Argentina has been making wine since the 1500s, tracing its wine heritage back to Spain, France and Italy. Argentina is the fifth largest producer of wine in the world. It started exporting wine in the early 1970s.
Mendoza is the main wine region of Argentina, located on the eastern foothills of the Andes, home to about 1000 vineyards. It is about a 2 hour flight from Buenos Aires and is responsible for two-thirds of the Argentine wine production. It is semi-arid desert.
Salta the northern most wine region of Argentina boasts some of the highest altitude vineyards, some close to 3000m above sea level, producing mainly Torrontes.
To the south is Patagonia which has a cooler climate and was originally a fruit producing region, now they produce Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Malbec.
