ARGENTINIAN WHITES
Santa Julia torrontes 2000, $79
Think Argentina. Think red. Think again. Santa Julia is the country's fifth largest wine producer. Made from the ancient Spanish grape, torrontes, the fruit is generous in colour and flavour. It exudes an enticing aroma of pineapples and grapefruit, and it has a touch of sweetness balanced by a whiff of pungent acidity. This should go well with seafood; salad and chicken.
Watson's Wine Cellars (tel: 2147 3640)
Trapiche Astica semillon-sauvignon 2001, $75
The house of Trapiche is one of Argentina's largest producers and this Astica is indeed the 'flower' that its Huarpe Indian name suggests. This semillon-sauvignon blend, made popular in Australia, is winning favour with Mendoza cellarmasters. Make sure you serve it well chilled. It wasn't until 1884 when the railways tamed the Pampas region that Italian settlers began seriously planting wine in Argentinia. Today, the country has 220,000 hectares under vine, resulting in 140 million cases annually. About 90 per cent of this is consumed by Argentinians.
