The Wines of Argentina

Winemaking in Argentina stretches back nearly half a millennium, but this history has imparted more than just technical expertise. The country also has a rich wine-drinking culture that has contributed to its status as one of the world's largest producers of wine. Winemaking in Argentina is part of our culture. It's the same as in countries like Spain or Italy, because of the big European immigration that came to Argentina. I think that people who make wine, who drink it, make better wine. So that's one thing about Argentina. Argentina is best known for Malbec and for its more inexpensive wines. Yet the country's winemaking tradition and its geography lend themselves to varied and high-quality production. We have the Andes Mountains, which is in Mendoza, the tallest mountains in all the Americas. And these mountains created a special climate and special type of soils where we grow the grapes. Argentina's winemaking history begins with the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century. We have vineyards and viticulture. Since the Spanish people arrived here, practically 500 years, they came with vineyards. These first missionaries and settlers began cultivating grapes in the foothills of the Andes. In 1816, Argentina declared independence, and the following decades saw an influx of Spanish and Italian immigrants who would help develop the wine industry. You see people bottling their wines in Argentina in the early 1800s when there were no bottling factories in the Americas. For three centuries, wine was a huge thing for the economy of these provinces. Production continued to grow, with nearly all of Argentina's wine consumed within the country. We arrived in the middle of the 70s with more than 93 liters per capita in consumption, which is huge. But as bulk production rose, quality dropped. In the 1970s and early 80s, political instability and a military dictatorship further challenged the growing industry. When you talk about Argentina, the normal version goes, oh, well, Argentina had immigration, it focused on making a lot of wine. In the 90s, with consumption crisis, it started focusing on quality. And it is true, Argentina started focusing on quality, I would say in the 80s rather than the 90s, but it is true. In the 1990s, so-called flying winemakers from France and the U.S. began visiting Argentina. When people like my father and other producers started exporting wines, they were thinking of high-quality wines. In order to make these high-quality wines, we needed some consultants because Argentina really was completely out of touch with the winemaking of the rest of the world. Michel Roland is a very famous winemaker, loved the place, commented to Robert Parker, and Parker had the predictions, said the Malbec would be one variety very famous all over the world. With the rise of quality and international attention, exports grew. The devaluation of the currency around the turn of the century made Argentina's wines even more attractive to an international audience. Today, Argentina's importance in the global wine market continues to grow. The Andes mountain range is the defining geographical feature of Argentina's wine regions. The Andes is the key or the explanation of the style or the expression of our wines. First, because the Andes mountain isolate us from the Pacific, so we live in a desert in high altitude. We grow the vineyards in high elevation, between 2,500 and 5,000 feet of elevation. That gives us an extra sunlight intensity over the vineyards and produce concentrated grapes with a lot of polyphenols, tannins, color, intensity, and aromatics. The second thing that the mountain give to us is the water. Because we live in a desert, the only way to cultivate is using the water that come from the snow. It creates this continental climate because it acts as a barrier between Chile, who's on the Pacific side, and Argentina on the other side, of course. So it creates this dry climate. Hail is a major threat, unique to this side of the Andes. The Zonda wind, which comes down from the mountains, further intensifies desert-like conditions and makes irrigation a necessary practice. The characteristic of the Zonda is that it's a very dry, hot, and sometimes very strong wind. When we have, in general, this wind, it's snowing in the Andes mountain because you have a compression when the air is coming down. Runoff from the Andes mountains has created a series of alluvial fans, providing ideal soil conditions for the cultivation of grapes. The origin of the soil is mostly alluvial soil. It means that the water transported the material from the Andes to the different valleys where we grow the grapes. Argentine wines can be labeled by indicaciones geograficas, most of which were created based on political boundaries. Today, new IGs are being defined by differences in soil and climate. The heart of Argentina's wine industry is the broad Cuyo region, which includes the provinces of Mendoza, La Rioja, and San Juan. Mendoza is in the center of the country. We produce 70% of the grapes of the country. Then you have San Juan that produces the other 20% of the grapes of the country. Mendoza's importance to Argentina's wine industry was further solidified when a railroad line to the capital city of Buenos Aires was completed in 1885. Mendoza can be divided into three regions, Maipú, Luján de Cuyo, and the Uco Valley, all of which are dominated by Malbec. Furthest east, Maipú is flatter and hotter than the other regions and historically known for Bonarda and other higher-yield production. So Luján de Cuyo, which is a slightly lower altitude, it's around 3,000 feet elevation, also has predominantly clay soils. These soils are a little more friendly to the vines, and those wines have a mid-palate and a texture that's very different from the Uco Valley. Luján de Cuyo is well known in Mendoza as a land of Malbec. The characteristic of the Malbec from this region is the complexity, the elegance, the fineness, and the red fruit. While Luján de Cuyo is Mendoza's historic center, just southwest, the Uco Valley has captured attention for its quality wines grown from high-elevation vineyards. It's a valley that is in front of a very big mountain, but the mountain is not one, but you have like two chains. One that is the frontal cordillera and the second, the principal cordillera. It's almost like two different regions because if you go towards the west, towards the Bungato, you have the higher altitudes, you have the sunlight effect on the thickening of the skins. If you go further south, you have more shallow soils, less stones because we're less near the mountains, so the soils are different. You have less of the sunlight influence. You get nice acidity, fresh acidity, a higher tannin concentration, a violet profile. North of Cuyo, the Calchaquí Valley traverses the northern provinces of Catamarca, Tucumán, and Salta, with vines planted at the world's highest elevations for grape growing. Salta consists of four wine-growing regions, Cafayate, San Carlos, Molinos, and Cachi. Although it makes up less than 2% of Argentina's production, Salta is well known to fans of the white grape, Torrentés. North of Salta and adjacent to the Bolivian border, winemakers are also exploring the province of Jujuy. On the opposite end of Argentina, the provinces of La Pampa, Neuquén, Rio Negro, and Chibut comprise the wine-growing regions of Patagonia. In the 1930s, there was about 30,000 hectares of vines planted. Today, there are only 2,000 left. Recently, in the last 15 years, it's been rejuvenated, but at a slow pace. In Patagonia, the borders are being pushed to the south. We're seeing vineyards in the parallel 45, which is way down south. Patagonia's southerly latitude allows for high light intensity, critical for ripening its grapes. Over here, we get more sunlight because the sun sets on the west. We don't exactly have the Andes hiding the sun. If you're at the foot of the Andes, you lose some hours. Grown in every wine region from north to south, Malbec is Argentina's best-known grape. Malbec is our flag. It's our identity. It's the variety that represents Argentina and the rest of the world. It's a variety that is very important for us because we use our Malbec to make the iconic and the best wines from Argentina. Malbec is a French grape brought to Argentina by agronomist Michel Pujol in the mid-1800s. When you take a look into Malbec in Argentina, everybody knows Malbec, but the Malbec in Argentina has nothing to do with most Malbec in France. It was brought from Europe before phylloxera. So we have a population of Malbec, very antique, that produce usually low yield with small grapes. Malbec accounts for 21% of grapes planted in Argentina. The second most planted grape is the red variety Bonarda at 9%, known elsewhere as Charbonneau. One of the biggest grape varieties in Argentina, which is Bonarda, we've always thought it was Italian and it's really French. Bonarda really has a very good adaptation to our weather, so growth a lot near to Malbec, but in general has been very focused on the lower altitude areas. The challenge for us today is cultivating high-altitude situations. It has a lot of natural acidity. It's very fruit-forward. It's very light. It makes me think of a Dolcet or even a Nebbiolo. It has this sort of Italian-ish character. Among the earliest grapes to arrive in Argentina was Crioja Chica, known in Chile as Pais, and in Spain's Canary Islands as Listán Prieto. Listán Prieto, which is actually Crioja Chica, what we have here. Everything started in Argentina with our Crioja varieties. Red varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc are finding success in Mendoza, while Patagonia is developing a reputation for its Pinot Noir. People think of Malbec, Bonarda, but actually Cabernet Sauvignon and Cab Franc came to Argentina in the middle of the 19th century at the same time as Malbec. Torrentes is Argentina's most planted white variety, a highly aromatic grape descended from Crioja Chica and Muscat of Alexandria. Torrentes is most famously grown in the northern province of Salta. Even if, you know, Torrentes is not very well known, I think it's just such a delicious wine, so floral, so aromatic. Torrentes is a tricky one because it's really not just one variety, it is actually three varieties. We have Torrentes Riojano, Torrentes San Juanino, and Torrentes Mendocino. Beyond Torrentes, French white grapes such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Semillon have also found success in Argentina. I definitely think that Chardonnay can make very age-worthy, site-specific wines, but the real profound mineral, floral, distinctive Chardonnay is coming from the Uca Valley. Semillon has been traditional in the Uca Valley, and we have to recuperate this traditional. More and more people in Mendoza and in Patagonia particularly are planting and making high-end wines with Semillon, and I think there is a big argument to make with Semillon, both on its own and in blends. Like any historic wine region, Argentina's food and wine cultures have evolved together, and the two marry well, particularly when it comes to meat. It is a true fact when people say that the local food goes with the local fruit. Patagonian lamb, which is probably the best in the world, sincerely, and that goes incredibly well with Malbec. Argentina is famous for beef, so I think our wines match very good with meat. It's part also of our culture. In Argentina, when you meet your friends or your family, always it's with a grill, fire, and a beef, so I think we have a very good match with meat. The traditional preparation is asado, in which beef, sausage, and vegetables are grilled on an open-flamed parrilla. The asado is part of Argentine culture, just like Christmas and New Year's is for other cultures. It happens every Sunday to every family. The empanada is another staple of Argentine cuisine. The recipe for this stuffed pastry varies from region to region, with empanada fillings ranging from beef or chicken to fish, spinach, sweet corn, and dessert variations. I think wine is a generation activity. Every generation needs to put one brick over the generation before it. The traditional system is very authentic. It's very difficult to find it in other regions of the world. That's why I think we have to preserve both things.