Ten years ago, El Gaucho Winery co-founder Bennett Sewell said his goal was to take a monthlong vacation to Argentina. During his trip, he met his wife, Eugenia, and bought two vineyards. Last year he returned to Austin with his family to establish a Spicewood winery.
Translated from Spanish, “El Gaucho” means the Argentine cowboy, Bennett said.
His winery produces eight varieties of Estado Natural and Tierra De Gaucho red and white wines from the couple’s two vineyards in Mendoza, Argentina. Although El Gaucho offers five types of malbec wine, Torrontes—a wine made from a white Argentine wine grape—is the business’s most popular seller, Bennett said.
“It’s interesting to compare the tastes of the different locations and how [location] affects the wine,” he said. “Both vineyards have different soil and elevations. We bottle the wine down there and ship it here.”
