Is Cinco de Mayo a big celebration where you live? In Texas Cinco de Mayo is a Big Deal! However, most often Texas associate Cinco de Mayo with margaritas and cervezas. Don’t despair! I have three outstanding Malbec recommendations sure to make your Cinco de Mayo celebration sizzle!
Do you know what Cinco de Mayo is celebrating? It is NOT a celebration of Mexico’s Independence; that day takes place on September 16th each year. Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of a Mexican victory over the French army at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. The battle is significant because the Mexican army was outnumbered and out matched yet still defeated the French army, and because it signifies the last time any country in the Americans was invaded by a European army.
Though the date has significance in Mexico and has been celebrated by Mexican Americans for years, in 1989 the San Antonio based Gambrinus Group, regional importers of Corona and Grupo Modelo, launched a Cinco de Mayo themed ad encouraging Mexican Americans already celebrating the holiday to make it a priority on this day to drink Mexican beer. The rest is history! I can concur in Texas Corona beer is synonymous with Cinco de Mayo! In fact, signs advertising Cinco de Mayo featuring Corona are hanging from every Tex-Mex restaurant in Dallas the week of Cinco de Mayo. However, some of us prefer wine with our Tex-Mex Cinco de Mayo celebration!
2014 Trivento Golden Reserve Malbec Lujan de Cuyo Argentina ($21): deep inky ruby in the glass; pronounced aromas of stewed dark cherries, blackberries, and plums are joined by candied violets, rich crushed tobacco, baking spice notes, roasted espresso beans, dark chocolate, dusty earth, and vanilla; big palate with coarse tannins that are pronounced balanced with equally pronounced acidity, with a long, spicy, hot finish.
2015 Trivento Malbec Reserve Mendoza Argentina ($10): deep ruby in the glass; pronounced youthful aromas of fresh fruits including red cherry raspberry, plum, black currant, along with tomato, blackcurrant leaf, eucalyptus, cloves, nutmeg, black licorice, chocolate, hazelnut, leather, fresh tobacco, and vanilla; softer palate with balanced medium+ tannins that feel silky on the palate and balanced with medium+ acidity; flavors of nose follow through on palate with pronounced red fruit, full body, long tart red fruit finish.
Malbec is the perfect wine to welcome May and summer. Why? Because it pairs perfectly with your summer cookout; BBQ, burgers, ribs, hot dogs, brats, all pair well with Malbec. Trivento is synonymous with Malbec, they have producing high quality Malbec for over a century. Furthermore, for Cinco de Mayo celebrations Trivento Malbec is ideal with all your Tex-Mex favorites!
“The Trivento estate in Mendoza enjoys a well established reputation as a leading source of stellar quality wines from Argentina’s premier wine region. Meaning “Three Winds,” the Trivento name is a whimsical reference to three winds that sweep through Mendoza and are a distinguishing feature of the region’s climate and environment. With vineyards in the Maipu, Tupungato and Rivadavia districts, Trivento exemplifies the benefits of high-altitude viticulture, ranging from the icon Malbec, Eolo, to Trivento’s award-winning collection of Reserve varietal wines. Trivento Golden Reserve Malbec is a terroir-driven wine, effectively a cru, grown in the higher altitudes of the prime Luján de Cuyo zone of Mendoza. Grapes are harvested in a cluster of vineyards comprising parcels of the remarkable Lujan de Cuyo vineyard, planted more than a century ago in 1912, not designated for Trivento’s icon wine, Eolo Malbec. Higher altitudes contribute to a greater concentration of fruit, a denser, weightier mouth-feel and a higher ratio of natural acidity that facilitates the wine’s ability to age.” ~ Bodegas Trivento Argentina
*Disclaimer: These wines were media samples; all thoughts and opinions were my own.
My Song Selection: You simply cannot celebrate Cinco de Mayo without some good Tejano music!
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Get your own bottle of Trivento Malbec and let me know what song you pair with it. Cheers!
