Back in the Middle-Ages, Malbec was planted all over southern France. But it wasn’t known as Malbec. It had over a thousand synonyms, and besides Medieval wine drinkers knew precious little about grape varieties. But there was no doubt Malbec was highly thought of, especially up-river of Bordeaux, where it was blended with the even darker Tannat grape to make the famous ‘Black Wine of Cahors’…
For some incomprehensible reason, young Argentines don’t find it particularly attractive to get blindingly drunk and fall flat off a bar stool. Argentines are a cosmopolitan bunch — sipping beer in streetside cafes, savouring wine by the glass in upscale bars, or nursing a coke in a nightclub looking sexy until sunrise…
Mendoza is the great throbbing heart of Argentine wine. The province is home to some 1200 wineries and produces over a billion litres a year – almost two thirds of the country’s total and nine out of ten bottles exported. Almost all Argentina’s top producers are based here, even if many make wine from other regions, notably Torrontés from the northern province of Salta. The reason for Mendoza’s pre-eminence in Argentine wine is…
February marks the beginning of the harvest in South America, and nowhere is this more celebrated than Mendoza, one of the world’s great wine capitals. Tucked into the foothills of the Andes, Mendoza and its people have a long history viticulture and wine making and have been producing wine since the 1550s. Vendimia — Mendoza’s wine harvest festival, takes place on the first weekend of March each year. This event has been aptly described as a ‘Eurovision Song Contest rolled up with a North American beauty pageant, served up with a South American street carnival and washed down with lots of wine.’…
If you have made it all the way to Argentina, you really should try and find time to visit Salta – home of the highest and perhaps most spectacular vineyards in the world. But be patient – arriving in the provincial capital of Salta after the flight north from Buenos Aires is barely the start. It is a good four hours drive to the town of Cafayate and the fertile Calchaquí Valley – the main wine region of Salta. Along the way you will probably despair of ever seeing a vineyard. The fields of maize and tobacco that surround Salta soon give way to desert where nothing grows save giant cacti flicking V-signs at the sky…
It is fair to say that the southern cone of Argentina is not immediately synonymous with wine. Instead, for those that know it, Patagonia – conjures up images of wide prairies, isolated sheep farms, lakes and forests. It is landscape of lonesome beauty scoured by the constant wind, which stretches south until it finally reaches the frozen tip of Tierra del Fuego. Here the great Latin American landmass tapers into the sea, its spectacular glaciers pointing the way to the South Pole. For millions of others however, Patagonia is simply just a brand of outdoor clothing…
This relatively unknown province was bound to make wine if you think of its Spanish namesake. In fact La Rioja claims to have the longest continued history of wine production in Argentina, having been planted with grapes by Spanish missionaries in the mid-16th century. La Rioja is a gruelling, seven hour drive north from Mendoza, passing through the province of San Juan on the way…