Mendoza is a land that encourages innovation and investment. This was proved in 2000 when a great production boom-fostered by the goodness of the ecosystem (clean, unpolluted melt water irrigation, thermal amplitude, sunny days and cool nights) – took place.
In Argentina only 4.61 % of the area planted with vines is destined to domestic consumption. Most Argentine grape is used to make wine and wine-related products. 57.2% of wine has been classified as high quality wine. In 2011 the surface cultivated with vineyards was of 217750 hectares, with a wine production that went up to 15.4 million hectoliters, 80% of which went to domestic use, and the other 20% was exported.
Today, Mendoza makes around 73% of all the wine produced in Argentina, in more than a thousand wineries spread in the four wine-growing regions of the province. Besides featuring the spectacular Fiesta de la Vendimia (Grape Harvest Festival) – taking place in January-March- 100 out of 120 Mendocinean wineries are especially prepared to entertain guests. Many of them have theme restaurants, lodges and other types of accommodation that conform to the highest international standards.
Its excellent service infrastructure and its many convention centers (some of which may accommodate up to 2,000 people) make it an ideal venue for events of all kinds, not to mention that Mendoza gets 300 sunny days a year.
The Argentinean Andean region houses the highest and most southern vineyards in the world, which allows harvesters to pick the same variety- subject to the differences altitude imposes on temperature and vice versa- south to north. Torrontes is the utmost native variety and Malbec is the region’s flagship.
The influence of the ecosystem on the vineyards-sunshine, rain, humidity, wind, land height, thermal amplitude, mineral composition of the soil, etc.- make up the so-called terroir (terruño, which together with men’s work, shapes the wine’s personality. Those organoleptic features have been the matter of studies and experiments from medieval times in European monasteries mainly, to these days in winery labs.
Wine making in Mendoza (2009)
| Wine producing wineries | 952 |
| Number of vineyards | 16,983 |
| Vineyard hectares | 160,704 |
| Wineries | 1331 |
| Grape production | 3,092 million |
| Liters of wine | 1,504 million |
| Liters of must | 811 million |
Esta entrada también está disponible en: Spanish Portuguese (Brazil)
¿Qué te pareció la publicación?