The Argentine Grape Rush ... we're on it.

From this weekend’s Globe & Mail :

I am trying to savour this innocent period in South American wine history while I can. It won't last, I know.
Unlike most other grape-growing regions, Chile and Argentina seem to be in a weird economic vortex where the quality of the wine is rising faster than the prices.

I know what some of you are thinking. As regular imbibers of more popular wines from Bordeaux, California and Australia, you are under the impression that such a scenario is not possible. After all, the tried-and-true Bordeaux economic model -- much copied in California and to some extent Australia -- dictates that a 10-per-cent improvement in quality from one year to the next justifies a 50-per-cent price increase. Conversely, when quality drops, well, prices continue rising, only not as sharply -- say, by a modest 10 to 20 per cent.

Meanwhile, Chile and Argentina continue to go from strength to strength each year while managing to keep a snug cork on prices. There are adjustments, of course, but they tend to be very modest. How ironic in the case of Argentina, given its infamous recent history with hyperinflation across all other areas of the economy. But hey, wine prices often make a mockery of conventional economics.

The result: Adventurous consumers won't find a bigger selection of exciting values, particularly in the $12-to-$18 range, from anywhere else in the world.

But there's a downside. The value vortex won't last forever. Clearly, the word is out about Chile and has been for some time, evidenced by big-money investments of blue-chip players such as Robert Mondavi from California and the Mouton Rothschild clan from France.

And now the Argentine grape rush is in full swing, led by three illustrious names from, yes, inflation-happy Bordeaux: the LCF Rothschild Group, superstar consultant Michel Rolland, and the dynamic hemisphere-hopping duo of Jacques and François Lurton. I suspect it won't be long before these shrewd Old World explorers will want to earn back more than just air miles for their trouble. Indeed, the Lurton brothers have already come out with a $50 Chilean red based on carmenère, a grape many connoisseurs scoff at.

The moral is, if you haven't hoisted your share of underpriced gems from South America yet -- or laid down a few cellar-worthy beauties for sharp-buyer bragging rights in a decade or two -- you might want to do it now.