LivingPolo: news & lifestyle

Don Miguel Gascón brings a taste of Mendoza to The Polo Life

Don Miguel Gascón, one of South America's most prestigious and historic brands of Malbec wine, continues to bring Argentina's passion for polo to the United States, with its sponsorship of the 2012 Maserati Miami Beach Polo World Cup VIII, taking place on the sands of South Beach in Florida, April 26th through April 29th, 2012.

This year marks the second year in which Don Miguel Gascón has stamped its authority on the world of Beach Polo as the official wine of The Miami Beach Polo World Cup, crystallizing its close partnership and continued journey with The Polo Life, LLC, a Florida-based organization responsible for producing professional Beach Polo competitions around the world. Gascón Winery will be sponsoring two teams - men's and women's - competing in this year's event, that will battle it out with vigor and grace during the world's largest and longest-running professional Beach Polo tournament.

Don Miguel Gascón will also be prominently featured in the Miami Beach Polo World Cup Village. Attendees are invited to visit the on-site Gascón Tasting Tent in which comfortable seating allows guests to have a front-row view of the polo, while at the same time sample the elegant style of Gascón's most acclaimed Classic Malbec or Reserva Malbec, as the perfect accompaniment to an afternoon's sporting entertainment.

"We are proud and very excited to be returning to this year's Miami Beach Polo World Cup," said Don Miguel Gascón Winery President, Ernesto Catena. "The Polo Life has taken ownership of professional Beach Polo and has turned the traditional game into a fun and exciting contemporary format that still maintains the sophistication and exhilaration of Arena Polo. Our company reflects the values and traditions the sport continues to represent and we look forward to developing our partnership with The Polo Life Tour and being part of its vision for Beach Polo in the U.S and internationally."

The wines of Don Miguel Gascón have exemplified a quintessential elegance and style that also resembles a way of life in the hills of the High Rio Mendoza Valley region - an area known for producing a consistently superior crop. Along with the insatiable flair of the Tango itself, The Sport of Kings is the only other national pastime bred with the grace, nobility and passion that is inherently part of the Argentine culture.

Argentina is considered the birthplace of polo from as far back as 1875, and is regarded as one of the country's two national sports, with the capital city of Buenos Aires hosting more than 30,000 polo fans each year at the Argentine Open, considered the world's most prestigious polo tournament, along with The Palermo Open, Hurlingham Open, and the Tortugas Open, otherwise known as the "Triple Crown."

Don Miguel Gascón Winery President, Ernesto Catena, is an avid polo aficionado and experienced rider. His passion for polo has been the inspiration for the style and expression of his product. The portfolio of wines under the Gascón umbrella offers a true representation of Argentine Malbec, which is developed from some of the best winegrowing regions in Mendoza. For more than a decade, Ernesto Catena brought together Argentina’s best amateur polo players to compete under the Escorihuela Gascón team banner, named after Miguel Escorihuela Gascón, who cultivated the Malbec-growing vineyards of Mendoza from Spain back in 1884. Catena groomed his stable of players who eventually represented Escorihuela Gascón at tournaments throughout Argentina from 2004, culminating in trophies being won as recently as 2011 at the San Jorge Open and End of the World Snow Polo Cup in Ushuaia. Each year, the Escorihuela Gascón teams play at more than 20 polo tournaments across the country and former Argentine soccer legend, Gabriel Batistuta and Martin Zorreguita, the brother of Princess Maxima of the Netherlands, have even adorned the Escorihuela Gascón team uniform.

In 2009, Catena built "El Candor," the first full-size polo field, built on the grounds of the Don Miguel Gascón Winery, among the grapevines and set against the majestic backdrop of the Agrelo Vineyard in Mendoza, to which international luminaries and celebrities are often invited to play.

"I feel so closely identified with the values upheld in the sport of polo," says Catena. "Perseverance, sacrifice and the quest for perfection in every detail. Having a polo field reinforces our commitment to polo and its development around the world."

Mendoza is one of the great wine capitals of the world and has been the home of Don Miguel Gascón ever since it opened its doors in 1884. In the 1940s, Don Miguel Gascón Winery was the first winery in Argentina to bottle a pure Malbec varietal wine, and it has been instrumental in the global popularity of Argentine Malbec ever since. The state-of-the-art winery still operates at the same location where it first opened its doors 125 years ago. To showcase the signature attributes of the Argentine vineyard, winemakers at Don Miguel Gascón develop its Malbec wines with an intense violet, deep purple color and soft, round tannins, exhibiting rich aromas of dark fruits with velvety flavors of chocolate, cocoa and mocha.

The Don Miguel Gascón partnership with The Polo Life has become an ongoing campaign, now in its second year, during which, the company initially tested the concept of Beach Polo in Spring 2011 at the AMG Miami Beach Polo World Cup, before becoming part of the inaugural Chicago Beach Polo World Cup in September on the sands of North Avenue Beach. Due to the growing popularity of professional Beach Polo with players, Patrons and polo enthusiasts alike, avante garde brands like Don Miguel Gascón are viewing the sport as a viable marketing platform for engaging its core target audience while, at the same time, bringing the passion of Argentina's Sport of Kings to the shores of mainland America.

For further information on Don Miguel Gascón, visit www.gasconwine.com. To purchase tickets for the 2012 Maserati Miami Beach Polo World Cup, visit www.miamipolo.com.