In the world of fine wine, Argentina is like a small town actress. Playing to local tastes has kept her from expressing her full potential, but with the right material (and good management), she may knock your socks off when she finally gets a chance on the big stage.
Argentina has produced great quantities of wine for a long time, and fine wine consumption here has traditionally been one of the highest in the world. Attitudes and tastes are changing, though, and domestic consumption has fallen to 41 liters per person per year (from a historic high of over 90 liters), and continues to fall. With massive production facilities already in place, Argentina already has much of the necessary infrastructure to make an international impact. The main challenge lies in adapting wine styles to more sophisticated tastes while keeping bottle prices very reasonable. At the same time, winemakers hope to create memorable wines with a modern, recognizably Argentinian stamp. If successful, these efforts promise terrific wines as well as the novelty interest to attract a profitable export trade.
Perhaps because Chile, its neighbor to the west, has moved so explosively into the modern wine scene (and been so visible in restaurants) in the last twenty years, Argentina wine is usually compared to its western neighbor, but the comparison can be misleading. Argentina has its own fascinating cultural identity, a distinct history, and a pair of promising varietals, the red Malbec and white Torront's, that make it unique among wine producers. Considering its grape-growing and winemaking resources, its potential is enormous.
Spanish settlers brought hardy "work horse" vines to Argentina over the Andes from Peru and Chile as early as the mid-1500's, and the Argentines who made the spectacular Pampas beef a staple of daily life have produced and enthusiastically consumed full-bodied red wines to accompany it ever since. Historically, wines made from Criolla (related to the Chilean Pais) were plentiful but not high quality, and were often specifically vinified to withstand harrowing shipping conditions to other South American nations such as Peru and South Brazil.
In 1853 Argentina's School of Agriculture was founded in Mendoza province, headed by Miguel Pouget. The first director encouraged the European model of winemaking, introduced French varietals, and taught grafting and other modern cultivation techniques. In 1884 the province undertook massive irrigation projects, and the dams and channels constructed at that time transformed arid lands into oases, allowing modern viticulture.
The multicultural identity of Argentina is as complex as that of the United States and has similar historical precedents. Two waves of immigration -- after the country achieved independence from Spain in 1816, and again in a huge wave around the turn of the century -- brought settlers from Italy, Spain and France, as well as virtually every other European nation. These pioneers brought vines to supply their taste for European wine varieties. Among these were the predominantly French Malbec, Spanish Torront's and Tempranillo, and the Italian varietals Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, Barbera and Lambrusco.
Nineteenth century winemakers concentrated on optimizing the quantity rather than quality of their wines, a trend that by and large has only begun to change over the last fifteen years. Historically, they planted vines on the dry eastern slopes of the Andes foothills, improved their irrigation systems and produced everyday wine in abundance.
Between 1930 and 1983, years of political and economic instability seriously disrupted the industry. One of the more shattering changes for winemakers was a tax policy that encouraged destruction of fine older vineyards and favored planting of inferior high-volume varietals. In Mendoza province, whose proud history of red Malbec and white Semillon wines had made it known as the Tierra del Sol y del Buen Vino (country of sun and good wine), fine wine production was drastically disrupted by the terrible political conditions of the 1970's, from which it (like the rest of Argentina) continues to recover.
Today its vineyards cover 490,000 acres (210,000 hectares), down from a previous high of 700,000 acres (300,000 hectares). Though still only fifteenth as an exporter, Argentina is the world's fourth largest producer and by far the largest producer in South America. It makes approximately the same amount of wine as the United States, about 1.7 billion liters (449 million gallons), or roughly five times the output of Chile.
Though its recovery will be a labor of many years to come, Argentina has a fine potential and hopes for a larger place in the world market, as only 13% (350 million liters, or 92.5 million gallons) of its production is currently sold abroad. In the last ten years, increasing foreign and domestic investment have begun to reconstitute the industry in a modern mold, and world commerce has doubled.
Climate/Cultivation
The country of Argentina encompasses a fabulous panorama of extreme terrain and climate, from subtropical rainforest bordering Brazil to the frozen wastelands of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. Argentina's wine country is also a fascinating example of viticulture, possessing elements that winemakers in other parts of the world long for: warm summer days with cool nights, low humidity, and well-drained soils that are inhospitable to phylloxera and other diseases.
The vast majority of vineyards are located in the country's northwest corner, predominantly Mendoza Province, in the eastern foothills of the Andes, where the imposing mountain range cuts off precipitation from the Pacific Ocean and makes yearly rainfall sparse (between eight and twelve inches per year). At the same time the rivers of the Andes, originating in deep winter snows, supply plenty of irrigation water. Atlantic climatic influence brings a little summer rain, and some areas are subject to early and late frosts.
In the most basic sense, many Argentinian vineyards are high elevation oases. Altitudes in vineyard areas vary between 1,500-6,000 feet (500-1500 meters). The climate is continental, a dry winter season with light summer rains and average temperatures between 76 degrees F (24.6 C.) in summer and 49 F. (9.4 C) in winter.
Summer hail, which can be as large as golfballs, is the only real climatic risk to grapevines. It can cause disastrous losses by damaging both the current crop of grapes and growth buds for the following year. Netting the vines is quite expensive, but is the vintner's only defense. It also has the positive effects of increasing vineyard humidity and mitigating reflected heat.
The traditional methods of irrigation are flooding and furrow, but both can produce dilute wine flavors when used too generously. As winemakers seek to improve grape quality they must also limit yields, and irrigation systems are becoming more refined. New developments have begun to use drip irrigation.
Argentinian soils vary along the length of the Andes range from sandy to clay, but are predominantly loamy. Most are alkaline, reactive soils rich in calcium and potassium but poor in organic material. Usual pH values hover around 8. Those in Mendoza province tend to be stony and alluvial.
Vines are trained in two main styles called parral and espaldero. In the parral style, vines are planted relatively far apart and trained up a single trunk to six or seven feet, then allowed to branch overhead. This system keeps grapes high enough above the ground to avoid ground heat and frost and is also compatible with machine cultivation and picking. It is also associated with high yields and can cause irregular ripening.
The more classic espaldero style uses a system of three low parallel wires to train vines horizontally. It is more compatible with drip irrigation and canopy management. Since increasing quality will require limiting yields, it is probably the wave of the future in fine wine production.
Varietal Information
Argentina wine, like its people, run the full spectrum of taste, style and origin. Mendoza alone cultivates a bewildering choice of wine varietals as well as table grapes and raisins, but the huge international companies that have begun to invest in Argentina in the 1990's are more likely to concentrate on varietals esteemed by international consumers. Historically, Argentina's claim to fame appears to be the red varietal Malbec, imported from France a century ago. This grape seems to have changed character in the growing conditions of South America, much as Sauvignon Blanc developed a new personality in New Zealand. While it was phased out of Bordeaux blends in the nineteenth century and has been known to wine drinkers mainly by the "black" wines of Cahors, Malbec -- or at least the clones which have thrived in Argentina for the last hundred or so years -- is a surprisingly elegant creature here. It produces smaller grapes and clusters with softer tannins and fruitier aromas than in Europe. With typical black cherry, blackberry and spice aromas, this dark red wine is usually produced in a Bordeaux style, often aged in oak, for a result that is soft, deep, and velvety -- more refined than European versions, and a better match to food.
Other French varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Syrah are also used in fine wines, and tend to share the same full fruit aromas, relatively soft tannins and oak aging. Other reds including Barbera, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, and Bonarda can also be found. A number of winemakers are experimenting with blends such as Syrah-Cabernet, Cabernet-Malbec-Merlot, Malbec-Petit Verdot, and Malbec-Syrah.
Among white wines, Argentina lists another unusual variety, the Torront's, as one of its best. Vintners are not sure whether this varietal originally came from Spain (where wines of the same name are made in Galicia) or whether it is a kind of Muscat or Malvasia. In any case, it is cultivated in several regions and makes a distinctive summer white wine with characteristics of all the above varieties: spice, musk and several distinguishable citrus flavors.
Though Argentine white wines have traditionally been too low in acidity for international tastes, the latest export offerings indicate that Mendoza is also beginning to produce interesting Chardonnay, and may have similar potential for Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Ugni Blanc, Semillon, Viognier, Pedro Xim'nez and Tocai Friulano. International sparkling wine companies have invested in Mendoza with an eye to the future.
Ancient Spanish varieties such as Criolla, many of them pink, are still vinified for local consumption. Mostly undistinguished pink varieties include Cereza, Criolla Grande and Moscatel Rosado
Classifications
Between ten and twenty percent of Argentinian wines currently meet the standards to be classified as vino fino, required for exports. This certification authenticates origin, variety and specifications on sugar and acid content. Bottles must contain 85% of the indicated variety. The National Institute of Vitiviniculture (I.N.V.) has the sometimes conflicting responsibilities of regulation, supervision, research and promotion of the wine industry. The private sector would like the government to make the I.N.V. a regulatory agency like the United States' Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, and have other functions privately administered.
Though some wine laws are quite strict, others need to be brought up to date. The meaning of "reserva," for example, is presently at the discretion of the producer, and may mean a winery's special selection or the opposite, its most ordinary wines.
Regions
From north to south, the areas suitable for vineyard cultivation are the North-West region: Jujuy, Salta, La Rioja, Catamarca, and San Juan; the (central) Mendoza or Cuyo region with Maipœ, Luj†n de Cuyo, and Uco Valley; and the southern region including San Rafael and R’o Negro.
Though other areas also show good potential, Mendoza and San Juan areas are currently the most important viticulturally. Of the 490,000 acres (210,000 hectares) under cultivation in Argentina, two-thirds or about 326,000 acres are located in Mendoza province and produce 95% of the country's quality wines. Mendoza's principal areas are Maip' (including Cruz de Piedra, Coquimbito, part of Carrodilla and Russell), Luj'n de Cuyo (including Drumond, Carrodilla, Agrelo Pedriel and Vistalba), and San Rafael.
