Wines Of Argentina

Argentina is the fifth largest producer of wine in the world.H. Johnson & J. Robinson: ''The World Atlas of Wine'', pp. 300-301, Mitchell Beazley Publishing 2005 . 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 (Italy and Spain), 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.K. MacNeil ''The Wine Bible'' pp. 848-857. Workman Publishing 2001 .

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.A. Domine (ed): ''Wine'' pp. 840-844. Ullmann Publishing 2008 .

In November 2010, the Argentine government declared wine as Argentina's national liquor.

History

Viticulture 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.J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition, pp. 29-33. Oxford University Press 2006 .

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.H. Johnson ''Vintage: The Story of Wine'' pp. 434 Simon and Schuster 1989 . 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 (''i.e.'' around 120 standard 750 mL wine bottles) per year, significantly more than many other countries including the United Kingdom and United States which averaged around three liters (less than a gallon) 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 (12.5 million liters) 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 (such as Catamarca, La Rioja, San Juan and the eastern outreaches of Mendoza), 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 (known as ''La Piedra''), 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.

Viticulture

The growing season in Argentina usually last from budbreak in October to harvest beginning sometime in February. The ''Instituto Nacional de Vitivinicultura'' (INV), the main government controlling body for the wine industry, declares the beginning date for harvest in a region with the harvest season sometimes lasting till April depending on the variety and wine region. A sizable population of itinerant laborers provides an abundance of grape pickers at low cost which has slowed the conversion to mechanical harvesting. After harvest, grapes often have to be transported long distances, taking several hours, from the rural vineyards to winemaking facilities located in more urban areas. In the 1970s, yields were reported as surpassing , a sharp contrast to the average yields in premium wine regions such as Bordeaux and Napa Valley of . As the Argentine wine industry continues to grow in the 21st century, several related viticultural trends will involve improvements in irrigation, yield control, canopy management and the construction of more winemaking facilities closer to the vineyards.

Argentina is unique in the wine world for the absence of the phylloxera threat that has devastated vineyards across the globe. The phylloxera louse is present in Argentina but is a particular weak biotype that does not survive long in the soil. When it does attack vines, the damage is not significant enough to kill the vine and the roots eventually grow back.

Because of this, most of the vineyards in Argentina are planted on ungrafted rootstock. There are many theories about why phylloxera has not yet reached this part of the world. The centuries-old tradition of flood irrigation where water is allowed to deeply saturate the soil may be one reason, as is the high proportion of sand present in the soil. The relative isolation of Argentina is also cited as a potential benefit against phylloxera with the country's wine regions being bordered by mountains, deserts and oceans that create natural barriers against the spread of the louse. Despite the minimal risk of phylloxera, some producers are switching to grafted rootstock that provide better yield control.

Various methods of vine training were introduced in Argentina by European immigrants in the 19th and 20th century. The ''espaldera'' system combined the traditional method of using three wires to train the vines close to the ground. In the 1950s a new system known as ''parral cuyano'' was introduced where vines were trained high off the ground with the clusters allowed to hang down. This style was conducive to the high yielding varieties of Criolla and Cereza that were the backbone of the bulk wine production industry that arose in response to the large domestic market. In the late 20th century, as the market turned to focus more on premium wine production, more producers switched back to the traditional ''espaldera'' system and began to practice canopy management in order to control yields.

Irrigation

The intricate irrigation system used to bring water from melted snow caps in the Andes originated in the 16th century (with the Spanish settlers adopting techniques previously used by the Incas) and has been a vital component of agriculture in Argentina

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