Argentina - The Growing Environment & Grape Growing - Climate
5 important questions on Argentina - The Growing Environment & Grape Growing - Climate
What is the climate, and what influences the climate of Argentina? What is the impact on the wine?
- Majority is continental climate
- The low latitude is essential
- Altitude is essential (not too hot); wide diurnal range of 20 degrees C often -> retain acidity and aromas
- the above give intens sunlight/high uv radiation (high altitude) -> Higher tannins and anthocyanin
- Winds: Zonda and El Niño
- Low rainfall
- Threats: summer hail and frost
Altitude is essential for the wines of Argentina. What is related to the location of this altitude?
- The Andes mountains; except for Patagonia in the south, the vineyards are in the foothills of the Andes in the west.
- The Andes is a rain shadow; rainfall very low; irrigation necessary
- Dessert like conditions
- Strong winds come from the mountains; Zonda - hot dry powerful wind
- Lowest 500m
- many above 1000m - even highest at 3300m
- Even at highest altitude; vineyards are planted on flat or gentle sloping sites!
Zonda is a hot powerful dry wind coming from the Andes mountains in Argentina. What is the effect in the vineyard?
- Dry air reduces risk of diseases
- It lowers humidity and can create water stress which affects flowering and fruit set, reducing yields
- Trees, poplars, may act as windbreaks
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What are the threats in the climate of Argentina?
- Summer hail is a constant threat -> reducing yields, netting used (expensive), spreading risk by owning more vineyards.
- Frost in Mendoza's flat areas and bottom of slopes.
El Nino is another wind in Argentina, what happens then?
- Occurs every two to ten years
- Gives much higher rainfall, therefore more hailstorms
- 2016: 25% reduction of crop (40% in Mendoza)
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