A Day in the Life of Toro Malbec from Argentina

Our team recently tasted Toro Centenario Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina. We’re sharing our reviews of this terrific, value-priced wine here, plus photos we took with the wine below.

Taking our inspiration from photo essays and books that focus on one topic for a day, we’ve assembled our pictorial interpretation of California’s Toro Malbec.

We’re also sharing these photos on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr and LinkedIn. The hashtag is

Bodega Toro Winery Centenario Malbec 2019
Mendoza, Argentina

Like tango, soccer or a grilled steak, Argentines love the wines of their beautiful country, but their undisputed favourite is Toro. One out of every five glasses of wine consumed in Argentina is crafted by the Bodega Toro winery, a statistic that hints at a deep personal love affair between a nation of 46 million people and this juicy icon of the country’s unique culture and lifestyle.

Argentina is a country of romance. Its culture is arguably the most European of South America thanks to the influx of immigrants from Europe during the late 1800s. As with Italy, Spain or France, Argentina’s regional wines play an integral role in meals and other daily activities. The wine of choice for any occasion tends to be Toro. Founded in 1896 by two immigrants from Switzerland and Italy, Toro’s original mission was to be “wine made by the workers for the workers,” a refreshingly down-to-earth mantra in today’s globalised market of over-priced wines and occasional snobbery. These clear values are still alive and well at the winery today. Bodega Toro is owned by a dedicated community of small-to-medium-sized family winegrowers in Mendoza: authentic people who work their own land with their own hands

Toro Centenario Malbec—the winery’s reserve-level of Argentina’s most popular wine varietal—is now available at local LCBO stores throughout Ontario. Canadians who enjoy wine that expresses a distinct sense of place can now discover the Malbec that won the heart of a nation, created more than 100 years ago to bring joy to the dinner tables and social gatherings of Argentine families, workers, friends and lovers from all walks of life.

Just as Malbec is Argentina’s quintessential varietal, Bodega Toro is Argentina’s quintessential Malbec producer. In contemporary Argentine lifestyle, the Toro brand is practically a national treasure, found side by side with many of the country’s traditional as well as more modern-day pleasures. From family-style asado barbecues to late-night dinners at neighbourhood restaurants in Buenos Aires, wherever and whenever real Argentines are enjoying themselves, a bottle of Toro is often close at hand. Argentines love a glass of Toro as a simple pleasure after closing the laptop at the end of the day, as they are grilling an asado in the backyard or as they root on their favourite team.

As true today as it was 124 years ago, Toro remains a wine made by workers for workers. Argentina’s century old love affair has found its way to wine lovers in Ontario, who can now find out for themselves why Toro is the favourite wine of real Argentine people.

Toro was founded in 1896 by two immigrants, Bautista Gerónimo Gargantini from Switzerland and Juan Giol from Italy. They launched their original winery, La Colina de Oro, with only three oak barrels. Refining their technique over time, the two winemaking pioneers eventually developed an ideal formula, which they named “Vino Toro.” They envisioned Toro as a wine that would bring enjoyment to Argentines from all walks of life. It was to be “un vino hecho por laburantes para laburantes”—a wine made by workers for the workers.

Today, the Toro winemaking facility is considered one of the most state-of-the-art wineries in South America. The recently opened Bodega Toro winery in San Martín, Mendoza, prioritises sustainability in all aspects of its innovative design, reducing typical winemaking water usage by 50% and saving energy through high-efficiency lighting and thermal insulation. Toro is owned by its own dedicated community of small and medium-sized Mendoza winegrowers, from whom all grapes for Toro wines are sourced. Supported by its remarkable legacy of winemaking excellence in Argentina, Toro maintains a 20% market share of wine consumption in its home market and is the top-selling wine brand in South America.

Christian Marcoux
Accredited Sommelier