Itata Valley cinsault may be a niche wine. But you can’t say that about our next subject, malbec from the Mendoza region of Argentina.

Over the last 20 years, Argentine malbec has become one of the most popular genres of wine in the United States. It has become a brand name in and of itself, the sort of wine that people ask for in bars and restaurants, regardless of the producer or the restaurant.

Such widespread and unthinking popularity has not done the wine any favors. As with New Zealand sauvignon blanc in years past, the wine has become a cash cow, inspiring some producers to churn it out in volume, with little consideration for where the grapes are planted, how the vines are farmed or how the wine is made.