Argentina’s Wine Industry Assignment

Running head: ARGENTINA’S WINE INDUSTRY 1
Argentina’s Wine Industry
Name
Institution

ARGENTINA’S WINE INDUSTRY 2
Introduction
Worldwide Argentina is fifth behind France, Italy, Spain and USA in the volume of wine
produced but it tops in South America. Argentina has been growing wine grapes since the
sixteenth century with Mendoza being the largest producers of the grapes. In recent years the
industry has embarked on developing the methods of wine production to really compete with the
other four countries. They are now being backed with major wine companies internationally and
thus the quality of their products has been improving and the industry now produces some of the
best products. One of the reasons behind the success of Argentina’s wine industry is its heritage
that includes old vines and peculiar geographical conditions. Argentina produces a variety of
wines stemming from various types of grapes. These types of grapes include Malbec that
produces the largest percentage of the best Argentine wines, Bonarda that is of Italian origin and
Torontés which produces the aromatic white wines.
Keywords
Grapes; Wine; Geographical conditions

ARGENTINA’S WINE INDUSTRY 3
Argentina’s Wine Industry
Argentina started producing wine as early as the 16th century but most of it was used
domestically. As a result producers were more concerned about quantity over quality and this led
to collapse in the industry (Barnes, 2016). Until in the 90’s when the urge to export wine outside
South America increased did they start improving the quality of wine. This was aided by
business men both local and foreign who developed the industry towards producing small
volumes of wine but of high quality for both domestic use and export (Mount, 2013). New
technologies have also been incorporated to improve the quality of wine produced.
Geographical Conditions
Mendoza is Argentina’s biggest wine producer with up to 80% of wine being produced in
this region. It is located in the west central area of Argentina along Andes Mountains. The high
altitudes plus irrigation from the mountain favor the growth of grapes. High altitudes imply that
the grapes are subjected to cooler temperatures thus improving their growth. The warm climate
improves maturity and also increases the aroma concentration and color of the grapes (Catena,
2011).
The soil in Mendoza is alluvial with sediments of clay and sand. This soil has a low
percentage of organic matter and this limits the growth of the grapevines and thus leading to
production of quality grapes.