We will be in Argentina from July 24th 2009 until April 2010. We invite you to come visit.
Yvonne and I invite you to visit us in Argentina and let us show you how our La Vida Buena's 108 acre development is progressing. The Worker's House and Barn is in progress and we will soon be planting 30 acres of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Syrah vineyards due for completion by late September, early October 2009.
CAN MY IRA OWN A VINEYARD?
Yes, and it is an investment you should consider. With the Stock Market losing trillions and IRAs having lost an average of 35% of equity last year more and more people are looking for alternative investments.
Contrary to what your Stock Broker or Financial Planner has, or has not, told you an IRA can buy real estate including foreign real estate that includes a Vineyard. For more information regarding IRA held Vineyards please e-mail me: TomPhelany@yahoo.com. Please note: "IRA Held Vineyard with your e-mail.
June 2009 UPDATE
We want to thank everyone for the inquiries made over the last 120 days which are averaging nearly one a day. Indeed, it seems to us that people are finally shaking off the fog of fear and hesitancy and moving forward with their lives and retirement and investment goals which for many include vineyards and Wine Club Memberships in Argentina.
Yvonne and I just returned from Argentina where we spent three very busy weeks in Mendoza and San Rafael working with our staff and to name just a few:
- Agronomist (Jose Luis #1)
- Vineyard Manager (Raul Gil)
- Surveyor (Nestor)
- Building Contractor for Worker’s House and barn (Luis #2)
- Electricity Engineer (Luis #3)
- Escribano (Pablo)
- Account (Richard)
Vineyard – Orchard – Grove Real Estate Broker
During our stay we also looked at vineyards outside Mendoza in Tunuyan, Tupangato and La Consulta, all near or in the Valle de Uco triangle. Many people think Mendoza has vineyards in the city but actually such is not the case. Typically you must travel 45 – 60 minutes south of Mendoza City or 90 minutes north of San Rafael to find vineyards.
We were looking at 100 acre plus vineyards for several clients I have acquired during the last year. For those of you who don’t know I am also a Vineyard, Orchard and Grove Broker because some people I am dealing with want existing vineyards or Peach, Plum, Pear, Apricot Orchards, or Walnut or Olive Groves.
While exploring vineyards in the Valle de Uco area Yvonne and I were confronted with a scarcity of vineyards for sale (a Seller’s market) and surprised at the prices for those they were available. Vineyards of 100+ acres routinely had million dollar price tags.
The few larger vineyards for sale (150 acres+), numbering less than half a dozen, were priced at two million and up.
So, when we pulled into San Rafael we were relieved to see that although prices for raw land and vineyards has increased nicely, they aren’t nearly as pricey as Mendoza, i.e. ranging from 50% - 75% less.
During our stay in San Rafael we rented a brand new 2 bedroom 1½ bath Apartment that we will be using until we build the La Vida Buena Estancia. The rental price you ask, a modest AR $1,500 Pesos a month or USD$400.00.
We also made a few discoveries, for example the fact that our main entry road running down our property for nearly one mile must be 16 meters or 52 feet wide, yep fifty-two feet wide. It was slated to be 12 meters wide so we had to have the property re-surveyed, however, it will not affect the Wine Club Vineyard or any of the Boutique Vineyards we have sold and will be planting in August.
Another interesting discovery was our Agronomist informing us that most Winery Fermentation Tanks used for aging hold 20,000 liters. If the quantity of your wine is significantly less your wine will likely be blended with someone else’s wine. For example if you had a 2 acre finca that produced 7,500 kilos of grapes and you sent them to a Winery to be made into wine, the Winery is not going to partially fill a 20,000 liter tank with only your wine, it will add wine from other customers. This is the one of the major reasons why at Year #3 we will build a La Vida Buena Bodega on site, so that we can control and accommodate smaller grape/wine yields.
Bodgea
And speaking of Bodegas, we visited our San Rafael friend Aziz who is originally from Indian but has lived for twenty-five years in France. Last year Aziz and his family purchased a 30 acre Vineyard in San Rafael of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. He built an 85,000 liter capacity Bodega to elaborate his wine. Yvonne and I were able to taste his two month old Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon straight from a spigot on the storage tank. Wow!!! It was the best we have had so far in Mendoza or San Rafael and we have tasted wine costing from USD$25.00 - $95.00 per bottle of Argentine Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. The color was beautiful and clung to the glass, the bouquet was wonderful and the taste was excellent ending with a smooth finish. No, we are not wine experts yet but we have learned a few secrets of finding good wine; for example we know excellent wine does not come in a one gallon carton or jug and sold at local gas stations. I used to include wine with screw tops but times are changing and artificial corks and screw tops are being employed more and more. Some of the larger Wineries, Salentein with a 100 million dollar investment and O’Fournier with a 50 million dollar investment are studying the pluses and minuses or cork versus artificial corks and screw tops. We’ll keep you posted.
The incredible results Aziz has produced is very encouraging to us because La Vida Buena will be constructing a Bodgea in a few years and will have garnered lots of experience from Aziz.
For you investors, La Vida Buena will be offering investment shares in its Bodega so if you want to learn more please e-mail me at: TomPhelany@yahoo.com. Please be sure to note “Bodega Interest”.
Yvonne and I will be returning to San Rafael the last week of this July and will stay all the way through Vindemia, next April, so that we can supervise every step of the soil preparation, irrigation, the construction of the grapevines infrastructure (posts and wires), the planting of the grapevines and the construction of the Worker’s house and small galpon (barn).
The grapevines, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Chardonnay have been reserved by our Agronomist and we will be preparing the soil in August for 32 acres of planting in September.
We invite you to visit us in late September or October and take a look, to “walk between the rows of vines” as they say. The Worker’s House will be completed by then and there will be 30+ acres of grapevines.
Naturally we will take a zillion pictures along the way and so for those of you who would like to see pictures please e-mail me TomPhelany@yahoo.com. Please be sure to note, “Pictures Please”.
I will be constructing an Excel Spreadsheet for what a 5 acre Boutique Vineyard will cost, what the maintenance will run, and what will be the grape yields in kilos and pounds. I will also include what the grapes can be sold for and the resultant ROI. I will do the same projection for you processing your grapes into wine and what will be the resultant costs involved and eventual ROI. If you have interest in this please e-mail me at: TomPhelany@yahoo.com. Please be sure to note “Vineyard Info”.
PRICE INCREASES
Yvonne and I again want to thank those of you who have joined our La Vida Buena Wine Club or purchased a La Vida Buena Vineyard.
And we respect those of you who have adopted a “wait and see” posture and are still considering coming aboard with a Wine Club Membership or by reserving a 5 acre Vineyard. This conservative posture is understandable, however, we wish to make quite clear that once the Worker’s House is complete (September 2009) and the 30+ acres are planted by September/October of 2009 La Vida Buena prices will rise according.
Wine Club Memberships will increase from USD$6,450 to USD$8,450.
La Vida Buena 5 Acre Boutique Vineyard prices will rise from USD$97,950 to USD$119,950.
I am Yvonne Phelan. My husband, Thomas and I have been involved in real estate most of our lives and part of real estate included our desire to own a Vineyard.
But like so many of us with the same desire we kept putting it off until purchasing a vineyard in Napa or Sonoma required a cool million dollars or more just for a five acre vineyard.
After reading numerous articles about how savvy investor like George Soros were putting money in the “buen terroir” of Argentina’s Wine Country, we felt we should take a closer look.
We did and all we can say is “wow”!
We believe that an investment in Argentina’s Wine Country today is perfect for any investor who has vision and a three-to-five-year investment horizon.
One trip to the Mendoza Province, and our choice was easy; to become vineyard owners and future wine makers. We bought 108 acres of prime vineyard property in San Rafael, a quaint town of 170,000 located about a 2 hour drive south of the city of Mendoza.
Then we assembled what we believe is the best team possible: an Agronomist whose experience includes designing the Mumm's Champagne Vineyard in San Rafael, a Vineyard Manager who will hire and supervise the Workers, an Argentine Accountant to make sure everything is done properly and we consulted with our future Gold Medal winning Wine Maker and interviewed several Wineries.
We urge you to read what we have to offer, and please—do not give in to the temptation to say, “It sounds too good to be true!”
Believe me, it is all true. My husband and I are here to give you the proof and the opportunity to buy your own five acre "turnkey" boutique vineyard in the fastest-growing resort/second-home market in Mendoza Province, Argentina.
It has been aptly said that visiting Mendoza Province today leaves you with the feeling of visiting Napa Valley in the 1970s. We all know what happened to once sleepy affordable vineyard meccas like Napa or Sonoma, they are now only affordable by Millionaires, Corporations and Celebrities.
This I can promise you—this new venture you are about to take will be an absolute epiphany. Let us transport you back in time. We will introduce you to that “Old World Charm” in this incredible setting: Argentina, the Andes, the Tango, and—most important of all—Mendoza Province's wine country. The people and the grandiose Argentine hospitality, the splendid climate, the breathtaking scenery, and the architecture will leave you speechless.
Put it another way—wine is, after all, about making friends and eating delicious food. What better way to enjoy this enviable carefree lifestyle than to do it at your very own vineyard? Here in San Rafael, you can have that chance and at an affordable price beginning at USD$97,500 for a 5 acre fully planted vineyard that in a few years can produce 30,000 pounds of grapes to sell or made into 7,500 (750ml) bottles of premium wine at our Bodega (Winery) located right on the property.
A few selected Home Sites will be available and will include water, electricity, phone, cable TV and Internet. Building costs begin at USD$50 per square foot for a modest brick or stucco home up to USD$100 per square foot for incredible quality.
La Vida Buena Vineyard is also building a four bedroom with four ensuite baths two Story Estancia so that guests have a place to stay while enjoying vegetable garden, fruit and citrus trees, swimming, access to a Media Room, Great Room, Gourmet Kitchen, indoor/outdoor parilla (barbecue) and even bicycles and fishing poles.
Let La Vida Buena Vineyard Estates become part of your life. We are offering for sale 5 to 10 acre boutique vineyards in the land of plenty—plenty of scenery; plenty of carefree, easy living; and plenty of time for prosperity and growth.
You will not find comparable land with the same characteristics anywhere in the world at the price we are offering. Visitors from all over the world are coming to the Mendoza Province and are purchasing vineyards, many for 2nd homes. This window of opportunity is closing rapidly. Don’t be left out on the investment of a lifetime. We can make it happen for you, and you’ll raise a toast to us for it.
Contact us now at:
E-Mail: TomPhelany@yahoo.com
Call: USA (919) 321-8448
San Rafael # 02627 15 641767
