food/travel writer, Certified Sommelier, mom of twins, former vegetarian turned BBQ fanatic, runner, and founder of Vindulge and author of Fire + Wine cookbook.  Thanks for stopping by!

    Learn More...

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter

    Fire and Wine Cookbook Cover.

    Get Ready for Summer

    Smoked Brisket

    What’s on our Grill

    Smoked Beef Ribs on butcher paper

    Easy Smoked Beef Ribs Recipe – From Plate Ribs to Chuck Ribs

    Vegetarian pizza on a pizza peel with hot honey drizzle.

    Vegetarian Pizza Recipe with Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms

    Shredded Beef Quesadilla on a cutting board.

    Pulled Beef Quesadillas – Great Leftover Pulled Beef Recipe

    Grilled Pork Chops with Maple and Soy Marinade

    More

    As Seen On

    Products we love

    taking the temperature of a porchetta roast on the grill
    We use Thermoworks Signals BBQ Alarm to monitor the internal temperature of the meat while it’s cooking, then double check with an instant read thermometer, like the Thermapen One.

    Vindulge Wine Club

    join the wine club side bar

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Portfolio
    • TV Appearances
    • Work with Me

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2021 Vindulge

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
    CookieDurationDescription
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
    viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
    Functional
    Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
    Performance
    Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
    Analytics
    Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
    Advertisement
    Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
    Others
    Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
    SAVE & ACCEPT
    0 shares