argentina’s wine regions - elvinoloco.be wine regions.pdf · argentina’s wine regions altitude:...

Argentina’s Wine Regions

Altitude: 7874ft - 9842ft

Altitude: 8858ft

Altitude: 5577ft

Altitude: 4921ft

Altitude: 984ft

Altitude: 656ft

Altitude: 3280ft

Altitude: 4265ft

Altitude: 2624ft

Altitude: 4265ft

Altitude: < 2296ft

Altitude: < 2296ft

Altitude: 2296 - 2460ft

Altitude: 2952ft


Altitude: 3280ft

Altitude: 3280ft


Altitude: 2296ft

Altitude: 3280ft

With more than 392.484 acre ofvineyards, Mendoza is Argentina’sforemost wine-producing Province. Infact it is in this Province where more than80% of all Argentine wine ismanufactured.

In Mendoza, today we find a quality-oriented industry under constantdevelopment and with a focus on theachievement of the best terroir-varietyrelationships possible. Certainly,Mendoza features an enviable array ofgrape varieties, given the Province´sconsiderable altitude and range: from1640 to 4921 ft above sea level.

Mendoza´s basic viticultural geographycan be divided into three large oases:one in the North, on the basin of theMendoza and Tunuyán Rivers, one in theCenter, and one in the South, washed bythe Diamante and Atuel Rivers. By carefully studying the Province´sterritory, however, one can discover amultiplicity of features distributedamong a number of highly differentiatedterroirs, each terroir having its ownaltitude and soil characteristics. Theseterroirs, coupled with Mendoza’sprotracted, dry and mild-weathered fallseason, enable wine producers andenologists to materialize the dream ofproducing wines of their own design -harvest decisions being made based ontheir desired degrees of grape maturity.

San Juan is the second largest wine-producing Province in Argentina, bothin terms of vineyard-covered area andin total production volume. It featuresa 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 thelower districts of the Tulum Valley, to3937 ft at El Pedernal Valley (a micro-area within Ullum-Zonda).

The varieties most commonlycultivated in this Province areBonarda, Cabernet Sauvignon, GrecoNero (almost nonexistent in the otherregions) and Syrah who deserves aspecial mention, as in San Juan itreaches a varietal expression which iswell-known all over the world.

Salta

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MMaaiinn VVaarriieettiieess

· Cabernet Sauvignon

· Malbec

· Tannat

· Merlot

· Bonarda

· Syrah

· Chardonnay

· Chenin

Salta is the most northerly ofArgentina´s wine producing areas andlays claim to the highest commercialaltitudes vineyards in the world. TheProvince´s production center sits inthe area known as Valles Calchaquíes(Calchaquí Valleys).

Although the plural designation usedin this case is not correct (actually, it isonly one valley), the area is comprisedof a number of terroirs located atdifferent altitudes ranging from 5577 ftin Cafayate, 6561 ft in Yacochuya and9842 ft in Colomé.

Salta offers an interesting array oftastes and its fragrant Torrontés whitewines, the most typical variety in theregion, are widely regarded as thefinest expression of this uniquevariety.

Catamarca




· Syrah

· Malbec

· Torrontés

Although the wine industry in thisProvince has traditionally beenfocused on the production of tablewines, or so-called “regional wines”made from Cherry or Muscatel grapes,the transformation of the industryseems to have taken root, for good.

Today, the fledgling development ofSyrah, Malbec and CabernetSauvignon wines (some of which havebeen successfully launched to themarket) give Catamarca a promisingfuture.

La Rioja



· Torrontés


· Syrah

· Bonarda

· Malbec

· Chardonnay

Although there are some smallscattered areas in this Province wherewine is produced at a reasonablevolume, the most renowned winesmade in La Rioja originate in theFamatina Valley region.

The valley sits between the Sierra deVelasco and Sierra Famatina mountainchains. As with the rest of theArgentine wine-producing regions, theweather in this area is dry (the annualmedian rainfall in the region is 185mmm), relatively windy, and with thealluvial deposit soils commonly foundin geologically ancient valleys.Altitudes are certainly considerable,ranging from 2624 to 4593 ft.

The technological developmentsachieved over the last five years, inparticular the new drop wateringsystems and winery machinery, havefacilitated the production of theregion´s typical Torrontés: a whitewine characterized by a uniquelyvoluptuous yet elegant bouquet.Furthermore, interesting improvementshave been made with regard to thecultivation of Syrah, Malbec andChardonnay varieties.

Welcome to

Argentina’s Wine Regions

NORTH

Río Negro


MMaaiinn VVaarriieettiieess::

· Merlot

· Malbec

· Pinot Noir

· Semillón

· Ugni Blanc

· Sauvignon Blanc

· Chardonnay

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

The ecologic conditions in Río Negroare ideal for the production of whitevarieties, including Traminer, Riesling,Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

But the region also features redvarieties such Merlot and Pinot Noir,where the latter finds its most thrivingenvironment.

PATAGONIA

Neuquén



· Malbec

· Merlot


· Pinot Noir

· Chardonnay

· Sauvignon Blanc

· Semillón

The area known as San Patricio delChañar, at 40° South latitude, is wheremost of Neuquén´s wineries areconcentrated. Altitudes in this areavary from medium to low, and the soilconditions are typically excellent.

Strong winds pose a major challengeto vineyards in this area, the only 21stcentury wine region on the planet...

Moreover, with almost 3700 acreplanted over the last six years, fourstate-of-the art wineries in operation,and three additional ones in thepipeline for the near future, Neuquénhas become the largest-growingviticultural center in the ArgentineRepublic.

CUYO

Mendoza



· Malbec

· Bonarda


· Syrah

· Tempranillo

· Merlot

· Pinot Noir

· Chardonnay

· Chenin

· Sauvignon Blanc

· Torrontés

· Semillón

· Viognier

· Tocai Friulano

San Juan



· Syrah

· Bonarda


· Malbec

· Greco Nero

· Merlot

· Cabernet Franc

· Torrontés

· Moscatel de Alejandría

· Chardonnay

· Ugni Blanc

· Sauvignon Blanc

· Viognier

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