Food, drink and travel writer + sommelier | Argentina + Latin America
(Fine Dining Lovers) It was a precocious 20-year-old Pablo Rivero who threw the few savings he had, along with backing from his grandmother and father, into a humble parrilla (steakhouse) that opened in a sketchy Buenos Aires ‘hood shortly before Argentina’s most devastating economic crisis unleashed its turmoil in 2001. Today, Parrilla Don Julio tops the bucket list of almost every […]
(Fine Dining Lovers) In the world of wine, gustatory acuity has long been the domain of experts – sommeliers defining myriad aromas and flavours that run through the taste spectrum with seemingly simple flourishes, inhalations and mouth swirls, all for your drinking pleasure. While an untrained nose might possibly detect the difference between red and […]
(Decanter) Southern latitude, 17 hours of daylight and grape-and-icicle-draped vineyards in summer paint a vivid picture of extremity in Trevelin, the newest addition to Argentina’s GI (Geographical Indication) collection. Trevelin is located between 43°07”S and 43°18”S in Futaleufú department in the northwest of Chubut Province, Patagonia. Its approval, granted on 6 August, presents a welcome […]
(Atlas of the Future) With 51,330 species spread across Colombia, the world’s second-most biodiverse country creates an immense pantry for chef Leo Espinosa and her fellow citizens – of which there are 87 ethnic groups speaking 65 languages – to draw from. Given their passion to identify and strengthen this diverse heritage, in 2008 Leo and daughter […]
(American Way) Tango, soccer, steak, Borges — Buenos Aires is the place to be if you’re a fan of any of these. The Argentine capital is South America’s most dynamic cultural center, home to 7,000 bars and restaurants, 160 museums, 287 theaters, 380 bookstores and 100-plus green spaces. Located along the cola-colored River Plate, BA […]
(Fine Dining Lovers) It’s a wine lover’s ultimate dream: running a winery, making vintages that score 100 highly-coveted Parker points, exploring local terroir to bottle its most honest expression, then soaking up all those liquid riches over a fine dinner while the sun slowly drops behind snowy Andean peaks. This is the Zuccardi family’s reality. And because […]
(Atlas of the Future) Mirazur, a Michelin three-star restaurant located in Menton on France’s Côte d’Azur, has long applied a holistic biodynamic agriculture philosophy to its own small estate but now the chef of the world’s best restaurant, according to this 2019 list, has extended the approach so that his tasting menu is also in synch […]
(Atlas of the Future) Few chefs have the vision and skill to sow 223 varieties of native potatoes on their Andean restaurant’s high-altitude farmland, replicating the efforts of a neighbouring Inca agricultural research centre with a contemporary model in order to improve tuber genetics while collaborating with two indigenous communities. But Virgilio Martínez is doing […]
(Fine Dining Lovers) While wine bars reacted to Covid-19 emergency lockdown restrictions (relatively) easily, sommeliers in restaurants have dug deep to continue connecting diners to wine and other drinks. Many establishments are only open for delivery, while others in more advanced recovery phases are operating with limited capacities. But beyond the obvious difficulty of sampling […]
