Argentina Wine & Food

Mendoza is a very large wine-producing province. Indeed, it is the 5th largest in the world and important domestic consumption has, for a long time, easily absorbed production. The existing environmental resources of Mendoza's wine-production regions provide an outstanding framework for growing high-quality grapes in the most natural and healthy conditions. Add to that modern, state-of-the-art technology and Mendoza is able to provide world consumers with delicious wines with all the colour, aroma, fruit flavour and quality they desire.

Mendoza has 143.765 hectares of vineyards, which represents 68% of total surface cultivated with grapevines in Argentina. In 2004, the total production of grape wines was 16.759.058 quintals and Mendozan wines represented 90,34% of Argentina's total wine exports.

The winemaking process in Mendoza is performed by 682 wineries, divided in different types of companies: those with long family histories going back generations, those born based on foreign investment, and finally, the small  boutique wineries that produce only very small quantities of wine.

Since the beginning of the decade, "wine tourism" has had a remarkable effect on the local wine industry. At the present time, tourists can visit more than 70 wineries located into the wine growing regions (Northern, Central and Southern). This allows winemakers to share their passion for the winemaking process and history of the viticulture in Mendoza.

Mendoza Wine Varietal Information
The wines of Argentina, like its people, run the full spectrum of taste, style and origin. Mendoza alone cultivates a bewildering choice of wine varietals as well as table grapes and raisins.  However, the huge international companies that have begun to invest in Argentina since the 1990's are more likely to concentrate on varietals esteemed by international consumers. Historically, Argentina's claim to fame came from its red varietals.  In Mendoza, 39% of vineyards are used for making reds, 21% for whites and 40% for rosé.

Among these red grape varieties, Malbec has turned into the most popular and recognized name not only for domestic market, but for international market as well.  Imported from France a century ago, Malbec developed its best characteristics in Mendoza, turning Argentinean Malbec wine into the best Malbec of the world.

With typical black cherry, blackberry and spice aromas, this dark red wine is usually produced in a Bordeaux style, often aged in oak, for a result that is soft, deep, and velvety. Other French varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon (13%), Merlot (10%), and Syrah (10%) are also used in fine wines, and tend to share the same full fruit aromas, relatively soft tannins and oak aging. Other reds including Tempranillo (10%), Bonarda (29%), Sangiovese (4%), Barbera, Pinot noir, Aspirant Bouchet, Bequignol and Cabernet franc can also be found. A number of winemakers are experimenting with blends such as Syrah-Cabernet, Cabernet-Malbec-Merlot, Malbec-Petit Verdot, and Malbec-Syrah.

Argentine white wines have traditionally been too low in acidity for international tastes. However, the latest export offerings indicate that Mendoza is producing interesting Chardonnay (11% of white grape production), and may have similar potential for Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc (10,5%), Ugni Blanc (9%), Torrontés Riojano (12%), Semillon, Viognier, Pedro Ximénez and Tocai Friulano. International sparkling wine companies have also invested in Mendoza with an eye to the future.

Mendoza’s Wine Growing Regions
The assertion that Mendoza is the most important wine-producing province in Argentina is almost a cliché. But it is almost impossible not to make such statements, as this province produces more than 80% of Argentina’s wine from its 150,000 vine-planted hectares. Mendoza’s wine industry increasingly focuses on quality, and on finding the optimum relations between different varieties and terroirs. Mendoza´s diversity is doubtlessly enviable in this respect.

Mendoza’s wine geography can be divided into three major oases. One of these oases is in the North of the province, on the basin of the Mendoza and Tunuyán rivers; the other oasis is in the Center of the province, and the third oasis in the South, irrigated by the Diamante and Atuel Rivers. However, by carefully studying the territory, one can discover multiple peculiarities within terroirs that are highly different from one another. Each terroir has its own particular location, altitude and soil composition.

Wine Regions
Northern Region - Includes the Deparments of Las Heras, Lavalle, Guaymallén, San Martín, Rivadavia, Santa Rosa, La Paz, Luján de Cuyo and Maipú.

Central Region - Includes the Departments of Tupungato, Tunuyán and San Carlos.

Southern Region - Includes the Departments of San Rafael and General Alvear.

Eastern Region - Includes the Departments of San Martín, Junín, Santa Rosa, La Paz y Rivadavia.

This area consists of a wide, fan-shaped zone that surrounds the City of Mendoza to the North, the East and the South.

In the North, altitudes range from 600 to 700 meters above sea level, with a gentle slope. This area includes the districts of Costa de Araujo, Gustavo Andrés, Lavalle, Fray Luis Beltrán, Rodeo del Medio, San Roque, Bermejo, Corralitos, Kilómetro 11, El Plumerillo, El Agarrobal, Nueva California, El Central, El Divisadero, Tres Porteñas, El Borbollón and Colonia.

The soils are mainly composed of fine-grained sand, and they frequently contain saltpetre, as aquifers are found close to the surface. The ecological characteristics of this region favor the production of white, young, aromatic wines, as well as fruity red wines for short-term consumption. The white varieties producers prefer are Chenin, Ugni Blanc, Torrontés, Pedro Ximenez and Tocai Friulano, and the preferred red varieties are Bonarda, Malbec, Syrah, Barbera and Sangiovese.

To the East of the City of Mendoza there is a plain irrigated by the waters of the Tunuyan river. Mendoza’s Eastern region is a true wine-producing power considering its vine-planted area and the quantity of wineries concentrated there. Altitudes range from 750 to 640 meters, and the different zones in this area are substantially distinct in terms of climate, soil and thermal amplitude.

Soil runoff capability is poor in the sectors located closer to the City of Mendoza, while well into the East, especially in the departments of Santa Rosa and Rivadavia, where the environment is typically arid and soils are sandy, water-retention capability is poor. This area also offers great thermal amplitudes as a result of its desert-like characteristics.

The region includes the districts of Reducción, La Libertad, Los Campamentos, La Central, El Mirador, Medrano, Los Arboles, Andrade, Mundo Nuevo, Santa María de Oro, Rodríguez Peña, Los Barriales, Algarrobo Grande, Alto Verde, El Ramblón, El Espiño, Chivilcoy, Las Chimbas, Alto Salvador and Chapanay.

All grape varieties grown in Argentina can be found in Mendoza’s eastern region, although Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin, Torrontés, and Viognier stand out among the white varieties, and Sangiovese, Syrah, Bonarda, and Tempranillo are the preferred red ones. We should stress the excellent conditions this region presents for the production of punch and sweet wines (late vintage, fortified wines), which is already underway thanks to the innovative style of the area’s wineries.

The Departments of Luján de Cuyo and Maipú form part of a traditional wine-producing region known as the "prime zone" of the Argentine wines. This designation results from the prestigious labels coming from this area, historically regarded as being among the best in Argentine wine production. This region’s location to the South of the City of Mendoza, provides ideal altitudes, and its soils, considered the best in the province, have certainly played a role in the region’s rating. The administrative division of the municipalities that constitute the region coincide with two terroirs endowed with outstanding natural conditions for the production of high-quality wines: Maipú and Luján de Cuyo.

The Department of Maipú includes the districts of Luzuriaga, General Gutierrez, General Ortega, Coquimbito, City of Maipú, Rodeo del Medio, Fray Luis Beltrán, Cruz de Piedra, Lunlunta and Barrancas. The altitude increases from NE to SW, and reaches 1,100 meters in the highest sector and 600 meters in the lowest sector. This is another area where a true collection of varieties is grown, although the best results have been obtained with Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon (particularly in Cruz de Piedra and Lunlunta), and Syrah (particularly in Barrancas). The region could well have its own Denomination of Origin when factors such as region’s ecology, the quality of its wines, and the prestige they’ve gained as time passes are considered together. Indeed, such a denomination could be awarded at anytime.

Luján de Cuyo, on the other hand, has its own DOC since 1989 (recognized by the OIV in 1993). This region includes the districts of City of Luján, Mayor Drummond, Vistalba, Las Compuertas, Carrodilla, La Puntilla, Chacras de Coria, Perdriel, Agrelo, El Carrizal and Ugarteche. The altitudes of this region range from 1,067 to 860 meters, and its soils benefit from old alluvial deposits and the disintegration of minerals from the Andes Mountains.

Malbec is the most characteristic variety in the region. This grape is used to produce a wine that is emblematic of the region, the province and the country. The wine thus produced stands out for its red color with purplish nuances, its expansive red-fruit bouquet, and its intense yet docile and fleshy taste, which fills the palate without roughness. Other varieties with well defined personalities like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Viognier have been equally successful in the region.

Mendoza’s "prime zone" and the Uco valley are two of the most interesting regions for the foreign investors who have been continuously operating in the country since 1990. The advanced age and small size of many of the wine-producing properties in these regions has led to the development of the small wineries that are so in vogue these days.

Traditional Argentinean Dishes
Argentine food is either very rural or basic like as it is in the pampas, or very complex and global as it is in the cities. With loads of Italian immigrants, much of Argentina’s cuisine is influenced by Italy. Pastas such as cannelloni, fettuccini, or gnocchi are eaten with many meals. Pizzerias are found everywhere, as are heladerias.

Elsewhere:

• Empanadas - the traditional snack food found everywhere. These small pastries are filled with meat, cheese, corn and just about anything else.
• Puchero - A casserole made of a combination of meats such as beef, chicken, or sausage and numerous vegetables such as corn, onions, peppers and potatoes
• Carbonada - A beef stew made by combining corn, squash, rice, sweet potatoes, apples and pears
• Pastel de Papas - More or less the same as mashed potatoes.
• Sandwiches de Miga - These are crustless white bread sandwiches filled with cured meat and cheese.

Argentinean Beef
Argentina’s grass fed beef, or Asado, is exported all over the world and Argentina has the highest meat consumption per capita in the world, averaging about 150 pounds annually. Gauchos, a kind of Argentinian cowboy, are known to eat beef three meals a day. The grass-fed beef have a tougher texture, less fat, more muscle, and stronger flavor than corn fed cattle that are typical in the United States and elsewhere. Preparations vary from Asado (roasted), a la parilla (grilled), braised, stewed, fried and stuffed and beef is typically served with grilled potatoes and vegetables and Chimichurri sauce, made from a mix of olive oil and chopped parsley, dried oregano, garlic, salt, pepper, onion, and paprika.