Lionel Messi Vino

Salud: Proceeds from the Messi-inspired wine will benefit the Leo Messi Foundation.

Like fine wine, Rosario native and Barcelona striker Leo Messi only gets better with age, so it seems only fitting that the world’s greatest futbol player have his own bottle of wine. That’s the idea behind “Leo,” a new collection from the Valentin Bianchi Winery in San Rafael, Mendoza.

The 24-year-old, multiple Ballon d’Or winner has proven his ability to sell everything from $200 Adidas cleats to Chinese cars, so Argentine wine should be a cinch by comparison. In fact, if measured by the kilo, Argentine wine and Messi are two of Argentina’s most valuable exports. And true to La Pulga’s philanthropic form, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of “Leo” will go towards charitable causes.

In launching the wine, Bianchi is collaborating with the Leo Messi Foundation in an effort to promote projects geared towards the health and development of children. Founded in 2008, the Foundation offers training internships in Barcelona for Argentine doctors who specialize in the treatment of children’s cancer. Most recently, the Foundation opened a sports facility for the children of Rosario.

The Valentin Bianchi Winery is located in San Rafael, Mendoza, recently named one of the World’s Best Places to Retire by CNN/Money and Fortune Magazine.

From Gotham With Love. That’s how we summed up our initial impression of the Algodon Mansion in last summer’s issue of InvestBA Privada. Now it seems the hotel that redefined the luxury category in Buenos Aires has joined one of the most exclusive clubs of hoteliers, chefs and restaurateurs. Algodon Mansion is the first and only Buenos Aires hotel to become a member of the Relais & Chateaux Collection.

According to Relais & Chateaux, ”The hotel’s 1912 French classical landmark building has been impeccably restored and re-imagined with stylish contemporary elegance. Attended by 24-hour butlers, each of the 10 suites overlooks the shady residential street as well as an exquisite interior light-well and waterfall cascading into the lobby. Rooms are exceptionally spacious and offer superior amenities and comfort. The restaurant, Chez Nous, reinterprets traditional regional dishes, taking Argentine gastronomy to a new level.”

According to Travel Pulse, “Chez Nous becomes only the second Buenos Aires restaurant to join the Relais & Chateaux Collection.” The Algodon Wines featured at Chez Nous also received their share of accolades this month when Robert Parker’s Argentina Wine Ratings were released. The 2008 Algodon Malbec received a “91″ and the 2008 Algodon Bonarda received a “90.”

For more information about luxury hotels, fine dining and shopping in Buenos Aires, download the new issue of InvestBA Privada.

An excellent analysis today by MDZ Online’s Federico Manrique of the growth in Argentine wine exports and a closer examination of the Top 10 in terms of the US$ value of Argentine wine shipments abroad and total volume shipped in liters. The only problem is you would need a super-spy-secret-decoder-ring to decipher the blurred ranking from Wines of Argentina.

Ah, but fear not, brave Argentine wine enthusiast. We peeled the juicy data grapes and re-worked the country-by-country skinny in beautiful shades of Rosé, Bonarda and Gran Reserva Malbec. We even added annual wine consumption statistics to highlight the tremendous untapped upside in BRIC nations like Brazil (1.6 liters) and China (1.2 liters), two of Argentina’s hottest export markets posting annual gains of 22% and 73%, respectively. Now there’s something to toast in the New Year. Salud!  (Full Story in Spanish)

And for more information on Argentine wine and vineyards, download the new issue of InvestBA Privada.



‘Tis the season for self-aggrandizing Top 10 lists, so we offer InvestBA’s purely selfish, entirely unscientific spin on the Top 10 Trends, Market Movers & Storylines of 2011 in Argentina and Uruguay, our two favorite places in the world.

Thanks for another great year, and we offer best wishes and much success to all of our readers and subscribers in 2012.

InvestBA Private Wealth Missions

InvestBA Private Wealth Missions unite individual investors in Buenos Aires and Mendoza.

InvestBA Private Wealth Missions, our annual series of one-week discovery trips showcasing opportunities for foreign investors in Argentina, return in 2012 with the first scheduled trip for US-based investors beginning in late January and several new countries added to the 2012 calendar including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Great Britain and South Africa.

Today, private investments are one of the few remaining means of wealth creation that is truly non-correlated to what is left in your portfolio. Toward that end, sophisticated investor groups are looking beyond national borders in search of emerging market opportunities with tremendous upside potential. Argentina is one such market, and you will learn first-hand from our team of venture capital professionals.

Each 6 day/5 night Private Wealth Mission is limited to a select group of 5 participants from one country. Participants have the option of traveling alone or together with their spouse and children. Two of Argentina’s most exclusive properties serve as the host for every Private Wealth Mission: Algodon Mansion in Buenos Aires and Algodon Wine Estates in Mendoza. Guest suites, meals and entertainment, domestic flights and ground transportation are all included in the Private Wealth Mission package price.

If you would like to learn more about the upcoming 2012 Private Wealth Missions including the full week itinerary, pricing and availability, please complete the form below.

 

Bariloche

Mendoza

Uruguay

© 2011 InvestBA.com