Industry News
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05 05 08
Argentina: Malbec becoming ‘it’ grape >>
Pity the poor Malbec grape in France, where it has long played only a minor role in the blending of some Bordeaux wines. It does not grow particularly well in that humid, low-lying region, and its primary use there is to empower wines that needed a bit of fortitude. Rarely, if ever, is the grape allowed to stand on its own.
05 04 08
Say buy to me, Argentina >>
'Paris of the Pampas,' Buenos Aires attracts Chicago's fashion aficionados. Jessica Lagrange used to love traveling to Europe to shop for designer clothes. The combination was heady: eye-catching pieces at bargain prices thanks to the strong U.S. dollar. On a 2005 trip to Argentina, she bought hand-knit sweaters, sterling silver ornaments, antique furniture and a suitcase full of clothes for her 22-year-old son. Finding new labels was one thrill, but the real charge came when she divided price tags by three. If something cost $300 in Argentinian pesos, it was $100 when it showed up on her credit card bill.
05 01 08
Where To Go On The Weak Dollar >>
Debbie Trevino, a travel agent at Naperville, Ill.-based Hobson Travel, who specializes in international luxury destinations, says that despite the weak dollar, she's still making sales. Airfare to Argentina, for example, is about $900 round trip from New York, but once you've landed, luxury accommodations come cheap: the Argentine peso has just one-third the value of the U.S. dollar. So a room at the Four Seasons in Buenos Aires will cost you $425 on a Saturday night, while the same room in New York rings in at $950.
04 28 08
"Where in the World is Matt Lauer?" goes to Buenos Aires! >>
04 28 08
Buenos Aires: Tango, wine, $10 steak and more >>
In my book, Argentina has it all. Great topography, mountains, wines, food - and one of the few remaining destinations with a great U.S. dollar exchange rate. Yes, the dollar is still king in Argentina, where one George Washington will get you more than three pesos.
04 18 08
Argentine Wine Route: A Taste of the Good Life >>
On the horizon, the Andes mountains. A shorter distance away, an arid valley seared with furrows where grapevines grow. On a roadside, the minimalist building of an ultra-modern winery or the colonial mansion of a traditional winemaker. This is a postcard of Argentina. And if one looks closely at the balcony of that modern winery or at the patio of that mansion, a group of visitors can be seen wrapping up their day of sightseeing: the Wine Route attracts thousands of tourists every year.
03 29 08
Money on the Vine >>
The foothills south of Mendoza in Argentina have long been known as the agricultural heart that produces the country's increasingly popular signature wine, malbec. For the past three years it has also been where Americans, Canadians and Europeans looking to fulfill winemaker fantasies have taken advantage of Argentina's relatively low land prices and bought mini-vineyards.
03 16 08
Argentine Nights >>
For much of the 20th century, Buenos Aires ranked among the world's most expensive capitals, on par with Paris and New York. Broad boulevards were lined with splendid specimens of French belle époque architecture that evoked the Champs-Élysées, and tree-lined streets were buzzing with late-night cafes and oak-and-brass bars. Locals, it is often said, identify more as European than South American. Then came the financial crisis of late 2001. The Argentine peso, which was once pegged to the United States dollar, plunged to a low of nearly 4 to 1 in the face of mounting debt and runaway inflation. (It holds steadily today at about 3 to 1.) Overnight, Buenos Aires went from being among the priciest cities to one of the world's great bargain spots.
03 12 08
Booming Buenos Aires >>
Go now. That's the key point about travel to Buenos Aires. In December of 2001, an economic crisis sent Argentina's peso tumbling. What was once the most expensive country in Latin America was suddenly one of the cheapest, and tourists flocked in to feast on $3 filet mignon, to bargain hunt in sniffy boutiques and live large in luxury suites (paying a third of what they'd pay in any of the other great cities of the world). They also came to take advantage of BA's archetypal delights: it's wide boulevards lined by neo-classical buildings, its sexy milongas (tango salons), its museums and theaters.
02 25 08
Argentina's Jan trade surplus widens to $1.16 billion >>
Argentina's January trade surplus more than doubled in size to $1.16 billion from $436 million a year ago, amid high prices for agricultural exports and booming automotive sales, the government said on Monday.