Argentina Wine Regions

Cuyo

Mendoza
With more than 392.484 acre of vineyards, Mendoza is Argentina’s foremost wine-producing Province. In fact it is in this Province where more than 80% of all Argentine wine is manufactured. In Mendoza, today we find a quality oriented industry under constant development and with a focus on the achievement of the best terroir-variety relationships possible. Certainly, Mendoza features an enviable array of grape varieties, given the Province´s considerable altitude and range: from 1640 to 4921 ft above sea level.

Mendoza´s basic viticultural geography can be divided into three large oases:

one in the North, on the basin of the Mendoza and Tunuyán Rivers, one in the Center, and one in the South, washed by the Diamante and Atuel Rivers.

By carefully studying the Province´s territory, however, one can discover a multiplicity of features distributed among a number of highly differentiated terroirs, each terroir having its own altitude and soil characteristics. These terroirs, coupled with Mendoza’s protracted, dry and mild-weathered fall season, enable wine producers and enologists to materialize the dream of producing wines of their own design -harvest decisions being made based on their desired degrees of grape maturity.


San Juan
San Juan is the second largest wineproducing Province in Argentina, both in terms of vineyard-covered area and in total production volume. It features a number of producing valleys, including Tulum (the most important, on the banks of the San Juan River), Ullum-Zonda, Calingasta, Jáchal, Iglesia and Fértil. Altitudes range from 1968 ft, in the lower districts of the Tulum Valley, to 3937 ft at El Pedernal Valley (a microarea within Ullum-Zonda).

The varieties most commonly cultivated in this Province are Bonarda, Cabernet Sauvignon, Greco Nero (almost nonexistent in the other  regions) and Syrah who deserves a special mention, as in San Juan it reaches a varietal expression which is well known all over the world.


La Rioja
Although there are some small scattered areas in this Province where wine is produced at a reasonable volume, the most renowned wines made in La Rioja originate in the Famatina Valley region. The valley sits between the Sierra de Velasco and Sierra Famatina mountain chains. As with the rest of the Argentine wine-producing regions, the weather in this area is dry (the annual median rainfall in the region is 185m mm), relatively windy, and with the alluvial deposit soils commonly found in geologically ancient valleys. Altitudes are certainly considerable, ranging from 2624 to 4593 ft.

The technological developments achieved over the last five years, in particular the new drop watering systems and winery machinery, have facilitated the production of the region´s typical Torrontés: a white wine characterized by a uniquely voluptuous yet elegant bouquet.  Furthermore, interesting improvements have been made with regard to the cultivation of Syrah, Malbec and Chardonnay varieties.



North

Salta
Salta is the most northerly of Argentina´s wine producing areas and lays claim to the highest commercial altitudes vineyards in the world. The Province´s production center sits in the area known as Valles Calchaquíes (Calchaquí Valleys). Although the plural designation used in this case is not correct (actually, it is only one valley), the area is comprised of a number of terroirs located atdifferent altitudes ranging from 5577 ft in Cafayate, 6561 ft in Yacochuya and 9842 ft in Colomé.

Salta offers an interesting array of tastes and its fragrant Torrontés white wines, the most typical variety in the region, are widely regarded as the finest expression of this unique variety.


Catamarca
Although the wine industry in this Province has traditionally been focused on the production of table wines, or so-called “regional wines” made from Cherry or Muscatel grapes, the transformation of the industry seems to have taken root, for good.

Today, the fledgling development of Syrah, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon wines (some of which have been successfully launched to the market) give Catamarca a promising future.


Patagonia

Rio Negro
The Río Negro Valley is located 39° South, at 984 ft above sea-level. Together with the Province of Neuquén, Río Negro boasts the southernmost vineyards in the world, with an average annual temperature in this region is 15°C.

The ecologic conditions in Río Negro are ideal for the production of white varieties, including Traminer, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. But the region also features red varieties such Merlot and Pinot Noir, where the latter finds its most thriving environment


Chañar
Chañar, at 40° South latitude, is where most of Neuquén´s wineries are concentrated. Altitudes in this area vary from medium to low, and the soil conditions are typically excellent. Strong winds pose a major challenge to vineyards in this area, the only 21st century wine region on the planet.

Moreover, with almost 3700 acre planted over the last six years, four state-of-the art wineries in operation,and three additional ones in the pipeline for the near future, Neuquén has become the largest-growing viticultural center in the Argentine Republic.