A Chilean friar introduced wine into Argentina via a single cutting in the mid-16th century, and today Argentina is one of the world's largest wine-producing countries. Primarily an arid landscape, it profits from irrigation sourced in mountain rivers and from Andean snowmelt. While the warmer inland region encourages vine growth down the entire length of the country, the Mendoza region is responsible for producing over 70% of total wine production in Argentina. The signature grape is the Malbec, although   More

A Chilean friar introduced wine into Argentina via a single cutting in the mid-16th century, and today Argentina is one of the world's largest wine-producing countries. Primarily an arid landscape, it profits from irrigation sourced in mountain rivers and from Andean snowmelt. While the warmer inland region encourages vine growth down the entire length of the country, the Mendoza region is responsible for producing over 70% of total wine production in Argentina. The signature grape is the Malbec, although the strong Italian influence is seen in the prevalence of such varieties as Bonarda and Sangiovese. Unfortunatelty, with Malbec hogging the spotlight, it's easy to overlook some of the interesting whites such as Torrontes, a member of the Muscat family and somewhat reminiscent of Gewürztraminer.   Less