Last Friday the Wall Street Journal’s wine reviewers did a blind tasting of 60 Malbecs and were quite pleased with the overall results. More on that in a moment, but what was interesting to me is how wine from Argentina has zoomed so far ahead of what’s coming out of Chile in terms of sales. Higher sales doesn’t mean better wine of course–as Australia’s bursting bubble is proving–but it is a sign that people are generally happy with what they’re getting when they see “Made in Argentina” on the label.

The Journal says, “In the first four months of this year, the U.S. imported almost 50 percent more wine from Argentina than Chile. This represents a big change: as recently as 2000, Chile exported almost five times as much wine to the U.S. as Argentina did.”

This is mostly due to the rise of Malbec. The writers (John Brecher and Dorothy J. Gaiter) tasted 60 of them off U.S. shelves and their top 8 picks ranged in price from $6.99 to $41.99. Great values all around. The best of tasting was a Felipe Rutini 2004, which retails for $17.99. The best value was Nieto Senetiner “Reserva” 2004, which I’m happy to report I got to taste in person at their beautiful vineyard when I was in Mendoza (the two photos here). They make some great high-end wines, but this particular one is a fantastic bargain at $6.99.

Click on the Wine.com banner to the right to order a stash of wine from Argentina. Or visit your local store and grab a few random bottles. There’s a good chance you’ll be pleased with the results, without gambling a lot of cash.

Mexico is still not very known for its wine industry, but it has been putting out some respectable wines in the hilly region of the northern Baja Peninsula. A new venture between Singapore’s Banyan Tree group and the Monte Xanic winery will bring a new upscale wine resort to the Valle de Guadalupe region.

“The region is a two-hour scenic drive from San Diego, USA. Measuring seven hectares, the resort will be set on prime hillside land affording breathtaking views of the entire property and valley site. At 396 metres above sea level and 16 kilometres from the Pacific Coast, the region boasts of the ideal Mediterranean climate. The resort is expected to feature some 40 luxurious pool villas.”

Follow this link for the full Banyan Tree Mexico press release.

I’m currently checking out the luxury hotel scene in Guatemala, which is not all that extensive, but when it comes to great service and excellent views, it’s hard to beat La Lancha. This lakefront hotel, owned by movie director Francis Ford Coppola, is an impressive gem among a range of rather overpriced basic offerings near the Maya ruins of Tikal.

There are good reasons to stay out at one of the three hotels right by the entrance to the Tikal ruins, but being pampered certainly isn’t one of them. None of them have to try all that hard to fill up and it’s hard to hold onto a well-trained staff in the middle of a Guatemalan national park, so you can’t expect a whole lot.

At La Lancha, it’s a different story. It’s a good 30-45 minute ride from the ruins to La Lancha’s spot above the lake, but it’s a world away in terms of facilities, food, and personal attention. This opened in 2006 as Coppola’s third hotel in the region, joining Turtle Inn and Blancaneaux Lodge in Belize. It shares the same attentive sense of design and has the same conch “shellphone” in each room as Turtle Inn, but the theme here is a mix of the nautical and the Guatemalan.

Finding some wildlife is not difficult here. I took this photo from the restaurant while having lunch and at 5 in the morning heard at least a dozen howler monkeys going nuts.