2009 marked another consecutive year of impressive double digit growth for the Argentine wine category in the U.S. Total dollar value of wines imported reached $190 million, up 30% over 2008. And it's no surprise that Malbec continues to outpace other varietals.

In dollar terms, the growth of Malbec is even higher at 60%. While Malbec's dominance continues unabated, don't overlook the consistent growth of other varietals such as Torrontes and Pinot Noir!

The good news doesn't stop there! Among significant wine-producing countries, Argentina ranks #1 in growth of US imports for the 2nd year in a row. Here are the Top 5 and for the complete picture, click here.

Argentina +24%
Chile +5.7%
New Zealand -1.0%
Germany -10.8%
Italy -11.8%

Saving the best news for last, we were also thrilled with the performance of many core VC brands last year. For example, Crios (#3), La Posta (#14), and BenMarco (#15) rocked the top 300+ Argentine brands between $10 and $20 (SRP). Even more impressive are the individual VC product rankings by dollar volume within their varietal categories:

#1 Torrontes (Crios)
#2 Syrah (Luca)
#3 Cabernet Sauvignon >$10 (Crios)
#6 Sauvignon Blanc (mapema)
#8 Malbec >$10 (Crios)

Click here to read more.

Grab a glass of Malbec and let's toast to another fantastic year. If you are one of our distributor partners, thanks for your hard work in an incredibly difficult economic environment. If you are a restaurant or retailer, thanks for continuing to sell and pour our wines. If you are a consumer, just keep drinking Malbec (and Torrontes, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Cabernet....)!

CRIOS: THE HAND
THAT FEEDS YOU

You've seen it on the shelves, on restaurant lists, and definitely in the press. Crios has been ON FIRE for the past several months, if not years.

Last year Vine Connections sales of Crios were up almost 50%. “As consumers continue to search for great value, Crios sales will continue to rise. The wines consistently overdeliver for the price”, said Ed Lehrman, co-founder.

A Florida retailer agrees, “Crios has become the go-to wine for many of my customers this year. They'll try one bottle and come back for a case.”

All Crios wines represent such high quality and excellent value that it is easy to understand such success. This combination appears to be exactly what the press was also looking for this past year. While the traditional trade press continued to score the wines well (88-90pts Wine Spectator, Robert Parker, etc.), many notable consumer outlets also tipped their hat. Some highlights include:

GQ Magazine ”Crios Torrontes: Wine Bargain of the Year”
Real Simple “Perfect with Cheese – Crios Torrontes”
The Today Show “Crios Malbec for Labor Day”
Men's Health “A Great BYO – Crios Torrontes”
Food & Wine “50 Classics to Try – Crios Torrontes”
New York Times “A Match with Steak – Crios Malbec”

In total, published Crios recommendations reached a minimum of 50 million people!

Click here to search for all Crios press.

Tremendous quality, attractive pricing, plenty of inventory, positive press -- there really is no better time to be selling (or drinking!) Crios.

OPRAH'S PICK:
REGINATO

Hand-picked by Oprah, Reginato "Celestina" graced the cover of her famed holiday "O List" in Oprah Magazine .  While humbled by this recognition, we couldn't agree with her more. This limited production sparkling wine has pleased the palates of many sommeliers & retailers and the pocketbooks of wine drinkers since its debut in 2006. Its vibrant red color suggests something heavy, but take a sip and you'll be rewarded with a dry and refreshing mouth-feel, light berry flavors, and an amazingly elegant finish. This is a bubbly too good to only drink as an apertif. Apparently, Oprah agrees! Check it out here.

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Ed's musings about this curious business of importing wine and sake

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