Argentine Wine - Viticulture

Viticulture

The growing season in Argentina usually last from budbreak in October to harvest beginning sometime in February. The Instituto Nacional de Vitivinicultura (INV), the main government controlling body for the wine industry, declares the beginning date for harvest in a region with the harvest season sometimes lasting till April depending on the variety and wine region. A sizable population of itinerant laborers provides an abundance of grape pickers at low cost which has slowed the conversion to mechanical harvesting. After harvest, grapes often have to travel long distances over several hours from the rural vineyards to winemaking facilities located in more urban areas. In the 1970s, yields were reported as surpassing 22 tons per acre, a sharp contrast to the average yields in premium wine regions such as Bordeaux and Napa Valley of 2 to 5 tons an acre. As the Argentine wine industry continues to grow in the 21st century, several viticultural related trends will involve improvements in irrigation, yield control, canopy management and the construction of more winemaking facilities closer to the vineyards.

Argentina, like Chile, is unique in the wine world for the absence of the phylloxera threat that has devastated vineyards across the globe. Unlike Chile, the phylloxera louse is present in Argentina but is a particular weak biotype that doesn't survive long in the soil. When it does attack vines, the damage is not significant enough to kill the vine and the roots eventually grow back. Because of this most of the vineyards in Argentina are planted on ungrafted rootstock. There are many theories about why phylloxera has not yet reach this part of the world. The centuries old tradition of flood irrigation where water is allowed to deeply saturate the soil maybe one cause as is the high proportion of sand present in the soil. The relative isolation of Argentina is also cited as a potential benefit against phylloxera with the country's wine regions being bordered by mountains, deserts and oceans that create natural barriers against the travels of the louse. Despite the minimum risk of phylloxera, some producers are turning to grafted rootstock that provide better yield control.

Various methods of vine training was introduced to Argentina by European immigrants in the 19th and 20th century. The espaldera system combined the traditional method of using three wires to train the vines low to the ground. In the 1950s a new system known as parral cuyano was introduced where vines were trained high off the ground with the clusters allowed to hang down. This style was conducive to the high yielding varieties of Criolla and Cereza that were the backbone of the bulk wine producing industry that sprang up in response to the large domestic market. In the late 20th century, as the market turned to focus more on premium wine production, more producers switched back to the traditional espaldera system and began to practice canopy management in order to control yields.