New wine group eyes global growth

The team behind last year’s purchase of Argentine brand Argento has launched an international wine group called Blends Wine Estates with firm plans for further acquisitions.

Alejandro Bulgheroni and Carlos Pulenta

Unveiled at this week’s London International Wine Fair, the group is backed by Argentine businessman Alejandro Pedro Bulgheroni and draws on the winemaking expertise of Vistalba founder Carlos Pulenta and Italian consultant Alberto Antonini.

In addition to Argento, the Blends portfolio currently features four estates: fellow Argentine producer Bodega Vistalba in Luján de Cuyo, Bodega Garzón in Uruguay, Renwood Winery in California’s Amador County and Dievole in Chianti Classico.

Summing up the unifying focus of this portfolio, Pulenta told the drinks business: “We thought we would produce wines from different regions trying to work out how to do the best from each.”

As for the portfolio’s initial foundations, he noted: “The US is a very good market for us, Italy is our home, Argentina is where we live and Uruguay is just in front of us. It’s a blend of cultures, people and mentalities.”

However, Pulenta admitted to db: “When you have a dream like this you have to be in Bordeaux.” Adding that South Africa and Australia “all have potential too,” he stressed: “We’re not in a hurry.”

The group’s original roots lie in South America, when Bulgheroni began to plant vines on his Garzón estate in 2008. With its winery due for completion in 2014, the focus here lies predominantly on Tannat and Albariño.

“Uruguay is changing and I think the future for Tannat and Albariño is very interesting,” noted Pulenta of the potential here. Against the backdrop of Argentina’s current economic troubles, he also highlighted the attraction that “Uruguay is very stable.”

Having set up this operation, the company then turned its focus to the US, buying Renwood in 2011. Here Blends has invested particularly in the estate’s Zinfandel production. “Amador is home to some of the oldest Zinfandel vines,” noted Pulenta, who also highlighted this variety as a special area of interest for Antonini.

The latest additions came last year in the form of Dievole and Argento, with the latter bringing with it the major advantage of a distribution network across over 50 countries. The

However, Pulenta also confirmed some important investment in the Argento brand itself, most significantly in the construction of its own winery and vineyards. “Now it’s not just a brand,” he remarked. “We have much more stability in the long term.”

With these new vineyards will come the potential to expand the Argento brand’s reach in a more upmarket direction. “In the next five to six years Argento will also produce some higher end wines,” confirmed Pulenta.

Despite the creation of this umbrella group, he stressed: “We want each winery to be as individual as possible.” In addition to the distribution benefits of a larger set up, Pulenta highlighted the advantages for the Blends’ winemaking team.

“The winemakers are totally independent,” he emphasised, “but because the harvests are at different times in the north and south hemisphere, it means our winemaker at Vistalba can also see how we harvest Sangiovese in Tuscany – it’s a fantastic experience.”

On the commercial side, Blends already has offices in the UK, US and Argentina. “It’s too early to have an Asian office but we want to be there,” added Pulenta, indicating: “Shanghai makes sense more than Beijing or Hong Kong.

Blends is exhibiting at LIWF on stand I30 and will also be attending next month’s Vinexpo in Bordeaux.