(This Property Has Sold)

Exclusive - Top Premium - Fine Wine Vineyard,
With Cabana, Pool, Olive & Fruit Trees

Las Paredes, 8 Miles from San Rafael: US$165,000

This high-end, spectacular vineyard has a contract with one of the
most famous, historic and important wineries in Argentina, Valentin Bianchi ,
They pay a 50 to 75 percent premium for these grapes. The vineyard is
100% merlot --17-1/2 acres of grapes -- all under netting. The farm totals
18.5 acres.

The winery's engineers monitor the vineyard, ensuring proper standards of
production, and use the grapes for their Valentin Particular line, which is exported
internationally. For example, the vineyard has a small storage building for frost
control equipment, etc., which they require be maintained.

The wine produced from these grapes is available at exclusive wine shops in the
U.S. for about $30 a bottle, or cheaper online through various online wine retailers.
For example, it can be purchased at winechateau.com for $24.89 a bottle, at
laurentiwines.com for the same price, or at a further discount in a case of
12 bottles from wineRX.com for $292.68.

Bottles of Particular, from this vineyard, are actually marked at the Bianchi winery
and annotated as coming from this vineyard in accordance with Argentine Wine Institute
regulations.

In 2006 the vineyard produced the equivalent of about 65,000 bottles of wine --
a retail value of more than US$1.4 million, although the owner of this vineyard did
NOT receive a tiny fraction of this amount.

The Bianchi family, no strangers to the society pages in Buenos Aires, use the
Particular line of wines to solidify their reputation, and celebrities like Giorgio Armani
line up to do joint promotions.

This vineyard, located on the paved highway to Mendoza (8 miles from San Rafael)
is situated just down the road from the vast Bianchi Champagne Winery and vineyards.

WHY THIS FARM IS A GOOD VALUE:

Due to the amount on tourism along this route, and the number of weekend homes
being built, land in this area is fetching upwards of US$7 per square meter. This
property encompasses 70,500 square meters -- a value triple the price of the vineyard
for the land alone if it were subdivided into lots. You can do the math.

This is sort of like a Napa Valley situation, where land values outstrip the value of a
vineyard alone. It would be a shame to rip out such wonderful grapes for real estate
development, however some of the vineyard could be sacrificed for space to build the
$250,000 and $300,000 homes which are beginning to spring up here in this booming
tourist haven.

Income from the farm is currently returning the owner about US$10,000 per year on a
gross of close to US$30,000. The owner is an American who is paying more than double
what he should be paying in expenses and administration, and he knows he needs to change
this, but has to sell for personal reasons and cannot make any changes until after harvest.
He indicated he may be willing to negotiate somewhat on the price for a quick sale.

VINEYARD PHILOSOPHY:

This is not a cheap vineyard. And you can travel here to San Rafael and purchase a vineyard
at a far more affordable cost per acre. However, the difference is the proven track record on
this farm and the quality of the grapes capable of spectacular wine which already has a good
Wine Spectator rating.

Wineries would have to work hard to make bad wine in Mendoza. The climate, the altitude and
the soil all combine to produce grapes which result in a good product. Producing good mid-level
to entry-level wine (wine that retails for US$6 to $10 a bottle) is not difficult -- but that is also
where the market is glutted, competition is fierce and profits are minimal. It is rare to
find a vineyard on the market that produces grapes where the product has a fair market-price
of US$25 to $30 per bottle. This is the special wine that distributors and wine shops are looking
for, where the profit over fixed bottle costs is very substantial, and where a winery makes its
reputation. Vineyards capable of producing this type of wine are jealousy guarded,
and few are ever for sale.

You can also acquire land here in San Rafael to plant your own grapes, and install a vineyard
such as this with netting for about $12,000 an acre (not including the cost of the land). In five
years you should be in full harvest and have an idea of how the grapes are. In seven years
you'll know if the wine is great, or if the wine is just a decent product, entry-level to mid-range.
In the meantime, you'll be paying expenses on a monthly basis for at least three years before
any return starts to come back.

There is no right or wrong on this. Buying a vineyard in production, or land you wish to plant
and nurture on your own, is a matter of personal goals or dreams. The advantage with buying
raw land to plant is that you can get your foot in the door with a smaller investment, proceed
slowly so less funds are tied up, landscape and build the way you want, or diversify with
other crops. The advantage to buying a premium farm in production is that the "unknown"
factor of future quality is not an issue -- and there is no 3- to 10-year waiting period.

WHO IS GOING TO PURCHASE THIS FARM?

1) A winery or individual needing top-of-the-line fine wine grapes
with a proven track record.
2) An investor eyeing development potential.
3) A combination of the two above.

WHAT IS INCLUDED WITH THIS FARM:

* A one bedroom, one bath, cabana, currently occupied by the owner. This cabana is
on the tourist route, and others like it rent for $80 to $90 per night during season.
There is room to build another.

* Outdoor brick barbecue

* Small pool

* Approximately 130 mature olive trees

*A row of apricot trees with good harvest

* Storage building with frost prevention stoves. You can see the building in photos,
situated in the middle of the vineyard.

* A half-dozen walnut trees, loaded with walnuts this year.

* Various fruit trees, such as peaches, plums, nectarines, etc. A row of quince lines
the front of the property along the highway.

* 17-1/2 acres of premium Merlot grapes, all under netting.

The property is fenced, with a nice gate at the front and a nice view.
Electric serves the property, and the farm is on well water.

WHAT I DON'T LIKE ABOUT THIS PROPERTY:

The cabana on the property is very livable as is, but needs some touches
to doll it up, and as a one-bedroom it is small. The pool adds to the value,
especially for tourism, but maintaining any pool is a job. The floors are all nicely
tiled, the ceilings are attractive wood beams, marble counters in the kitchen are
quality, and cabinets are fine as are, but you might want to replace them at
some point. I also wish the park area were a little larger so a small winery or more
cabins could be built without sacrificing vineyard.

The current administration on the farm is good, but overpriced, and that
needs to be addressed. The contract with the winery and the administration
is on a year-to-year basis. There is no problem not renewing the contracts.

I also wish that the grapes were malbec, Argentina's signature grape, but
good luck finding a malbec vineyard for sale with grapes already producing
$30-a-bottle wine. However, there is no argument for the fact that the wine
produced from these grapes is simply excellent.

It's the wine I take back to the States when I want to gift someone with vino
that is really nice, universally appreciated, and says "Wow!". I also like some of
Bianchi's entry-level wines -- but Particular is an elevated experience!