Vine Connections - Argentina is Hot!

One often hears about a wine region being "hot" or "enjoying a renaissance", but the reasons are not always clear. Here is a look at what makes Argentine wines today's hottest phenomenon.

With a lengthy list of historical impediments finally being removed, it is now up to Argentina’s viticulturists and winemakers to prove what heights can be reached. We have found 6 producers who have accepted and met the challenge, and with startling results.

Our wines are produced by people who are at the cutting edge of the coming wine revolution.

Add all this to an ideal grape-growing environment, and you will quickly understand why they are producing wines that rival the world’s best. Below are some of the bases for our enthusiasm. Why Argentina is the next great wine-producing country Attitudes toward vineyard management and winemaking have changed slowly, but there is now emerging a small cadre of winemakers, viticulturists and winery owners who have set their agendas around not only making the finest wines in Argentina, but also making wines that have the style and complexity to challenge the best in the world. They have several factors in their favor: Elevation: The City of Mendoza rests at 2,500 feet above sea level. The vineyards of eastern Mendoza and the vineyards to the south (becoming known as Altos de Mendoza) range in elevation from 2,300 to 4,500 feet. At these high elevations, the air temperature stays relatively cool, yet the vines receive significantly higher amounts of solar radiation than vines at sea level. This results in increased water stress and better tannin maturity at harvest. It also increases bud productivity, allowing for more selective pruning and yield management.Climate: The climate is high-desert: warm summer days with cool nights, low humidity, and well-drained soils that are inhospitable to phylloxera and other diseases. With rainfall measuring a scant 8-12 inches per year, water delivery to the vines can be well-controlled using Andean snow runoff and underground aquifers. Yields and plant health are in complete control of the viticulturist. Areas without irrigation access look strikingly similar to the American desert Southwest.Soils: The growing areas of Mendoza vary from sandy to clay, but are predominantly loamy. Many areas also have pebble and river stone subsoil. Drainage tends to be excellent. Most soils are low in organic material due to elevation and climate, creating additional desirable vine stress.Vines: Vineyard ages vary from newly-planted to 100 years old. Most vines are on their native rootstock as phylloxera has not been a significant problem. Most harvesting is done by hand.Wines: A wide range of varietals grows well under the sunny Argentine skies. Chardonnay continues to show great promise as do most of the red wines, and excellent examples can be found of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Syrah, Merlot & even Pinot Noir. And while Malbec is Argentina’s best-known fine wine grape, Bonarda (also known as Croatina in Italy’s Piemonte) is the most widely planted red grape.The old-vine selections can produce wines similar in character to excellent California Zinfandel. All the red wines have the qualities of excellent color, rich fruit character, good structure, and mature grape tannins. With a long growing season and plenty of sunshine, the grapes develop perfectly ripe stems and seeds by harvest, avoiding any "green" or astringent tannins in the wines. The wines are enjoyable earlier in their maturation cycle while maintaining excellent structure for longer-term aging.Why aren’t Argentina’s wines already great?There are a handful of Argentine producers who regularly make wines that are considered "great" by the wine press and trade. But there are a combination of structural factors that have kept most Argentine wines out of the spotlight:Political & Economic: Argentina has a rich history of political turmoil and misdirected government policies that favored grape production quantities over quality. By 1989, the country had also piled up huge external debts and inflation had reached 200% per month! The government subsequently embarked on a path of trade liberalization, deregulation, and privatization. In 1991, it also implemented radical monetary reforms which pegged the peso to the US dollar. The net result of the political and economic situation before the early 1990s was to stifle investment in vineyards, and to limit investment in new winemaking equipment and oak barrels.Perhaps the key factors driving wine style and quality, however, are the historical production and consumption trends in Argentina.Production: Argentina is the world’s 5^th largest wine producer (behind France, Italy, Spain, and the U.S.) and makes 55% more wine than South Africa, the 6^th largest producer.Consumption: Argentines have always been avid consumers of their own wines. In 1970, per capita wine consumption was 92 liters (vs. 5 liters in the U.S.). With all this wine drinking going on, the Argentines developed a preference for lighter, softer, simple wines at low prices for everyday (or twice a day) drinking. There is no tradition in Argentina of ever producing big, rich, complex, international-quality wines. By 1997, per capita wine consumption had dropped to 39 liters (vs. 7 liters in the U.S.). This considerable drop in consumption over the last 30 years has happened in all the major wine-producing countries, with the U.S. making only minor gains.The Crux of the Issue: The quality of wine production is driven by grape growers, and the quality that those growers produce is driven by the system of payments. The financial incentive in places such as Argentina and Spain (and other high-volume producing countries) has historically been based on producing as much tonnage as possible, with little eye to quality. Countries like Spain, for example, have been rethinking their economic survival in a world where consumption is declining yet where consumers are willing to pay a premium for good quality. This means lowering yields, experimenting with different clones, planting in new growing areas, and generally paying more attention to how the grapes taste rather than how much they weigh. Over the last 10 years, Spain has successfully remade itself into a key player on the world fine wine stage. Argentina has received the same "wake-up call", and the small number of producers who had the foresight a decade ago to start revamping their vineyards to produce quality grapes are well ahead of the pack in wine quality. These are the producers we have sought out.Vine Connections’ RoleVine Connections uses its experience in and understanding of the international wine market to lend different levels of support to each wine producer. That support may include coordination of packaging, sales & marketing, and even suggestions for new wine blends and duration of oak aging.




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