06/05/08 Argentina Part 2

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran. As we discussed yesterday, Argentina is the largest wine producer in South America and 5th largest in the world. With that in mind let's further discuss the wines of Argentina. Ironically, in the 1980s, Argentina almost gave up on grape growing due to a government vine pull schemes. Argentine winemakers have traditionally been more interested in quantity than quality and according to records from 2006 the country consumes 90% of the wine it produces. However, the desire to increase the export of wine has created significant advances in quality. Argentine wines started being exported during the 1990s, and are growing in popularity. To many of the critics Argentina probably produces the some of the best value Malbec in the market. The devaluation of the Argentine peso, following an economic collapse, further fueled the industry climate for export, as production costs decreased and tourism significantly increased. This has given way to a whole new concept of wine tourism in Argentina. The past years have seen the birth of numerous tourist-friendly wineries with free tours and tastings. The Argentine wine industry has modeled themselves after other successful wine tourism regions. Some wineries even provide accommodations for tourists interested in staying in boutique hotels specifically oriented towards wine-tourism. The Mendoza Province is now one of Argentina's top tourist destinations and the one which has grown the most in the past years. Hmmm & maybe South America is an option for a major wine oriented vacation. Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at Vine to Wine dot net and thanks for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.