Argentine wines, which tiptoed into the United States 15 years ago with the arrival (first in Miami and then across the country) of its unctuous, savory red wine called malbec, is taking big, bold steps today, with easy-drinking, well-priced reds and light crisp, whites.

A good example is the winery Viña Doña Paula, which started in 1997 when the Claro Group, under Chilean billionaire Ricardo Claro, acquired more than 3,400 acres of vines and land south of Mendoza, in the foothills of the Andes.

It's in full production now, bringing a dozen wines -- mostly reds -- into the U.S. market.

There's a main estate, just south of the wine capital city of Mendoza, in the Luján de Cuyo District, and a second estate 60 miles south, in the Uco Valley's Tupungato District. Both are in the eastern foothills of the Andes, at about 3,000 feet altitude, benefiting from the mountains' warm summer days and cold nights and long hours of sunlight.

The winery is bringing two lines of wines to the United States. Doña Paula Estate, from the original winery near Mendoza, with grapes from Tupungato aged in American and French oak barrels, is in the $15-$17 price range. The wines are deeply flavored, with big, ripe tannin and the ability to age for five to seven years.

Los Cardos (Spanish for `'the thistle''), with grapes from Luján de Cuyo, is in the $9 price range, from a second winery opened in 2006. Its wines are fruity, softer, ready for drinking the day they're purchased.

A big reason that Argentina is going big-time in the international wine market is that Viña Doña Paula is one of several Argentine wineries benefiting from outside investment, that of Chile's Claro Group. Other wineries are working out financial arrangements with such Chilean wine giants as Concha y Toro and Montes, and from Europe, with Bordeaux's Lurton, Michel Rolland and Cheval Blanc.

Nearly 97 percent of the winery's production is exported, since, ironically, domestic wine consumption in Argentina has dropped by 60 percent in the past 25 years.

According to the trade group Wines of Argentina, sales of malbec alone were up last year by 50 percent in the United States. And they're only going to grow.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

• 2007 Doña Paula Estate Malbec, Luján de Cuyo, Argentina: hint of oak, mulberry and mocha flavors, very smooth, deeply fruity; $21.

• 2007 Doña Paula ''Los Cardos'' Sauvignon Blanc, Tupungato-Mendoza, Argentina: white grapefruit and peaches, light and crisp; $9.

RECOMMENDED

• 2006 Doña Paula ''Los Cardos'' Syrah, Luján de Cuyo-Mendoza, Argentina: red raspberries and black coffee, soft and fruity; $9.

• 2007 Doña Paula ''Los Cardos'' Cabernet Sauvignon, Luján de Cuyo-Mendoza, Argentina: oaky aromas, cassis and spice, medium tannin, long finish; $9.

• 2005 Doña Paula ''Los Cardos'' Merlot, Tupungato-Mendoza, Argentina: black cherries and black pepper, soft and fruity; $9.

• 2007 Doña Paula ''Los Cardos'' Malbec, Luján de Cuyo-Mendoza, Argentina: mulberries and mint, soft and fruity; $9.

• 2007 Doña Paula ''Los Cardos'' Chardonnay, Luján de Cuyo-Mendoza, Argentina: hint of oak, ripe pineapple flavors, soft citrus finish; $9.

• 2007 Doña Paula Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Luján de Cuyo, Argentina: hint of oak, cassis and black coffee flavors, big, ripe tannin, long finish; $17.

• 2006 Doña Paula Estate Shiraz-Malbec, Luján de Cuyo, Argentina: black raspberry and milk chocolate flavors, soft, mellow; $19.

• 2006 Doña Paula Estate Merlot, Tupungato, Argentina: black raspberries and anise, with a bitter chocolate finish; $15.

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