The Argentine Embassy, in collaboration with the Wines of Argentina, held a wine tasting event on Nov. 9 at the Millennium Seoul Hilton, introducing 28 wineries.

The event, in its fifth run, is a government-sponsored scheme to promote national wines around the world, whose popularity has risen sharply in Korea. Since 2011, the export of Argentine wines to Korea has increased by 64 percent in volume and 90 percent in value.

Argentina is the world’s fifth-largest wine producer and the largest in South America. The Wines of Argentina is a nonprofit organization comprised of over 200 wineries, covering more than 95 percent of global wine exports.

The country started producing wine some 200 years ago, exporting it 20 years ago, and selling it in Korea seven years ago. The wines showcased at the event that are imported to Korea included Norton, Finca Flichman, Kaiken, Altavista, Bodega Argento, Terrazas de los Andes, Andeluna Cellars, Trapiche, Pascual Toso and Bodega Catena Zapata.

By Joel Lee (joel@heraldcorp.com)