The Mendoza Province is one of Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

's most important wine regions, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the country's entire wine production. Located in the eastern foothills of the Andes

Andes

The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...

, in the shadow of Mount Aconcagua, vineyards are planted at the some of the highest altitudes in the world with the average site located 1,970–3,610 feet (600–1,100 meters) above sea level

Sea level

Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...

. The principal wine producing areas fall into two main departments

Departments of Argentina

Departments form the second level of administrative division in the provinces of Argentina. There are no departments in the city of Buenos Aires, which has so far been divided into neighbourhoods as its administrative divisions, but is to be divided now into communes by a recently passed local act...

-Maipú

Maipú Department, Mendoza

Maipú Department is a department and municipality located in the north west of Mendoza Province in Argentina.The department covers 617 km² and a population of 153,600 ; its capital is Maipú....

 and Luján

Luján de Cuyo Department

Luján de Cuyo is a department located in the northwest of Mendoza Province in Argentina.The provincial subdivision has a population of about 104,000 inhabitants in an area of 4,847km², and its capital city is Luján de Cuyo, which is located around 1,107km from Capital...

 which includes Argentina's first delineated appellation

Appellation

An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown; other types of food often have appellations as well...

 established in 1993 in Luján de Cuyo

Luján de Cuyo

Luján de Cuyo is the district capital of the Luján de Cuyo Department located in the west of the Mendoza Province of Argentina. It forms part of the Greater Mendoza metropolitan area.-Wine:...

. The pink-skinned grapes of Criolla Grande

Criolla Grande

Criolla Grande is a red wine grape commonly found in Argentina. It is different from the Chilean wine grape Pais, also known as Criolla Chica, but ampelographers believe that both grapes share a common parent, and it is now listed as a crossing of Mission and Muscat of Alexandria...

 and Cereza

Cereza

Cereza is a white Argentine wine grape variety. Like Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris, Cereza is a pink skinned variety. It is a crossing of Muscat of Alexandria and Listan Negro.-History:...

 account for more than a quarter of all plantings but Malbec

Malbec

Malbec is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are long known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine. The French plantations of Malbec are now found primarily in Cahors in the South West...

 is the regions most important planting followed closely by Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...

, Tempranillo

Tempranillo

Tempranillo is a variety of black grape widely grown to make full-bodied red wines in its native Spain. It is the main grape used in Rioja, and is often referred to as Spain's "noble grape". Its name is the diminutive of the Spanish temprano , a reference to the fact that it ripens several weeks...

 and Chardonnay

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...

. Mendoza is considered the heart of the winemaking

Winemaking

Winemaking, or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other fruit or non-toxic plant material...

 industry in Argentina with the vast majority of large wineries located in the provincial capital of Mendoza

Mendoza, Argentina

Mendoza is the capital city of Mendoza Province, in Argentina. It is located in the northern-central part of the province, in a region of foothills and high plains, on the eastern side of the Andes. As of the , Mendoza's population was 110,993...

.

Climate and geography

Located in the far western expanse of Argentina, the Mendoza wine region is flanked by the long chain of the Andes Mountain which separates it from the many wine centers of Chile with the capital of Santiago

Santiago, Chile

Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...

 only a 50-minute airplane trip from the capital of Mendoza,Argentina. Unlike the nearby maritime influenced wine regions of Chile, Mendoza has a continental climate and semi-arid

Semi-arid

A semi-arid climate or steppe climate describes climatic regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not extremely...

 desert conditions. The region experiences 4 distinct season

Season

A season is a division of the year, marked by changes in weather, ecology, and hours of daylight.Seasons result from the yearly revolution of the Earth around the Sun and the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the plane of revolution...

s with no extremes in temperatures that provides a relatively uneventful annual growth cycle for grapevines--especially winter dormancy

Dormancy

Dormancy is a period in an organism's life cycle when growth, development, and physical activity are temporarily stopped. This minimizes metabolic activity and therefore helps an organism to conserve energy. Dormancy tends to be closely associated with environmental conditions...

. Rainfall in the region averages around 8 inches (200 millimeters) a year, making irrigation a necessity. Spring time frost

Frost

Frost is the solid deposition of water vapor from saturated air. It is formed when solid surfaces are cooled to below the dew point of the adjacent air as well as below the freezing point of water. Frost crystals' size differ depending on time and water vapour available. Frost is also usually...

 is a rare occurrence with the main viticultural concern being summertime hail

Hail

Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is referred to as a hail stone. Hail stones on Earth consist mostly of water ice and measure between and in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe thunderstorms...

 known locally as La Piedra.

The soil of the Mendoza wine region is primarily alluvial composed of loose sand

Sand

Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...

 over clay

Clay

Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...

. Mountain rivers, including the Desaguadero, Mendoza, Tunuyán, Diamante and the Atuel River

Atuel River

The Atuel River is a river located mainly in the south of the Argentine province of Mendoza, with its last part in La Pampa. It is a tributary of the Desaguadero River....

s, provide ample water supplies from melted glaciers in the Andes. Nearly 17,000 borehole

Borehole

A borehole is the generalized term for any narrow shaft bored in the ground, either vertically or horizontally. A borehole may be constructed for many different purposes, including the extraction of water or other liquid or gases , as part of a geotechnical investigation, environmental site...

s scattered throughout the region provide the equivalent of an additional two rivers' worth of water flow to the area. A system of irrigation channels, canals and reservoirs (some dating to the 16th century) help sustain viticulture in this semi-arid desert region.

Wine producing areas

As of 2008, the Mendoza region contained more than 356,000 acres (144,000 hectares) of planted vineyards-producing nearly two-thirds of the entire Argentine wine production. The principal wine producing areas fall into two main departments – Maipú and Luján, which includes Argentina's first delineated appellation established in 1993 in Luján de Cuyo. With vineyards planted at altitudes between 2,640–3,630 feet (800–1,100 meters), the Luján de Cuyo region is known particular for its Malbec which seems to thrive in this region as a mean

Mean

In statistics, mean has two related meanings:* the arithmetic mean .* the expected value of a random variable, which is also called the population mean....

 annual temperature of 58°F (15°C). Historically the San Rafael

San Rafael, Mendoza

San Rafael is a city in the southern region of the Mendoza Province, Argentina. With more than 170,000 inhabitants , it is the largest city and the seat of San Rafael Department....

 region to the south and San Martín

San Martín, Mendoza

San Martín is a city in the north-center part of the Mendoza Province in Argentina. It is the capital of the San Martín Department and constitutes, with Palmira and La Colonia, the third-largest metropolitan area in the province.-History:...

 region to the east of the city of Mendoza were important centers for wine production. San Rafael was also awarded DOC status in 1993. However the switch to premium wine production of international varieties has diminished their importance. One area of emerging importance in the Mendoza wine region is the Valle de Uco which includes the Tupungato Department

Tupungato Department

Tupungato is a department located in the province of Mendoza, Argentina. The cabecera 0f Tupungato is located approximately 70 km south of Mendoza city, in the Valle de Uco....

 featuring vineyards planted nearly 4000 feet (1,200 meters) above sea levels and is emerging as a source for premium quality white wine varietals such as Chardonnay.

In the Luján department, areas that may appear on wine labels include the towns of Anchoris, Agrelo, Carrodilla, Chacras de Coria

Chacras de Coria

Chacras de Coria is a little town located in the oasis in the north of the province of Mendoza and few kilometers from the capital city....

, Las Compuertas, Mayor Drummond, Perdriel, Tres Esquinas, Ugarteche and Vistalba. In the Maipú department, areas that may appear on wine labels include the towns of Maipú

Maipú, Mendoza

Maipú is a city in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the capital of the Maipú Department. It is located a short distance from the provincial capital, Mendoza....

, Coquimbito

Coquimbito

Coquimbito is a rural district in the Maipú Department, Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is located in the southeast of the metropolitan area of Mendoza , and is administratively part of the municipality of Maipú...

, Cruz de Piedra, Las Barrancas, Lunlunta

Lunlunta

Lunlunta is a district of the Maipú Department in the Mendoza Province, in the western side of Argentina. It is located about 20 minutes away from Mendoza City.The town is home of many wineries and vineyards.-External links: in Los Andes*...

 and Russell.

Argentina’s most highly rated Malbec wines originate from Mendoza’s high altitude wine regions of Lujan de Cuyo and the Uco Valley. These Districts are located in the foothills of the Andes mountains between 2,800 and 5,000 feet elevation.

Grape varieties

The pink-skinned varieties of Cereza and Criolla Grande have historically formed the backbone of the Mendoza wine industry and today still account for around a quarter of all vineyard plantings. Used primarily for inexpensive jug wine

Jug wine

Jug wine is a term in the United States for inexpensive table wine typically bottled in a glass jug.Historically, jug wines were labeled semi-generically, often sold to third parties to be relabeled, or sold directly from the winery's tasting room to customers who would often bring their own bottles...

s and grape concentrate

Concentrate

A concentrate is a form of substance which has had the majority of its base component removed. Typically this will be the removal of water from a solution or suspension such as the removal of water from fruit juice...

, their importance has steadily declined as the Mendoza region focuses more on the export of premium wine varietals. Malbec has emerged as the most important variety followed, in planted acreage, by Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.