How small producers are reshaping Argentinian wine

Great producers like Catena, Bemberg and Familia Zuccardi are some of the biggest names in Argentinian wine, having helped shape the industry and perceptions around the world. Now the country’s smallest producers are also striving to be seen, creating wines of individuality and character.

In 2020, Argentina exported around 395 million liters of wine, the highest volume in the past 12 years, according to the National Institute of Viticulture (INV).

This was a 26.7% increase from 2019, with Argentina being one of four countries to show volume growth, followed by Italy, New Zealand and Portugal, making it the 10th largest wine exporter in the world and the fifth largest wine producing country in the world.

The large wineries are the source of the majority of exports, but it is the small producers, producing around 100,000 bottles a year, often less, where Argentina’s creative muscle can really be seen.

While the 2000s in Argentina were marked by large wineries and the growing influence of international winegrowers and consultants such as Michel Rolland and Paul Hobbs, the 2010s saw the movement of small Argentinian producers take off.

Reversing the image of Argentina’s “malbec oceans”

“What is happening now is that big estates like Catena and Zuccardi make small batches and behave like a small estate, but they come up with some really interesting things,” says Hans Vinding-Diers, owner of Bodega Noemia in Patagonia.

“At the same time, a lot of winegrowers and agronomists create their own properties, and they make a lot of noise because what small producers are doing is inverting this image of the Malbec oceans and showing that Argentina has climates and varied climates. regions and can compete with some of the best wines in the world.

Of the 900 wineries in Argentina, around two-thirds are classified as small, run by a handful of employees, with winemakers striving to diversify Malbec by researching new terroirs, experimenting with new (and old) varietals and by pushing innovation into the cellar.

Estela Perinetti worked for Catena for two decades before creating her own brand, Las Estelas, producing wines from grapes grown in the family vineyard of El Peral in the Uco Valley. Oenologist María Jimena López worked for Bodega Norton before creating her own label, Graffito, producing wines from Malbec and Cabernet Franc in Perdriel, Mendoza.

To survive as a small producer, their wines must first be good and have a strong sense of identity, which also makes them one of the most inherently interesting.

Mariana Onofri is a sommelier and winemaker who launched her own wine brand, Onofri Wines, in 2014, producing wines under the Alma Gemela and Zenith Nadir labels. Together with her husband, Adan Giangiulio, she produces grapes from an old vineyard in Desierto de Lavalle, north of Mendoza, and another in Los Chacayes, in the Uco Valley.

“Small producers are the ones who can break the rules for what the market thinks they need,” says Onofri. “We do what we want, and that’s the beauty, because there are consumers who are looking for different wines, which have personality and express something different. The small producers were able to show that we have the potential to make great wines with an individual character.

“When you’re little, you can take the risk and go for it”

Onofri practices sustainable agriculture and minimal intervention, producing wines by micro-vinification and minimal oak, with an emphasis on saving old vines, historic regions and grape varieties. Varieties include Teróldego, Carignan and Monastrell, as well as Riesling, Fiano and Grenache, Bonarda and Pedro Giménez. The latter is the second most planted white grape in Argentina (after Cereza), according to the INV, but often results in the production of bulk wine. Onofri produces a 100% Pedro Giménez under the Alma Gemela label.

“When we started producing Pedro Giménez, everyone thought we were crazy because it is mostly considered a class B grape here,” she says. “But he’s very versatile and makes a fantastic base for the mix. The wineries use it a lot, but it was very sad to see the low price paid for the grape. That’s why we started to treat him like other white people. There are now over 20 100% Pedro Giménez wines in Mendoza and I really hope he is here to stay. I don’t like the idea of ​​creating a trend. We have to evolve and we have to take advantage of what we have. We don’t all have Chardonnay – we have Pedro Giménez. We started with very few (600 bottles), but when we are little we can take the risk and go for it. Now we are doing 6,000.

Carignan and Grenache are two other highlights for Onofri, with a 100% Carignan produced in his Lavalle vineyard now exported to London. The region has always been linked to loose, cheap wines, a reputation Onofri hopes to change.

“We are one of the few vineyards to produce Carignan north of Mendoza,” she adds. “We are raising the flag, being respectful of what vineyards can give and being creative, showing that you can do more than what they tell you. “

Elsewhere, Germán Massera, from the Escala Humana winery in Gualtallary, Uco Valley, which he founded with his wife in 2015, produces wines under the Livverá label, made from rare grape varieties including a 100% Bequignol (red grape variety). Bordeaux) and 100% Malvasia, alongside Sangiovese, some Malbec, Bonarda and Cabernet Sauvignon.

A handful of producers are also blazing a new path for organic wines in Argentina. David Bonomi released a 100% Chardonnay Volare de Flor in 2014 under his label Per Se – Argentina’s first commercially available organically aged wine. Juan Pablo Michelini runs his own micro cellar Altar Uco, with Altar Uco Edad Antigua Vino en Flor, a biologically aged wine inspired by the French Jura region.

Eduardo Soler’s Geisha de Jade (Ver Sacrum) is a 50/50 blend of Marsanne and Roussanne aged in flower for 12 months. While Amansado Wines, founded in 2012 by the brothers Adolfo y Gustavo Brennan, produces wines aged in bloom with the help of consultant oenologist Juan Pablo Michelini. The winemakers are also experimenting with orange wines, notably Maricruz Antolin, winemaker at Bodega Krontiras, a biodynamic winery in Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, which since 2019 has been working to produce an orange wine made from Chardonnay.

New frontiers

Others have ventured into lesser-known or extreme regions to distinguish their wines. Tacuil is one of the tallest vineyards in Argentina, some 2,499m above sea level in the Calchaqui Valley in Salta, northern Argentina. Valle Arriba, owned by Ra̼l Davalos (from Bodega Tacuil) and Paula Marra, has vines planted between 2000 and 3000 m across Molinos, Cachi and San Carlos in Salta Рmicro valleys known locally as Valle Arriba. From Tannat and Malbec, it only produces three limited edition labels with a maximum of 600 bottles each.

Viñas del Perchel was founded in 2005, in the Quebrada de Humahuaca wine region in Jujuy. She was a pioneer in the region, planting vines over 2,625 m above sea level, producing Malbec, Syrah and Tannat. The project is managed by Javier Vargas and his sister Mabel, with the help of the oenologist and agricultural engineer Gabriela Celeste.

Bodega Noemia is located in the province of Neuquen, in the Rio Negro valley, in Patagonia, a region known for its winds, low humidity and therefore freedom from disease. Green strip in the middle of a desert, the region receives very little rain but benefits from an abundance of water thanks to the Rio Negro river, which supplies the glacial water of the Andes.

In 1998, the winemaker Hans Vinding-Diers came across a “once in a lifetime” pre-phylloxera vineyard planted there in 1932, mainly in Malbec. Rediscovering the region’s historic vineyards, he produced his first wines in 2001 with fiberglass vats and Bordeaux barrels. Later, the Italian countess and wine producer Noemi Marone Cinzano joined us and, understanding the potential, started building the project with Hans. The first vintage came out in 2003.

Today, his goal remains Malbec, producing around 120,000 bottles per year, but is managed by only 8 people. Now owned by Vinding-Diers, the team is investing more in the region, having just acquired a neighboring vineyard of 35 hectares, and working on the creation of a nursery to preserve the
historical genetic material in the vicinity.

Bodega Anielo, also in Rio Negro, was founded in 2010, with a vineyard first planted in 1998. Since then the team has acquired a second site of 20 hectares, including 1 hectare of old vines planted in 1932 and 4 hectares planted in 1947 – both pre-phylloxera and masale selected. The original winery, built in 1927, has been completely renovated and its winemaker, Federico Moreira, strives to better understand the ancient wine-making practices of Patagonia.

“You need the right vineyard, vision and courage”

The idea of ​​creating a cellar can be captivating, but it is not for the faint hearted. In a country where inflation is rampant, with little or no government support, a small producer must not only have great wines, but healthy margins. The small producers that exist in Argentina today have survived and almost certainly have a high standard of wine to prove.

“The good thing about being a small producer is that you have a real story and you have to live it,” says Hans. “It’s not something where you can just come and deposit the money. You need the right vineyard, vision and courage.

“Today, people are more focused and there are a lot of passionate people. Those who exist today are those who survived, like us, and we can clearly see a future. “

Find out more about Argentina’s small wineries Click here.