Malbec consumption up 60%

According to statistics from Nielsen in the USA sales of malbec wines (made from the grape variety malbec) have increased with 60% over the last year (Jan 09 to Jan 10). The stats show that it is the grape variety that has grown the most over the period. However, it is still far from being among the most popular variety. The top spots go, unexpectedly, to chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, and merlot. The good results for malbec can no doubt at least partially be attributed to the various campaigns around the grape variety both from Argentina (which is the major source of malbec wines) and from the southern French region of Cahors. Cahors can be said to be the “origin” of malbec wines and has lately been vary active in marketing its wines and re-launching the district as a source of modern wines with slogans such as “the French Malbec” (an original angle, with the sous-entendu that this region, the origin of malbec, is an alternative to Argentinean malbec) and “the Black Wine”.

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Have you tasted any malbec recently? What did you think?