TRAVELING VINEYARD NEWS
Traveling Vineyard, a US-based wine retailer in the direct selling industry, announces a Double Gold honor for its 2018 Cucharón, Red Blend, San Juan, Argentina, awarded by the 2020 San Francisco International Wine Competition (SFIWC), in the category of Non-Bordeaux Blends priced at less than $25. Double Gold is a medal given to wines that receive a Gold rating by all judges on the panel, making them “exceptional” by SFIWC standards.
SFIWC is one of the largest and most influential wine competitions now in its 39th year, making it one of the oldest international wine competitions in the world. According to the SFIWC, “Not only is an SFIWC medal a testament to your hard work, it’s a universally recognized indicator of exceptional quality and craftsmanship.”
“When one of our wines—that we’ve already fallen in love with—receives high recognition from an organization like the San Francisco International Wine Competition, it’s the icing on the cake,” said Traveling Vineyard’s CEO and “Chief Grape Stomper” Rick Libby. “The fact that we can bring exceptional wine to our consumers at an affordable price is something we take great pride in. ‘Real good wine’ is our signature, and this award supports that effort.”
Traveling Vineyard’s 2018 Cucharón, Red Blend, San Juan, Argentina, was born of an “historic” 2018 harvest in terms of quality, said Francis Sanders, winemaker for Traveling Vineyard. “San Juan grows plenty of wine, it’s the number two volume growing region in South America, and delivers a strong price/value ratio,” Sanders said.
‘Real good wine’ is our signature, and this award supports that effort.
Rick Libby | Chief Grape Stomper
Traveling Vineyard partner, Huib Geerlings, together with Sanders noticed that this San Juan grower had a larger-than-most assortment of interesting varietals and a healthy assortment of blends produced for specific export markets available to taste, and potentially label. The resulting wine was a blend of three varietals selected for their unique contributions to the finished wine.
“This blend has accessible Malbec, a juicy, understood color component, plus Petit Verdot, a Bordeaux blender varietal adding another color, plum, cherry, violet and lilac and ‘guts’, plus the world’s best-value in Tannat, for yet another color, structure, power and complexity,” Sanders said. “Care was taken to balance these three bigger components to ensure that this cool-blended wine remain fresh and light-on-its feet, especially as part of a meal.”
2018 Cucharón pairs extremely well with grilled or barbecued meats and sausage, braised or stewed dishes, spicy cuisine, cured meats, and dry cheeses. Its food-friendly aspects, particularly when paired with stewed dishes, is one of the reasons the wine was named Cucharón, which translates to “ladle” in Spanish. 2018 Cucharón, Red Blend, San Juan, Argentina is a blend of 43% Malbec, 39% Petit Verdot, and 18% Tannat. The wine retails for $17.99 and is available through Traveling Vineyard’s network of 4,000 wine consultants, called Wine Guides, operating in 39 states.
Learn more about award-winning 2018 Cucharón Red Blend, San Juan, Argentina.