A serendipitous meeting on the (not-so-high) seas off South America’s Atlantic coast led to a two-year collaboration that Palmaz is now pleased to announce to friends, Brasas Wine Society members and collectors of fine vintages everywhere: the January 2016 publication of a two-volume book set about the Palmaz vineyards, winery, food and entertainment.

In December 2013, Florencia Palmaz met author and publisher Aaron Sigmond aboard the Silversea Silver Cloud; both were passengers on a unique cruise series, “Taste of Life” — floating fantasy camps for wine collectors, essentially — for which Florencia was the featured vintner.

During the cruise — which embarked from Rio de Janeiro and terminated in Buenos Aires in the Palmaz family’s native Argentina, with a stop in Punta del Este, Uruguay, another spot dear to the Palmazes — Florencia broached her idea for a Palmaz book project. As the ship headed further south, she and Sigmond began to brainstorm ways to bring her ideas to the page, ultimately deciding to produce a two-book set — thereby fulfilling Florencia’s lifelong dream of authoring a cookbook based on the cooking and entertaining she and her family do on their property, as well as a volume focusing on their vineyards, winery and wines.

Because Florencia was along for this Silversea ride (she would later be joined by her mother, Amalia), the cruise featured a bonus beyond measure: a magical alfresco luncheon at the Palmaz estate in Punta del Este. “The Taste of Life cruise was a way to bring our wine club to life, well outside the confines of the vineyards and winery,” Florencia says. “It plays with the notion that wine doesn’t exist in a bubble, but rather in countless appropriate settings. For my family and me, this was a very personal experience: opening up what’s typically a private home for close friends and family — unlike the Napa property, which is far more public. In the end, it’s all about celebrating wine, food, friends and family.”

In keeping with Palmaz family custom, the two books would ultimately become a highly personal project as well. The first step was to assemble a team and get to work.