Patagonia: the spirit of newness

Argentina’s global winemaking success was built on the country’s ability to bottle the generous reds that respond well to the beautiful climate they grow in. In large regions such as Mendoza, Salta or San Juan, the weather is dry and sunny and water supply can be managed thanks to rivers that descend from the Andes’ year-round snowy heights. From this picturesque scene is the renown of Argentinian Malbecs.

Highlighting style

Since reaching a turning point in 2000, Argentinian winemakers have wanted to surpass limits and reach higher – often literally!

Over the past decade in particular, new vineyards have established themselves high in Mendoza’s southern Uco Valley, or in the country’s southernmost region of Patagonia. Vines have even found a home close to the shores of the Atlantic, near capital city Buenos Aires. In every case, winemakers are seeking cooler climes as well as distinctive and demanding terroirs that will provide wines with distinctive personalities. Specifically, they’re looking for something unique: freshness and minerality; to highlight Pinot Noir’s subtleties versus its more prominent grapey characteristics; planting Roussanne or Trousseau; giving a more energetic or mineral character to Malbecs – which represent a solid third of Argentina’s bottled reds.

Cool breeze

Where are winemakers looking to create these new frontiers in winemaking? Patagonia is the place that perfectly embodies the spirit of untouched, exciting, newness that Argentinian wine represents, in a country measuring 5,000 kilometers from north to south. The Patagonian winemaking region is the country’s southern-most, and it acquired its official geographical indication status in 2002. Sparsely populated, it offers winemakers wild terrain that is full of uniqueness and almost completely untouched by pollution.

With its more moderate climate, Patagonia has noted growth in Argentinian winemaking. In the Neuquén province, land used by vineyards has grown tenfold since 2000. The region may produce less than 2 percent of the entire country’s wine production, but it’s at the cutting edge of the wine scene, producing balanced wines with finesse and of very high quality. Patagonia is cooler than Mendoza (20 percent fewer crop heat units per season), has lighter, more frequent precipitation, and cool nights that promote the slow maturation of grapes on the vine. The region’s climate is good for Pinot Noirs as well as finer Bordeaux blends, or even energetic Chardonnays and delicate Sauvignons Blancs. Adding to the favourable conditions are the cool winds that help prevent crop diseases.

Even if you only knew Patagonia because of its famous dinosaur bones, it’s time to meet Patagonia once again – this time as a new winemaking frontier.