Interviews
Inevitable reference of gastronomic journalism in Uruguay, Titina Núñez created and for over seven years lead Placer Magazine, the most professional publication when you want to know what to put on a good table and how to treat your palate well.
A few months ago with her husband, the Chef Olivier Horion, following the same guidelines, she created Club Placer and Olivier Maison Gourmande. Bodegas del Uruguay spoke with her to know and make known the contents of these projects, where wine is an essential piece.
Placer Magazine is already seven years old and is renewed together with the launching of Club Placer. What is your proposal?
We now have a reader's database of more than 12,000 people who receive the magazine through subscriptions, corporate and cooperative agreements, and through bookstores and street distribution, and we wanted to offer these people, a public really fan of us, high quality products with the characteristics of the land from where they come. Club Placer was born because we wanted to offer our customers excellent quality products with a seal of terroir.
When did you start working on this project?
Two years ago we began assembling a portfolio of French cheeses with an expert who came to give us counsel on the subject, the lady was surprised by the quality of Uruguayan cheeses. We toured all the different milk basins of Uruguay and we put together a portfolio of more than 50 varieties of cheeses from across the country.
How were the wines offered in the catalog chosen?
Together with Andrés Rosberg, President of the Asociación Argentina de Sommeliers, we performed blind tastings, without even knowing the name of the winery, and so we selected more than 50 labels at that time, now they are little more than 60, and they form the portfolio of the Club. Currently we include only national labels.
Do wineries contribute with new products, limited labels, giving a differential to Club Placer?
In general, the wineries offer their wines and they sell it according to the public preferences. In our case it's the opposite, wineries offer us wines that are not in the market, we blind-taste them with Andrés Rosberg, who comes expressly from Buenos Aires to do it- and so we make the selection. There are some wines that the wineries made especially for us, such as a Pinot Noir for ageing and a sparkling both by Carlos Pizzorno, an assemblage that De Lucca is making, very special products. There were also other wineries that, at the time of making the selection, did not have their products ready, but had a small number of bottles left behind from an export to London or Canada, special labels. We work under these guidelines, providing the consumer exclusive products.
What else does Club Placer offer?
We also have charcuterie and preserved food. I make a line of preserved meals myself. It's something I've been doing ever since. With an ancient method, using no preserving agents, vacuum sterilizing as our grandmothers did, wrapping in newspaper and boiling in water bath until the process is ended. I always made them for my home. With my parents and my uncles we gathered once a year to cook the preserved food for the whole year. Well, I said, I'll try it too. I did the first lot: a roasted zucchini with peppers, eggplant with a bay leaf and black pepper, some pickled eggplant, tomato sauce, garlic, bay leaves and black pepper and a tomato pizza sauce. Now I am preparing a series of oils and flavored vinegars.
Everything seems to follow a concept ...
The idea is to rescue the deep, net flavors,without preserving or clarifying agents in any of the food. We only buy organic vegetables for cooking. We work all in a very natural way. There is a whole philosophy about healthy eating.
Who and how can buy the products?
Currently we have two sales channels, one is through the magazine (the telephone number is 902 0546) and we delivery to the customer's home. The other is at the deli shop I own with my husband, Olivier Horion, called Maison Olivier Gourmande where, besides all the products that I mentioned, we sell takeaway or serve in the small bistró that we manage there. The place is on Libertad 2436, between Obligado and Prudencio Vázquez y Vega, and the phone is 711 5043.
Is it necessary to be a subscriber of Placer to acquire the products? No. It is not necessary.
How have you solved logistics and payment collection?
Payment is cash on delivery. In the deli shop we will honor credit cards next month, but for now, payment is only in cash.
Do you have corporate clients or subscribers?
For many years a large segment of our database have been corporate clients, that is why Placer Magazine has as broad circulation. We have several customers to which we sell 1000, 2000 and even nearly 7,000 issues, as in the case of Crédit Uruguay, and we will continue with these portfolio in the case of Club Placer.
So, when do you recommend someone should resort to Club Placer?
It is worth keeping Club Placer in mind when making a special, different gift. Think of Club Placer as a gift idea for someone who is fond of good living, a lover of unique products and good quality, which are created under the concept of terroir, which is what we are aiming at.
Photo Gallery
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on wineries in Uruguay.
