Argentina Flashcards
(38 cards)
While on the decline, accounts for huge swaths of vineyard—Cereza is Argentina’s most planted grape. True or False
True
Argentina successfully forged an international reputation for red varietal wines produced from ____, a previously overlooked Bordeaux blending variety introduced into the country in 1860. The country’s winemakers hope for similar success with Torrontés Riojano, a unique, highly aromatic crossing of _____ x _____.
Malbec
Criolla Chica x Muscat of Alexandria
Two other varieties,___and___, may be labeled as “Torrontés” but they tend to produce lower quality wines.
Torrontés Mendocino and Torrontés Sanjuanino
Torrontés Sanjuanino is also a ____ x _____crossing, and Torrontés Mendocino is a crossing of Muscat and an as-yet-unidentified other grape.
Criolla Chica x Muscat of Alexandria
True or False: Argentina is the most important wine-producing country in South America, the world’s fifth largest producer, and in 2008 the world’s seventh largest exporter of wine.
True
Argentina’s wine producing regions are very dry, a condition exacerbated by the ___-, a fierce, dusty, hot afternoon wind that blows down from the mountains in the late spring and early summer, sometimes adversely affecting flowering.
Zonda
The country’s higher elevation vineyards—some of the world’s highest vines (3,000 meters above sea level) are located in Salta, at Donald Hess’ ___estate—serve to mitigate such extreme highs and prolong the growing season.
Colomé Estate
In descending order of importance, the country’s most important red grapes include the flagship varietal:____and (5) other reds.
Malbec-(flagship grape) Bonarda-(second most planted) Cabernet Sauvignon Syrah Merlot Tempranillo
Argentina’s Bonarda, the country’s second most planted grape, is genetically distinct from the Northern Italian grape of the same name, but recent DNA studies have identified it as Savoie’s ____—a variety known as ___ in the U.S.
Corbeau;
Charbono
Argentina’s most planted white grape is _____, a blending grape often mainly suitable for bulk wines or grape concentrate. The distinctive, floral _____ is second among white grapes, followed by Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc.
1-Pedro Giménez (unrelated to Spain’s Pedro Ximénez)
2-Torrontés
3-Chardonnay
4-Chenin Blanc
Pink-skinned varieties-Cereza, Criolla Chica, and Criolla Grande, occupy nearly 30% of nation’s vineyard acreage
What are the aging requirements for Reserva and Gran Reserva for white and red wines in Argentina?
Reserva- minimum (6 mos) of aging for white wines
(1 yr) for reds;
Gran Reserva- at least (1 yr) for whites and (2 yrs) for reds
These two new designations, introduced in 2008, also limit maximum yields.
Approximately three-quarters of the country’s entire wine production occurs in the province of ____ in Cuyo, where more than 146,000 hectares are cultivated. To the north, the province of Salta, despite fewer than 2,500 total hectares under vine, is gaining a reputation for high-altitude Torrontés.
Mendoza
Cafayate is a promising department within Salta, and is increasingly appearing on bottles of Torrontés—Susana Balbo’s “Crios” is a widely exported hallmark of the style. Etchart, the winery that first brought Michel Rolland to Argentina, and Yacochuya, Arnaldo Etchart’s new project, are two prominent producers based in Cafayate. The province of Catamarca, directly south of Salta, has less prestige but more area under vine, with Torrontés, Syrah, Malbec, and Cabernet Sauvignon leading in acreage.
A
Cuyo comprises of what (3) wine-producing provinces?
Mendoza
La Rioja
San Juan
La Rioja is the northernmost of the three provinces; its most famous wine region is the Famatina Valley. ______is the most cultivated grape, followed by ____. Production is significantly higher than in the northern provinces, La Rioja’s output is dwarfed by the massive production of Mendoza and San Juan to the south.
Torrontés
Malbec
True or False: San Juan, Argentina’s second-largest wine-producing province, has more than 47,000 hectares under vine in the Tulum, Zonda, Ullum, Jáchal, and Fertil Valleys.
True-San Juan’s hot summer climate is ideal for grapes destined for brandy and vermouth production, region’s sherry-style winesare reasonably good in quality.
Mendoza, the center of the Argentinean wine industry, is broadly divided into Northern, Central (Upper), Southern, and Eastern sectors, and the Uco Valley—a western subregion and home to the province’s highest vineyards. Soils in the region are generally comprised of loose, alluvial sand over clay, a structure that, when coupled with the gale-force Zonda wind, helps to keep phylloxera and other diseases at bay.
A
True or False: As in Chile, almost all vines in Mendoza are planted on their own rootstock.
True
The climate is desert-like, irrigation is absolutely necessary, in the traditional form of _____—a technique developed centuries ago by the Incas, which means what?
furrow irrigation- in which the rivers’ water, swelled by Andes snowmelt, is directed through the vineyards in channels—or by more modern methods of drip irrigation.
Red grapes account for over half of the entire province’s (Mendoza) acreage; _____, the most planted grape, covers around 16,000 hectares of vineyard.
Malbec
The departments of _____(one of Argentina’s two DOCs, authorized only for Malbec wines) and ____, in Central Mendoza, provide some of the best traditional sites for the grape. Highly regarded estates include Catena, Susana Balbo’s Dominio del Plata, Bressia, and Achával Ferrer.
Luján de Cuyo-
Maipú- Central Mendoza
White grapes, such as Chardonnay and Sémillon, are cultivated with success in the high elevation vineyards of Uco Valley and its Tupungato department. Chenin Blanc is the principal grape in the Southern Mendoza departments of San Rafael (Argentina’s other DOC, currently used only by Valentín Bianchi for base quality wines) and General Alvear,
A
Name two of Argentina’s DOCs and what grapes are authorized?
Department of Luján de Cuyo DOCs, (authorized only for Malbec wines) in Central Mendoza
Department of San Rafael in Southern Mendoza (Argentina’s other DOC, used only by Valentín Bianchi for base quality wines) and General Alvear (not known for fine wines)
South of Mendoza, the winemaking provinces of Patagonia are ___and____ . These are smaller regions of production, and markedly cooler than those to the north. White grapes, such as Torrontés and Sémillon, perform well in the provinces’ chalky soils and longer growing seasons, although cool-climate, elegant versions of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinot Noir are promising.
Río Negro and Neuquén
