Tonight Fredric Koeppel is our expert for our wine tasting. He’s chosen the  Gascon Malbec 2006 from Argentina, and he’s posted a recipe for chili-dusted pork chops on the blog. Sign on at 7 p.m. and enjoy this wine with us. Click on the “live blog” box in this post; that’s where you’ll make your comments. Here’s what Fredric has to say about the wine:

“Hi, readers, here’s some background on the wine we’re tasting tonight: Because so much of our exposure to malbec comes from wines made in Argentina, many American consumers assume that the grape is native to that country. Actually. malbec came to Argentina in 1852 from Bordeaux, where it had long been used in small quantities to soften and add fruit to cabernet sauvignon. The grape is also grown extensively around Cahors, southeast of Bordeaux. Malbec fell out of favor in Bordeaux in the 1950s, and its function was taken over by merlot. The grape is often found in California, again as a blending wine with cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Malbec took a real liking to Argentina, especially to the temperate climate of the Mendoza Valley; the wines can turn out too fat and jammy in warmer climates. Unfortunately, during the 1980s, a misguided government program resulted in the uprooting of most of the old malbec vineyards in Argentina.  Even at its best, malbec makes a wine a bit too rustic to be considered great, but, again, at its best, it produces deeply colored wines with dark, spicy flavors and vigorous tannins. The property was founded by Spanish immigrant Don Miguel Gascon in 1884. Since 1993, the estate has been owned by Nicolas Catena, another noted producer in Argentina. The wine is impoted to the United States by E&J Gallo.”