South America Flashcards
What are the 3 subregions of the Aconcagua DO?
Aconcagua Valley
Casablanca Valley
San Antonio Valley
What is the DO of Errazuriz?
Aconcagua Valley DO
When were vitis vinifera vines first brought to Argentina from Spain?
1540s
What is California’s Mission grape known as in Argentina? What was this originally called in the 1500s there?
Criolla Chica
Originally called Uva Negra
When was the first recorded vineyard planted by the Jesuit missionaries in the foothills of the Andes in Argentina?
1550s
Torrontés (Riojano) is the product of what grape crossing?
Criolla Chica x Muscat of Alexandria
What is the climate like in Argentina’s wine growing areas?
Semi-dessert and continental with four seasons clearly defined
What is the diurnal shift range for Argentina’s vine growing areas during the summer?
50F to 104F in some places
Where is Calchaqui Valley and what grape is the star here?
Cafayate; Torrontes is the star grape here
What are the 6 subregions of the Uco Valley in Mendoza?
Tupungato Vista Flores Tunuyan San Carlos La Consulta Altamira
What is the northernmost subregion of the Uco Valley and what red and white grapes are the star here?
Tupungato
Malbec and Chardonnay
What is the name of the high altitude subzone of Tupungato known for producing fresh and low aclohol wines by Argentine standards?
Gualtallary
What region in Argentina was the first to be recognized as an appellation in 1993? For what grape?
Lujan de Cuyo, a subregion of the larger Mendoza region.
This controlled appellation was created for wines produced from Malbec.
What is the largest threat to Argentine vines in the early summer?
Piedra, or hail.
When is the Zonda at it’s strongest?
In the early spring and late summer
Is Organic viticulture common in Argentina?
Yes, due to the lack of humidity and dryness of the vine growing areas.
Is chaptalization allowed in Argentina for the production of wine?
No, there’s no need anyway as ripeness is easy to achieve.
What percentage of Argentina’s wine vines are located in Mendoza?
around 70%
What area of Mendoza is referred to as the “Primera Zona” by the locals?
Lujan de Cuyo together with the department of Maipú make up what is considered Mendoza’s most traditional high quality region, just south of the city limits.
What are the two highest elevation districts of Lujan de Cuyo?
Las Compuertas and Vistalba
Vistalba
How does the climate of Maipu compare to Lujan de Cuyo?
Slightly warmer due to its lower elevation
Criolla Grande and Cereza are largely used for the production of what?
Inexpensive wine and grape concentrate
Bonarda in Argentina is equivalent to what grape?
Charbono
What is the most planted white grape in the Mendoza?
Pedro Gimenez
What is Argentina’s second-largest wine producing region behind Mendoza? Where is it in relation to the city of Mendoza?
San Juan. It is located north of the city of Mendoza
How does the climate of San Juan compare to that of Mendoza?
It is warmer
What is the emblematic red grape varietal of San Juan?
Syrah
What district is responsible for the vast majority of San Juan’s wine? What district is responsible for the best quality of wines in San Juan though?
Tulum Valley
The best quality wines are coming from the Ullum-Zonda Valley.
Where is the Famantina Valley and what grape is it known for?
Located in La Rioja and it is known for Torrontes
What is the top wine producing district of Salta?
Cafayate
In what district is Bodega Chacra located in?
Río Negra
What is the most planted red grape in Argentina? Second-most?
Malbec is the most planted and Bonarda (Charbono) is the second-most
What are the top 4 planted red grapes in Argentina in decreasing order?
Malbec
Bonarda (Charbono)
Cabernet Sauvignon
Syrah
What is the top region for Syrah in Argentina?
San Juan
What is the most planted white grape in Argentina? Second and Third-most?
Pedro Gimenez
Torrontes Riojano and Chardonnay are the second and third-most planted
What is the top clone of Argentina for Chardonnay?
Mendoza
What proportion of Argeninta’s vine acreage is comprised of pink-skinned varieties? What are the three most-planted?
1/4
Criolla Chica, Criolla Gande, and Cereza
Why are a large portion of vines in Argentina ungrafted? For those that are grafted what is the driving force behind this decision?
Partly because the biotype of phylloxera present there is a relatively mild one and partly in due to the higher presence of sand in the soils there.
Grafted vines are usually for nematode resistance rather than phylloxera
What are the vast majority of soils in the wine producing areas of Argentina mainly composed of?
Alluvial with sand and stones with gravel, limestone, and clay in some areas.
What regions are known for their higher proportion of calcareous soils in Argentina?
Uco Valley, Altamira, Gualtallary, and Vista Flores
What is the name of the Argentine variation of the Tendone system commonly used in the 1950s and 1960s?
Parral Cuyano
Espaldera was a vine training system brought to Argentina by European immigrants. This system is similar to what training system?
Double Cordon
When does harvest usually begin in Argentina?
Begins in February and lasts sometimes into April
What are the labeling laws in Argentina regarding varietal-labeling and varietals on the labels?
Varietal bottlings must be min 85% of the listed varietal and any varietal mentioned on the label that is blended in must constitute at least 20% of the blend.
What are the aging requirements for wines labeled Reserva in Argentina? Gran Reserva?
Whites and rosés must be aged for a minimum 6 months
Reds must be aged for a minimum of 12 months.
Both must be doubled if labeled Gran Reserva
What is the quality hierarchy for wines in Argentina?
Denominación de Origen (DOC)
Highest quality wines
Indicación Geográfica (IG)
V. Vinifera wines from a specific region with certain minimum quality standards
Indicación de Procedencia (IP)
Table and regional wines
What are the two DOCs in Argentina?
Luján de Cuyo and San Rafel
What two areas are the hottest up and coming areas pursuing IG in Argentina today?
Gualtallary in Tupungato
Pajare Altamira in San Carlos
What is the partnership that produces Cheval des Andes?
Terrazas de los Andes and Cheval Blanc
What is the most productive region for wine in Bolivia?
Tarija
What is the most planted grape in Bolivia?
Muscat of Alexandria
What two American varieties were the most successful in Brazil during the country’s early days of viticulture?
Isabella and Concord
What is the top wine region for wine in Brazil? What regions is gaining the most serious attention and investment today?
Serra Gaúcha in the Rio Grande do Sul State
The Campanha region is gaining the most serious attention today for fine wine though the Vale dos Vinhedos DO is considered the top fine wine region.
What is the most common training method for vines in Brazil? Second-most common?
Tendone to counter the threat and constant risk of rot in this humid climate.
Espalier is the second-most common system.
What is the first DO created in Brazil? When was this? What are the top grapes for this region?
Vale dos Vinhedos DO in 2009
Chardonnay and Merlot are the top grapes.
What crossing created Torrontes? What crossing created Cereza?
Muscat of Alexandria x Criolla Chica (Mission)
The same crossing for Cereza
What is the second-most planted grape in Argentina behind Malbec?
Cereza
Who is responsible for developing a large collection of Vitis vinifera vines in Chile prior to the great Phylloxera outbreak? What was this nursery called?
Claudio Gay; Quinta Normal
What are the 4 largest wine companies in Chile accounting for 80% of the country’s total output?
Concha y Toro
Santa Carolina
Santa Rita
San Pedro
Chanchos Deslenguados is a Chilean organization that champions what styles of wine? What does the name of this organization translate to?
Natural Wine or minimal intervention wines;
Outspoken Pigs
What does MOVI stand for, what is it, and where is it located and when was it created?
Movement of Independent Vintners
Organization of small artisanal winemakers who banded together in 2009 to create a platform for smaller producers making high quality wine in Chile to have a voice.
What does VIGNO stand for and where is it located?
Vignodores de Carignan; an association that champions traditional old vine Carignan in the Maule
What is the minimum vine age and aging requirement for VIGNO wines?
Min 35 years old; must be aged at least 2 years prior to release.
In what DO is Alcohuaz located?
Elqui Valley DO within Coquimbo DO
What DO is Casa Marín located in? What other DOs encapsulate this DO?
Lo Abarca DO within the San Antonio Valley DO within the larger Aconcagua DO
What is the name of the ocean current that heavily influences the climate of Chile’s vineyards?
Humboldt Current
What to Chilean winemakers describe the general climate of Chile being a hybrid of?
The climate is somewhere between that of Napa and of Bordeaux
What is the climate of the Central Valley of Chile classified as?
Mediterranean
What facilitates a strong diurnal shift on the west and east side of Chile’s Central Valley respectively?
Cool air at night from the Humbold-influenced Pacific in the west and in the east cool air spilling down from the Andes.
What are the three geographical designation for Chilean wine that were introduced in 2013?
Andes
Entre Cordilleras
Costa
What are the three main DOs within Coquimbo DO?
Elqui
Limarí
Choapa