16 - Diego Samper on the Bonner Private Wine Partnership and why you have to be a member

In today’s installment of the Bonner Private Research Podcast I’m joined, in studio, by Mr. Diego Samper. Hailing from the coffee regions of Colombia, Diego moved to Argentina’s capital city more than a decade ago. Having fast fallen in love with Argentina’s unique wines, Diego soon began working with Bill Bonner and his sons, Will and Jules, on developing the family wine partnership. Located in Gualfin (literally the “end of the road”) in the far-flung province of Salta, the Bonner Family ranch is truly a remote and rugged patch of land... with an environment particularly well-suited to producing some of the world’s highest-altitude Malbec grapes. The Estancia’s own production, Tacana, is an intense wine of strong, robust character... as I discovered on the show when Diego and I shared a couple of glasses over an hour-long conversation. We spoke about what goes into making a top notch wine (hint: it’s not about points or fancy labels), the unique characteristics of ultra high-altitude grapes and how the Bonner Private Wine Partnership http://bit.ly/BonnerPrivateResearch is working to bring some of the world’s best and undiscovered wines to your table. So grab a glass of your own and join us for a look inside the rapidly evolving world of wines... Bullet Points 01:15 - Introducing Diego Samper: From Colombia to Argentina 02:00 - The similarities between coffee and wine 06:17 - The Legendary Gualfin in Salta, Argentina 10:19 - How altitude affects wine 14:32 - Argentina’s wine history & production 16:48 - Producing wine without pesticides 18:33 - How production started in Salta 21:35 - The partnership: Helping small wine producers get to the US 24:52 - The democratization of the market 26:16 - Argentinian wines 28:16 - The club that allows you to try out wine from different regions 30:31 - Putting argentinian wine in the map, and a price comparison 32:31 - The different wine regions in Argentina 35:19 - Why wine rates are overrated, and how to approach wine instead 38:48 - How to taste wine 40:07 - How different variables affect the wine