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 The snow-capped Andes mountains tower over lush vineyards in Argentina. |
Latin America Rising
A look at winemaking south of the border
From Wine Spectator magazine
While wine production is decreasing in most European countries, it is increasing throughout Latin America. Argentina, the world's fifth-largest wine producer in 2001, and Chile are the leaders.
Spanish conquistadors introduced wine culture to the Americas in the 16th century. The black Mission grape is their legacy, once dominant from California all the way to Chile and still widely planted today.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, some Latin American countries began blazing new winemaking trails. Chile started importing grapes, technology and even winemakers from France. Following the Bordeaux model, aristocrats established estates planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the fertile Central Valley region of Maipo. Today, some of those wineries, such as Concha y Toro and Cousiño-Macul, are among the country's leaders. Vintners have also recovered a survivor from those early days: Carmenère, a red grape imported from Bordeaux. The grape no longer grows in France but is making distinctive wines in its new home.
Argentina's wine industry is mainly located in the western desert around Mendoza. Until the late 20th century, it was largely devoted to mass production. In the 1990s, Nicolás Catena led a successful effort to make world-class wines. Reds have been the standout, particularly Malbec, a grape that has long been grown in Cahors, in southwest France, but that has reached new heights in Mendoza. Torrontés, which makes a floral, spicy white, is an Argentinean original. Uruguay has adopted yet another obscure French red as its signature: Tannat, from Madiran, planted by Basque immigrants. Brazil's wine industry is concentrated in Rio Grande do Sul, near Uruguay. Mexico's best vineyards grow in Baja California, where small, quality-minded producers are finding success with a range of grapes, from Sauvignon Blanc to Nebbiolo.
Excerpted from "The World of Food" from Wine Spectator magazine, Sept. 30, 2006.
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