Maipe wine is made by the Pelizzatti family 3,000 feet above sea level in the shadow of the Andes mountains. These dancing grapevines bounce and pounce in the Luján de Cuyo region of Mendoza in Argentina. Pretty, huh?

This wine delivers clear, high notes, like you might hear from a drumstick hitting a symbol, but without that fuzzy sibilance. And the rhythm underneath isn’t percussive, but melodic, like a guitar played quickly. Ah! Chuck Mangione! And that’s a flugelhorn, not a trumpet. Give it a listen.

Maipe was the Lord of the Winds for the ancient Andean people. Argentineans still occasionally invoke his name to clear the skies after a heavy rain or to temper the summer heat.

Here at Wizard Academy, when we raise a glass of Maipe we invoke the name of Paul Sherman, a longtime friend of the Academy who recently sent 5 cases of wine for the cellar. One of those cases was Maipe malbec.

To Paul!