Located in the southernmost end of the America's and bordered by the Andes Mountains in the West and the Atlantic Ocean in the East, Argentina is very special place. It is home to the cattle wrangling gaucho cowboy, wild Patagonia, and cosmopolitan Buenos Aires. It has abundant natural resources, a centuries old wine making tradition and its wine industry has recently "awakened" from a slumber and is being recognized as one of the world's great wine regions.

HISTORY

Wine has been produced and consumed in Argentina since the Sixteenth century. The Spanish settlers planted vineyards two hundred years ago. A large wave of European immigrates during the Nineteenth century gave raise to the country's population and contributed to its wine culture. These families that came from Italy, Spain, and France, brought with them new grape varieties and more modern cultivation and wine making techniques. Argentines have always been significant consumers of wine and for many years most of the wine produced there was for the local market. These where light and simple "table wines" for everyday drinking and most producers where focused on quantity not quality. But like most of Europe, per capita consumption has dropped in Argentina since the 1970s. Add to this the climate of political and economic unrest and you have a situation where very little investment had been made in vineyards and new winemaking equipment. Luckily for wine drinkers around the world that has changed. In 1990's Argentina's government shifted from a closed state-oriented approach to more of a global view and implemented reforms to stimulate deregulation, privatization and trade. As local per capita consumption has dropped producers are focused more on improving quality and looking to exports to pick up the slack. Money from local and foreign investors has worked to overhaul wineries, plant new vineyards, lower yields, lift standards and raise the overall quality of the wines. The last deep economic crisis was in 2001 and forced the near collapse of the South America's second largest economy. The Argentinean peso is now at an exchange rate of 3-to-1 with the US dollar and the wine price-quality relationship is very favorable for exports.

GEOGRAPHY and CLIMATE

Argentina's wine growing zone is for the most part an arid landscape. In the rain shadow of the Andes, it has a vast area highly suitable for growing "vitis vinifera". These wide valleys and sloping plains are in the western part of the country and run from the 22nd parallel in the north to the 42th in the south. One of the keys to growing quality fruit here is altitude. The close proximity to the Andes has vines being cultivated on plains whose altitude ranges from 300 to 2,400 meters above sea level. Warm days with bright sunshine followed by cool nights are perfect for growing well balanced, fully ripe fruit. Because this area gets very little rainfall the vineyards are irrigated by the pure water snow melt off the mountains. The soils have excellent drainage and are low in organic material due to the elevation and climate. This creates desirable vine stress and very little fertilizer is used. The majority of vines are on their native rootstock as phylloxera has not been a serious problem.

MALBEC AND MORE

There is no question on what the lead varietal in Argentina is. Malbec is a grape with a history that stretches back centuries to the South of France, known there as Auxerrois when making Cahors. But today Argentinean Malbecs are the best in the world, powerful, with lush fruit flavors, full of spice and character. This red grape is the leader in both quality and quantity in Argentina. It typically has the firm tannins of Cabernet, the smooth fruit of Merlot and the spice of Syrah.

The unique geography and climate, and the sheer size of the grape producing areas permit the production of a wide variety of wine grapes. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are all found in Argentina This place is arguably blessed with the New World's most diverse line-up of grapes, from Viognier, Pinot Grigio and Semillion to Torrontes, Tempranillo and Bonarda. The Torrontes is a white wine grape that makes fragrant, rich and fruity wines with crisp acidity and good body. Bonarda is a grape that was used mainly to blend into the low quality local red table wine in the past but it is now finding a place of its own.

Bordeaux blends or "assemblages" are also becoming more popular. Talented winemakers are using classic Bordeaux varietals, including Malbec to craft some beautiful wines. Bi-varietal combinations such as Tempranillo / Bonarda and Semillion / Chardonnay and also being produced with excellent results.

THE REGIONS

MENDOZA is the epicenter of wine in Argentina. This region accounts for 80% of total production. This represents about one half of all the wine produced in South America. The Mendoza province is divided into three major oases or regions.

NORTHERN Region includes the Departments of Las Heras, Lavalle, Guaymallen, San Martin, Rivadavia, Santa Rosa, La Paz, Lujandel Cuyo and Maipu.

CENTRAL Region includes the Departments of Tupungato, Tunuyan, and San Carlos.

SOUTHERN Region includes the Departments of San Rafael and General Alvear.

SALTA is at the far north of the country. It is know for high quality Torrontes. Its most well know sub-region is Cafayate.

PATAGONIA in the far south has the Rio Negro and Neuquen regions.

SAN JUAN has four wine growing valleys: Ullum, Zonda, Pedernal and Huanacache.

The valleys of LA RIOJA and CATAMAARCA are also becoming more recognized for growing and producing high quality wine.

For a more complete overview of the regions we recommend the well known authority on Wine in South America the Vineyards, Wineries, & Wines of South America published by Austral Spectator.