I apologize for not posting anything in a while, but we've been working on our new web page for the business, Baby Siena Wines. In addition to building the new site, it was a real PITA porting the blog over from Serendipity to Wordpress. Originally I chose Serendipity because it had a lot of things out of the box that Wordpress didn't. But WP has largely caught up, and Serendipity has stagnated. Just goes to show you, in tech as anything else, shortcuts upfront will cost you in the long run.

So from here on out we are forking the blogs. The new blog, which will focus on the business and on wine, is at http://babysienawines.com/. This blog will be more family and travel orientated, and will probably get more random. Thanks for all your warm wishes, and we look forward to keeping you more updated now that the new blog is up and running.

-J.

For people like me (project managers), unexpected project changes can be painful, causing us to grit our teeth and begin throwing out terms like "scope creep," "change control," and "risk mitigation." J. and I had a very clear plan upon arriving in Argentina,which was to to focus on small, undiscovered wineries not yet exporting to the US and introduce these hidden gems to our friends back home. Upon settling in here, we've realized that most-if-not-all of the better wineries in Mendoza are already exporting their wines to the US. This throws our original plan out of the window and caused a few sleepless nights for this project manager! Fortunately, I've spent so many years married to an entrepreneur that I've learned how to think like one, and we've shifted the focus of our business to align with a few of the opportunities present in front of us and are now implementing a new and improved business plan.

We've found that spending some time to understand the business environment and the culture has been critical in shaping our business into one that fits the business needs here, rather than one that looks great on paper. An example of this is that leaving a day-long seminar defining the American market for Argentine winemakers, we realized that many of the "experts" in Argentina rely upon outdated data and are sharing conclusions with winemakers that won't help the winemakers sell their products to Californians. We chatted about what a dis-service this is doing to the small producers trying to export their wines, and noted that the scarcity of local expertise on what Californian wine drinkers want hurts the small family business the most, as they don't have a team of people analyzing various markets.

Upon reflection, we realized that within our small family we have 20 years of consulting experience, a master's degree, an internationally recognized wine accreditation, great people skills (mostly Siena, but J too!) and experience managing at least four businesses and a cafe. We have friends in prestigious restaurants, wine shops, and cafes in California, as well as friends who just love wine, and on top of this are native Californians and foodies so have a depth of knowledge about wine coupled with doing business in California that sets us apart from the various "experts" in Argentina. We hadn't originally planned on offering consulting services, but upon further consideration we realize that the insight we have into the strategic markets of San Francisco and Sacramento could help the small family wineries in Argentina and Chile, so we'll be consulting once again! Our niche is providing consulting and brokering (introducing wineries to importers) services to help smaller Argentine businesses sell their products in California. We are naming our new company Baby Siena Wines.

As we settle in, we have begun shopping for an apartment to produce some rental income from tourists seeking vacation rentals as there is a scarcity of nice, clean, furnished apartments for short-term rental (as we don't consider units with stained sheets, broken furniture, dirty plates, or moldy showers to fall into the category of "nice".) This is another business venture which we had not envisioned prior to arriving in Mendoza and seeing the opportunity for additional tourism-related services such as lodging. There is a great return on investment for rental properties in Argentina, though virtually no mortgages so you have to show up with a suitcase of money and pay in cash, so I guess we'll need to buy appropriate dark sunglasses and suitcases for transporting the money!

Managing rental property coupled with wine consulting and brokerage are the opportunities we've decided to focus on within Mendoza, and for every idea we've decided to move forward with there are two more we've rejected for lack of bandwidth. There are still many opportunities for investors and entrepreneurs to live comfortably in Argentina, but with the caveat that in order to be successful here it's critical to take the time to understand the people, culture, and the business environment. In addition, it's important to bring a sense of humor, flexibility to refine your business objectives as needed, and a project manager's mindset to maintain a focus on clear, tangible goals as there will undoubtedly be many obstacles and diversions along the way.

We flew out of San Francisco two months ago, and although we have just begun settling into Mendoza, we have not wasted any time with getting to drinking, er, working on familiarizing ourselves with local wines. To date we have tried 65 wines, mainly Mendoza Malbecs. Mendoza is Argentina’s Napa Valley, and has approximately 2000 wineries, covering several different sub-regions and appellations. The part of Mendoza most renowned for producing Malbec is Lujan de Cuyo, and two other important areas are the Uco Valley and Maipu’. Below are some highlights from our tastings so far, as well as some wine you can buy today in the U.S. (no need to fly to Argentina to buy them, though if you’re coming let us know and we can help you find your way to the wineries.)

We initially focused on Uco Valley wines, an area that has recently begun receiving a lot of international attention and which has been heavily influenced by the hands of a few international winemakers and consultants. An interesting, great value wine is Lorca’s 2005 Poetico Malbec, produced with Uco Valley grapes, with yields of 1 bottle per plant. Their production is still relatively small (total capacity of approx. 450,000 liters), though the wine is readily available internationally. Malbecs produced by Salentein are also highly regarded, and as their production is a bit higher (3 million liters), their wines may be a bit easier to obtain in the U.S.

After our initial exploration of Uco Valley, we’ve moved on to the classic Lujan de Cuyo Malbecs. Lujan de Cuyo is considered to produce the very best Malbecs in Argentina, and we’re looking forward to verifying this for ourselves! Lujan de Cuyo produces Achaval Fererer’s wines, which many consider to be the best of the best. We attended a winemaker evening last week, and had a chance to sample Achaval Ferrer’s portfolio and learn their winemaking philosophy; as these aren’t value wines more information will follow in a later post.
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Ruca Malen produces some great, funky, terroir-driven wines, among them a stellar Malbec. Their 2006 Malbec contains grapes from both the Uco Valley and from Lujan de Cuyo, as well as an interesting twist (12% Petit Verdot and 8% Tempranillo grapes.) This wine is a steal at $15, and pairs really well with game, as we’ve enjoyed it at Molokai, one of our favorite restaurants, with a smoked deer ravioli (delicious – sorry Bambi!) and Patagonian lamb.

Another winery producing great yet still affordable wines from this region is Lagarde. When we visited their tasting room we were impressed by the very solid quality levels across the board, especially within their Guarda line. They produce both a Guarda Malbec DOC, as well as a very elegant, complex blend called “Guarda” which is a blend of Malbec (40%), Cabernet Sauvignon (30%), Merlot (20%) and Syrah (10%.) Guarda opens up nicely, and was nice to drink on its own and very food friendly when we enjoyed it out our other favorite restaurant, Ocho Cepas. It paired both with J’s dinner of grass-fed steak and my trout and egg scramble on brioche (it tasted much better than it sounds.)

An interesting wine to try is Bodega Benegas Don Tiburcio 2006, a very balanced, drinkable wine which is 50% Malbec, 20% Cabernet Franc, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot, and 5% Merlot. This wine is a great way to understand the style that Michelle Rolland lends to a winery (he consults with Bodega Benegas), and is a steal for less than $15.

Last but not least, try Alta Vista Premium Torrontes 2008. It’s a very balanced, elegant Torrontes produced from high altitude vineyards in Salta (the home of the best Torrontes.) We’ve had fun trying the different styles of Torrontes, and it’s a varietal that is very easy to drink. Tapiz produces an award-winning fruit-forward Torrontes which is great on a hot day and which we’ve found helps pass the time when stuck on a bus during a border crossing. Alta Vista’s style is crisper and has great acidity to balance out the fruit. It is full of honeydew, honey suckle, pears, orchids, basil, lemonade, with hints of a dusty, rocky terroir. No, it’s not a Malbec, but it is a very refreshing wine produced by one of the wineries in Argentina producing stellar Old-World style wines in the New World. At $15, you may even want to buy a case to stock up for summertime.

Well it was a long week here in Mendoza. It started out on Saturday, when Siena had a slight temperature. After a nap where Mom went to check the Internet (we have no internet at our apartment), Siena woke up with a high fever. Luckily, we had just signed up for health insurance. Like most countries, Argentina has "free" medical care. However, though the doctors are quite good, like many things here in Argentina, the hospitals and infrastructure are severely underfunded. I will try not to turn this into a free market rant, but basically the private market has stepped in with additional options. The obvious drawback of which is that most Argentines can't afford it. However, from our perspective, with baby in tow, it was important for us to have the best possible medical care and coverage we could afford. This piece of mind is not only for us, but also for our friends and family who worry about Baby Siena.

So we signed up for the 210 plan from OSDE. In exchange for our monthly premium, we pretty much get full coverage, emergency care in neighboring countries, and 40% off already cheap drugs. It also includes basic dental and vision, and did I mention there is absolutely no deductible? So what does this kind of medical coverage run us here in Argentina? About $260 USD a month for the whole family!

Naturally Siena, who is a master of timing anyways, decided it would be a good time to get sick. So after her fever passed 100, we called the number in the book for “urgencies.” They asked us a few short questions, then asked to verify our address was correct. Apparently they pulled our account up immediately from the caller ID. They said they would send a doctor out to our apartment in about 2 hours. Yes, house calls are included too.

When the doctor arrived, she made a diagnosis and basically prescribed us the local equivalent of children’s Tylenol. We were worried that she didn’t prescribe antibiotics, but Siena seemed to be in overall good spirits, and the doctor was adamant there was no infection, (Siena had been tugging on her ears) but prescribed a home solution of sterile water and alcohol to clean her ears.

She told us to call her if Siena was still sick in 2 days, but just as we were starting to really get scared, Siena’s fever broke and she recovered quickly. All in all, it was a little scary as this was the first time she had been sick (and she is almost one year), but we had great peace of mind that with our insurance she would have the best care available.

After Siena was well, we headed out to explore Mendoza a little more. We walked by a meat market that was full of locals. I have learned to keep my mouth shut when I walk into a store in Argentina, as the price usually goes up the more I talk. I simple said “hola” and asked how much for a bottle of water in pretty good accented Spanish. Due to my dark complexion, I can sometimes pass for someone of a vague Latino background as long as I don’t say too much. The man quoted me the locals price, about half of what the American price usually is. However, when he rang me up (on his Windows based POS system I might add) he apologized for not having the .40 pesos change (about 10 cents) and instead handed me a receipt and a small silver wrapped candy. There is a shortage of change here in Argentina, as often happens historically when the value of a currency falls precipitously passed the value of the metal that makes up the coins. So with an amused smile we thanked him and went outside.

When I opened the candy to eat it, I discovered that it was in fact a bullion cube. Well, that makes sense, as it was a butcher shop. At about a dime, I think I came out ahead on this particular transaction. But that is very Argentina. That night I made a delicious bean soup.

Below is a top ten list of lessons learned about slow travel with babies within Latin America (since doing anything quickly is out of the question!)

1. Don’t worry about being one of the first ones to the bus terminal, airport boarding gate, or even immigrations lines. If you have a baby, you automatically have the right to cut to the front of the line, no questions asked. If no one officious waves you to the front, simply walk up to the front of the line and those in line will waive you through. When on public transit, you’ll always get a seat, and if no one seems to offer right away the bus driver will announce that someone needs to get up to make a seat available to the lady with the baby.

2. Don’t bring a lot of toys and baby gear as the baby won’t ever use them after leaving the U.S. Siena’s favorite toys generally fall into the categories of water bottles, remote controls, or “yuckies on the floor.” Baby clothes, strollers, highchairs, etc are available even in small towns, and not worth the hassle of carting around while you search for a long-term apartment.



3. Bring the baby everywhere with you, even places that you wouldn’t normally bring a baby in the U.S. Babies are great at breaking the ice, and as family is so highly regarded in Latin America, babies are welcome just about everywhere. The one exception to this was in Santiago where many cafes and restaurants allow smoking; there is a law there that states that minors under the age of 18 aren’t allowed in smoking establishments. Aside from this, we’ve taken Siena everywhere, and perhaps because of this she has become a very sociable, adaptable, and well-behaved baby.

4. Teach the baby a few key words in the local language as this will help her to make friends and bring about smiles from all. “Ciao” or “chau” is pretty easy for babies to say, and “hola” is also a winner. Your baby will feel extremely proud of herself when she’s able to communicate with all of the new friends she’s making, and her happiness is contagious.

5. Carry hand sanitizer with you, always. It’s not uncommon for strangers to grab your baby’s hands, touch her face, or to request to pick her up, especially in Argentina. However, as you don’t know where the kindly older lady or 5 year old’s hands have been, after they’ve interacted with your baby and have moved on, make sure you clean off baby’s hands. Her hands probably need a cleaning anyways if she has begun to crawl.

6. Purchase healthcare insurance, as in many countries around the world there is universal healthcare, but those who can afford it opt into the private system. The public doctors are known for being good though with outdated equipment and facilities, which may not be sufficient for a baby. We purchased healthcare insurance earlier this week, and were pleasantly surprised at the depth of coverage offered for the price. Knowing that we have this has given us tremendous peace of mind.

7. If you’re a nursing mom, know that you’re not alone, and that people will often ask you what your baby eats and whether you’re nursing. It’s a common sight to see women nursing their babies in public, even while grocery shopping or walking down the street.
8. Diaper changing stations are nonexistent, so plan on changing a dirty diaper whenever and wherever the urge strikes.

9. Trust your instincts. While it’s generally a good idea to be flexible and adapt to local customs, follow your parenting instincts as you’re the only one who knows what is best for your baby. This sometimes will put you in an awkward position, but is the right thing to do in the long run. This generally comes into play when needing to find a tactful way to decline the offer of numerous sweets for your baby.

10. Most importantly, have fun! Try to see all of these new experiences from your baby’s perspective, and remember that this time will pass quickly so cherish these adventures with your family. Take time to relax and, if your baby is anything like Siena, make singing and dancing a regular part of your day.