Mendoza Wine Country, the escape plan is calling.

Interested in a lifestyle change perhaps, I am serious here? Frustrated with the growing sense our Politicians in the US are stealing the country away from us and headed toward a European style Socialism? Are you wondering.......perhaps I should look for a great place to escape to that has a great lifestyle, is much less expensive, and offers incredible beauty and a tranquil existence? Possibly even grow some high quality grapes and get a return on your investment?

Maybe you should look no further than Argentina and Mendoza Argentina in particular. I just returned from my 15th trip to Argentina and have much to say and share about my experience, especially in the beautiful wine valley that is South of Mendoza. After many trips to Buenos Aires and several trips to Cordoba for the worlds best dove hunting, I finally made it to Mendoza and the wine country. Here are a few things that jumped out at me initially.

Beautiful clean environment? Check

Great vacation home site(s)? Check

Fantastic food and restaurants? Check

Great Golf? Check

Skiing? Check

Great Climate? Check, high desert type.

Beautiful women for single guys? Check, Check, Check.

Friendly people? Check

Safe environment? Check

Easy time change from US? Check

Incredibly inexpensive cost of living? Check, Check

From wildly dramatic settings and world-class gourmet food to simple perfection in the most unassuming of surroundings, Mendoza has a well deserved reputation for offering some of the best dining in South America.

The lifestyle offered here is the perfect escape for many who are frustrated with the depressing changes in the political environment and dwindling lifestyle in the not the same old USA.

The time may be now to look at investing in your escape plan or vacation home in wine region that is Mendoza Argentina. Quite simply, this area and region is a fantastic place for a vacation home or permanent relocation site if you so desire. Should you desire or need something more to capture your imagination while in Mendoza, well look no further, you can indulge in the grape producing business very easily.

Imagine investing in the Napa Valley 50 years ago. Several large high quality developments in the wine valley south of Mendoza offer a fantastic opportunity to stake your claim in the area that is being called the next Napa Valley. You can even own your own private vineyard from 3 to 6 acres. Perhaps you only want to grow the grapes and sell them off to the big wine houses nearby. Yet, with the assistance of the Vines, you can take the process all the way through to producing your own private label wine with a label you designed. Yes, it is a hobby, but possibly the coolest adult hobby in the most incredible setting you could ever imagine.

Over the next two weeks I will be talking with you about four different private vineyard estates I visited on my trip to Mendoza. I consider the four I visited to be the highest quality of the many offered in the area. The first one I will discuss today and it is The Vines of Mendoza.

The Vines of Mendoza is a Private Vineyard Estate set in the beautiful Uco valley with the Andes Mountains as the backdrop. The development was founded by a US expat named Michael Evans and is catering to mostly European and American investors. You can read more about Michael here http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/0301/second-acts-wine-mendoza-malbec-planting-roots.html. Michael has teamed up with an Argentine, Pablo Gimenez Riili, whose family has been producing wine in the Mendoza area for many years. There concept is very attractive to wine enthusiast and investors.

I personally visited the development in early March and came away extremely impressed with the quality of the development and excited about the investment potential going forward. You can learn more about the project by visiting their web site www.privatevineyardestates.com.

Investing in Argentina is easy as I have done this before when I personally bought an apartment in beautiful Buenos Aires in 2006. Obtaining good clean title is not a problem and with the structure that the Vines of Mendoza has in place, it is very simple to get clean title to you own personal finca. Real Estate transactions are done in $US dollars and paid all cash at closing. Once you have your vacation home or finca paid for, the cost of living there is very inexpensive. Trust me, you can live large on only $4,000US per month.

From The Vines of Mendoza literature: "Recently discovered, and now booming, Argentine wines are experiencing a major renaissance that is the envy of the international wine community. An unequaled opportunity exists to stake you claim and realize the dream of owning your own vineyard in the pristine Uco Valley, which is being called the next Napa Valley."

"Set amidst 900 acres in the prestigious Uco Valley are a limited number of Private Vineyard Estates where you can create your own wine legacy. Argentina's culture and natural beauty make it the hottest destination for savvy wine travelers seeking a real experience. Mendoza's perfect combination of climate, soil, and sun make it one of the most exciting and dynamic wine-growing regions in the world today."

"A Private Vineyard Estate from The Vines of Mendoza is much more that a vineyard. It is an opportunity to make your own wine with a team of world-class professionals, led by Argentina's most critically acclaimed winemaker, Santiago Achaval. With 250 acres already planted for over 60 owners, it is an enthusiastic global community of wine lovers dedicated to crafting great wines and enjoying the experience along the way."

"Every aspect of your winemaking endeavor is guided, with as much or as little of your input as you wish, achieving your winemaking dreams with unsurpassed piece of mind - all from wherever you call home."

Vines of Mendoza currently has 66 owners from all over the world. The vineyards range in size from 3 to 6 acres and they are offering them at $55,000 per acre for 2010 planting. This is a totally turnkey operation and the Vines will assist you as far as you want to go with the process. Believe it or not, some clients are just buying for the investment with no real love for winemaking. The Vines is dedicated to high quality grape production with the primary focus on the wonderful Malbec grape. Many other varietals are being grown there from Syrah, Merlot, Torrontes, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay etc.

Each acre will produce about 2000 bottles of ultra-premium wine annually - owners can choose to make wine under their own label and as a participant in a managed winemaking and marketing cooperative. Most investors are producing a barrel of wine, about 300 bottles for themselves, and selling off the remaining grapes to the big wine producers in the area. Catena, one of Argentina’s most important winemakers, bought all the available grapes from Vines last year.

One of the clients of the Vines of Mendoza already has his private label wine in P.F. Chang’s restaurant on the West Coast.

The famous French winemaker, Michel Rolland, and owner of Clos de los Siete nearby, had this to say about the Mendoza wine region:

"The potential of Argentina in the wine industry is astonishing, the diversity of its future development, breathtaking. If there is one place on earth where all the optimum conditions for the development of a new and formidable wine industry including climate, soil, costs, human resources, and little bureaucratic regulation- exist together; that place, my friend, is Argentina."

Rob Lawson, Consulting Winemaker, Napa Wine Co. Propietor, Pavi Wines and Private Vineyard Estate Owner said this:

“With over 20 years of winemaking experience in many of the world’s top regions, I’m extremely excited to make wine in Argentina. It offers an unmatched combination that winemakers dream of: terroir, climate, and culture. Its limitless potential is reminiscent of the Napa Valley 30 years ago. Argentina is becoming one of the most prestigious wine regions in the world and The Vines of Mendoza is at the heart of creating this..”

Nice Bloomberg article on Texas investor in the Vines of Mendoza here:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601108&sid=a0fZXgYmYnhM

You can also follow the Vines of Mendoza blog at www.vinesofmendoza.com/blog/

For more detailed information regarding this investment, or if you or somebody you know would be interested in talking about opportunities in Argentina, then feel free to contact me directly. I am a US based independent representative for the Vines of Mendoza.

Pitts Wilson

Independent Rep Mendoza Vineyards

Jpitts14@comcast.net

404-312-3880

Atlanta, Georgia