Jussi Westergren’s Aconcagua Expedition Dispatch
February 11, 2011 – Vineyard Tour: First Stop Pulenta Estates
On Feb 10th, Ilkka Westergren arrived in Buenos Aires. He’d flown from Helsinki via London. He was met by Rosa, our guide for the city along with Päivi, a Finnish woman who we found through the embassy who has lived in Argentina since 1953. We think that Ilkka enjoyed the opportunity to be introduced to South America’s most cosmopolitan city by someone speaking his native Finnish tongue.
I am reminded of the New York Times travel section features called “36 hours in…..” Pick a city of the world—Paris, Sydney, Bangkok—and the NYT has done a feature on the quick and dirty tours to be done in each of them. The dispatches that follow might be called “48 hours in Argentina.’’
Ilkka will be returning home with Jussi to Vancouver on Saturday for a two-week visit with the family, Sally, Ella and Sofia. For a man on the way to see his daughter-in-law and his granddaughters in Western Canada the giant “V” that he put on the world map to fly all the way to Argentina from winter time Finland might seem crazy. But then, he is a Westergren.
Early in this day of wine tours we learned that at the young age of 17, Ilkka had worked for a German winemaker. Ilkka had not been a very large boy so his job was to crawl inside wine barrels and clean them!
Jorge, our driver, picked us up at the Mendoza Park Hyatt Hotel just after 9:00 AM.
Our first stop was Pulenta Estates. Here is a description of the proud family tradition behind this winery in their own words:
In 1902, a young Italian immigrant couple looking for “the America”, as many others at that time, arrived to Argentina. They were Hugo and Eduardo Pulenta’s grandparents, Angelo Polenta and Palma Spinsati, who were carrying Quinto, the first of their children, in their arms. After they briefly passed through Buenos Aires, they went on their trip towards Mendoza where María, Darío, Augusto, Casimira and Rosa were born. Some years later, they moved to the province of San Juan where this enterprising family grew even more due to the birth of Angela, Antonio (Hugo and Eduardo’s father) and Alfredo.
In San Juan, they set up a general store and they worked as vineyard and winery contractors during two years. In 1914, after a lot of efforts, they bought a 5 hectares land where they built a small shed: the first winery. There, they spent their time performing the activity and working the winery that would be the job of their lives same delight: great wines.
In 1923 and 1924, Palmira and Angelo died, leaving their nine children a legacy of job, effort and family union. After his parents’ death, Quinto, the older brother, decided to keep the family all together. So, he and María, since that time, become the father and the mother of their siblings.
Pulenta family members were growing together as the company, founded by their parents, was growing as well. That first land with its small shed became the first of many wineries and vineyards spreading through San Juan and Mendoza.
Hugo and Eduardo’s father (Antonio), the next to the last of nine siblings, moved to Mendoza to study Oenology and then to manage the winery of that province. In 1946, he married with Maria Zulema with whom he had 6 children: Silvia, Carlos, Antonio, Eduardo, Zulema and Hugo.
In 1997, after many years of work, Antonio and their brothers sold Peñaflor’s majority shareholder. In 2001, Eduardo and Hugo decided to go on the family tradition.
Eduardo (the only oenologist of the 3rd generation) and Hugo share the claim to giving birth to Pulenta Estate.
The family tradition and wisdom, created during 100 years since the arrival of Eduardo and Hugo’s grandparents to Argentina, currently lives on at Pulenta Estate.
Our day was to be full of learning, appreciation, stories and surprises. Pulenta Estate was a great place to start.
We were to learn from Jussi of his good friend’s efforts in Kenya to grow Pinot Noir grapes and produce wine. We also heard Jussi’s loving descriptions of the quality of Dom Perignon 1959, and classic wines from 1945, 1923—names and times that I cannot remember now—but the tastes textures and smells seemed alive when he talked.
This Italian family’s 100 year old saga in Argentina represents the passion for quality and tradition that is unique to the best producers of wine.
We were received by Michelle, who is originally from St Louis, Missouri. When they learned of this connection Jussi and Illka proudly informed her that the Gateway Arch in her home city had been designed by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen.
The seating for our first tasting of the day was gorgeous, with the vineyards of Pulenta Estates right at our table.
Ilkka relaxed and happy in summertime Argentina. He’d left one of the snowiest and coldest winters on record behind in Finland.
Mariela pouring at our first tasting of the day
Our tasting at Pulenta Estates was hosted by Sol
The 2010 Sauvigon Blanc is a great source of pride for this vineyard.
Later we were joined by winemaker, Manuel, a modest man whose passion and dedication to his craft was evident.
Former wine barrel cleaner, Illka, was enjoying seeing Mendoza’s world class vineyards from a different perspective than he’d known as a teenager in Europe.
Manuel, Ilkka, Jussi and Wally pose for a farewell shot just before we said goodbye and continued on to the next vineyard.