I personally think just about every day is a good day to celebrate with wine, but today, April 17, is a day we should all celebrate by tipping a glass.
Today is Malbec World Day. I’m not sure why it’s not World Malbec Day, but there’s probably a good reason for it — maybe it’s an Argentinean thing, since they’re the ones that came up with it.
In the last couple of years, Malbec has become our wine of choice. Apparently, we’re not alone because it has become one of the more popular and best selling wines recently. A lot, if not most, Malbec comes from Argentina and it’s popularity seemed to rise just about the time the first Argentine Pope, Pope Francis, came along.
Even after extensive research I wasn’t able to determine why April 17 is Malbec World Day and not World Malbec Day, but I did discover that on April 17 in 1853 the 7th President of Argentina, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento decided to make it his mission to transform the Argentinian wine industry. He asked Michel Aime Pouget, a soil expert from France, to import grape vines for him. In the selection of vines was Malbec. It turns out that the Malbec grape thrived in the Argentine climate.
Even though Malbec was growing in popularity, Malbec World Day didn’t come into being until 2011. Apparently the first one was a huge success and this, the fifth one, promises to be even more successful as this will be the first officially celebrated by us. Luckily, April 17 was free on our calendar for such an important holiday — I have a feeling this may move right up my list of favorite days, maybe even getting close to Talk Like a Pirate Day.
Cheers and Happy Malbec World Day!
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