Argentine wine
is the fifth largest producer of wine in the world. Argentine wine, as with some aspects of Argentine cuisine, has its roots in colonial Spain, as well in the subsequent large Spanish and Italian immigration which installed its mass consumption. During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, vine cuttings were brought to Santiago del Estero in 1557, and the cultivation of the grape and wine production stretched first to neighboring regions, and then to other parts of the country.
Historically, Argentine winemakers were traditionally more interested in quantity than quality. The country's wine industry exploded in the 1880s and into the early 20th century as the result of a rapidly growing population, the immigration of new producers, workers, and consumers from other wine regions, and the completion of a railroad between Mendoza and Buenos Aires. Until the early 1990s, Argentina produced more wine than any other country outside Europe, though the majority of it was considered unexportable and was for internal consumption, as part of the typical Mediterranean diet installed in the country by the mass Italian and Spaniard immigration. However, the desire to increase exports fueled significant advances in quality. Argentine wines started being exported during the 1990s, and are currently growing in popularity, making it now the largest wine exporter in South America. The devaluation of the Argentine peso in 2002 further fueled the industry as production costs decreased and tourism significantly increased, giving way to a whole new concept of enotourism in Argentina.
The most important wine regions of the country are located in the provinces of Mendoza, San Juan and La Rioja. Salta, Catamarca, Río Negro and more recently southern Buenos Aires are also wine producing regions. The Mendoza province produces more than 60% of the Argentine wine and is the source of an even higher percentage of the total exports. Due to the high altitude and low humidity of the main wine producing regions, Argentine vineyards rarely face the problems of insects, fungi, molds and other grape diseases that affect vineyards in other countries. This allows cultivating with little or no pesticides, enabling even organic wines to be easily produced.
There are many different varieties of grapes cultivated in Argentina, reflecting the country's many immigrant groups. The French brought Malbec, which makes most of Argentina's best known wines. The Italians brought vines that they called Bonarda, although Argentine Bonarda appears to be the Douce noir of Savoie, also known as Charbono in California. It has nothing in common with the light fruity wines made from Bonarda Piemontese in Piedmont. Torrontés is another typically Argentine grape and is mostly found in the provinces of La Rioja, San Juan, and Salta. It is a member of the Malvasia group that makes aromatic white wines. It has recently been grown in Spain. Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Chardonnay and other international varieties are becoming more widely planted, but some varieties are cultivated characteristically in certain areas.
In November 2010, the Argentine government declared wine as Argentina's national liquor.
History
was introduced to Argentina during the Spanish colonization of the Americas and later again by Christian missionaries. In 1556 father Juan Cedrón established the first vineyard in Argentina when cuttings from the Chilean Central Valley were brought to what is now the San Juan and Mendoza wine region, which firmly established viticulture in Argentina. Ampelographers suspect that one of these cuttings brought the ancestor grape of Chile's Pais and California's Mission grape. This grape was the forerunner of the Criolla Chica variety that would be the backbone of the Argentine wine industry for the next 300 years.The first recorded commercial vineyard was established at Santiago del Estero in 1557 by Jesuit missionaries which was followed by expansion of vineyard plantings in Mendoza in the early 1560s and San Juan between 1569 and 1589. During this time the missionaries and settlers in the area began construction of complex irrigation channels and dams that would bring water down from the melting glaciers of the Andes to sustain vineyards and agriculture. A provincial governor, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, instructed the French agronomist Miguel Aimé Pouget to bring grapevine cuttings from France to Argentina. Of the vines that Pouget brought were the very first Malbec vines to be planted in that country.
As the early Argentine wine industry centralized in the western part of the country among the foothills of the mountains, the population centers of the country developed in the east. Transporting wine by means of a long wagon journey put a crimp in the growth of the wine industry that would not be eased till the 1885 completion of the Argentine railway that connected the city of Mendoza to Buenos Aires. Don Tiburcio Benegas, governor of the province of Mendoza and owner of El Trapiche wine estate, was instrumental in financing and pushing through the construction, convinced that in order for the Argentine wine industry to survive it needed a market. The 19th century also saw the first wave of immigrants from Europe. Many of these immigrants were escaping the scourge of the phylloxera epidemic that ravaged vineyards in their homeland and they brought with them their expertise and winemaking knowledge to their new home.
Economic troubles and growth of export industry
In the 20th century, the development and fortunes of the Argentine wine industry were deeply influenced by the economic influences of the country. In the 1920s, Argentina was the eighth richest nation in the world with the domestic market feeding a strong wine industry. The ensuing global Great Depression dramatically reduced vital export revenues and foreign investment and led to a decline in the wine industry.There was a brief revival in the economy during the presidency of Juan Perón but the economy declined soon again under the military dictatorship of the 1960s and 1970s. During this time the wine industry was sustained by the domestic consumption of cheap vino de mesa. By the early 1970s, per capita consumption was nearly per year, significantly more than many other countries including the United Kingdom and United States which averaged around three liters per person during the same period.
In the 1980s there was a period of hyperinflation, running at up to 12,000% per year in 1989. Foreign investment was mostly stagnant. Under the presidency of Carlos Menem, the country saw some economic stability. The favorable exchange rate on the Argentine peso during the convertibility period saw an influx of foreign investment. However this period also saw a dramatic drop in domestic consumption.
Following the example of neighboring Chile, the Argentine wine industry started to more aggressively focus on the export market—particularly the lucrative British and American markets. The presence of Flying winemakers from France, California and Australia brought modern technical know-how for viticultural and winemaking techniques such as yield control, temperature control fermentation and the use of new oak barrels. By the end of the 1990s, Argentina was exporting more 3.3 million gallons to the United States with exports to the UK also strong. Wine experts such as Karen MacNeil noted that up to this point the Argentine wine industry was considered a "sleeping giant" which by the end of the 20th century was waking up.
Climate and geography
The major wine regions of Argentina are located in the western part of the country among the foothills of the Andes Mountains between the Tropic of Capricorn to the north and the 40th parallel south. Most of the regions have a semi-arid desert-like climate with annual rainfall rarely exceeding more than a year. In the warmest regions, summer temperatures during the growing season can be very hot during the day with temperatures upwards of. Nighttime temperatures can drop to creating a wide diurnal temperature variation.Some regions have more temperate climates such as the Cafayate region of Salta, Río Negro and the western reaches of Mendoza which includes the Luján de Cuyo and Tupungato departments. Wintertime temperatures can drop below but frost is a rare occurrence for most vineyards, except those planted at extremely high altitudes with poor air circulation. Most rainfall occurs during the summer months and in late summer sometimes fall as hail, posing potential damage to the vines. These warmer regions can see an average of 320 days of sunshine a year.
The northwestern wine regions are particularly prone to the effects of the hurricane force winds known as the Zonda which blows from the Andes during the flowering period of early summer. This fierce wind of hot, dry air can disrupt the flowering process and severely reduce potential yields. Most of the growing season is dry with the lack of humidity limiting the risk and hazard from various grape diseases and fungal rot. Many vineyards operate without the need for any chemical spraying, a condition conducive to organic viticulture. The periodic occurrence of the El Niño phenomenon can have a sharp influence on climate condition during a growing season-such as the case during the 1998 vintage when prolong heavy rains brought by El Niño led to widespread rot and fungal disease.
The Andes Mountains are the dominant geographical feature of Argentine wine regions, with the snow-capped mountains often serving as a backdrop view to the vineyards. As the winter snows start to melt in the spring, an intricate irrigation system of dams, canals and channels brings vital water supplies down to the wine regions to sustain viticulture in the dry, arid climates. Most of the wine regions are located within the foothills of the Andes and recent trends have seen a push to plant vineyards on higher elevations closer to the mountains.
The climate in some of this regions can be more continental and less prone to extremes in temperatures. Soils throughout the country are mostly alluvial and sandy with some areas having substrates of clay, gravel and limestone. In the cooler Patagonia region which contains the winemaking provinces of Río Negro and Neuquén, the soil is more chalky.