A 400 Year History of Producing Wine

Wines were originally produced in Argentina over 400 years ago when the first Spanish immigrants cultivated vines, much of which was used by Catholic priests for Holy Mass.  However, it was in the 19th century that significant planting took place when the wave of European immigrants from Italy, Spain and France brought new cultivation techniques and grape varieties. They found the regions closest to the magnificent Andes mountains most favourable and established some of the highest altitude vineyards in the World.

Today, a strong internal market (the 7th largest wine market in the World) and growing demand for export (7th largest wine exporter in the World) combine to make Argentina the 5th largest wine producer in the World (Source: ProspAr).  Argentina’s wines have won numerous international awards, not only for Argentina’s signature grape Malbec but also across many other of its varieties.

Perfect Growing Conditions

Argentina’s vines are blessed with perfect conditions - bright sunny days, dry weather and pure melt-waters from the snow-capped Andes Mountains.  The vines are also located at some of the highest altitudes to be found in the global wine industry, offering favourable micro-climates and varied terriors, giving the wines their distinctive and diverse flavours.

The perfect conditions are naturally in place for producing excellent wines which also means that very few treatment procedures are needed to beat illnesses.  Conditions allow Argentina to produce numerous red, white and rosé wines, not just its famous Malbec but also a wide range of other varieties, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Bonarda, Merlot, Torrontés, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah and many more.

Distinct Wine Growing Regions

The vineyard area of Argentina covers in excess of 550,000 acres that stretch across the western part of the country, tracing the foothills of the Andes Mountains.  There are seven provinces within the three wine producing regions of North, Cuyo and Patagonia, each producing unique and diverse wine varieties.

The province of Mendoza in the Cuyo region is the country’s leading wine producing area and perhaps its best known due to the success of its Malbec, it accounts for about 3 quarters of wine production (Source: ProspAr).  However, other provinces are growing significantly as demand for Argentine wine continues to increase and wineries in these provinces are responding with some excellent wines.