Although wineries continue investing, the Uco Valley has become an attractive area for projects involving the division of land into plots and the construction of gated residential neighborhoods with vineyards. New players are entering the business. The parceling of land to grow vineyards next to community hotels or lodges, or to be part of a gated neighborhood, was a boom around 2006 and 2007, and is still a popular alternative.
In 180 days, businessman Julio Camsen (Huentala, Sheraton, among others) is going to start marketing a 200-hectare plot of land located in the Gualtallary area. He came up with the idea of exploiting this piece of land 10 years ago.
This business venture, which has yet to be baptized, includes a landscape design by the prestigious Eduardo Vera, who has sought to preserve the native flora of the area.
As Camsen highlighted: “We’re working on a diagram of the vineyards and of a lodge resort, and we’ll also build a winery in the future. We’re planning to develop the project in the course of two to three years. Our idea is to look for Argentinian investors, offer them a turnkey vineyard and operate it for them.”
Another noteworthy venture is that undertaken by Matura, the local wine company owned by the flying winemaker Alberto Antonini: a project in the Vista Flores area intended for 50 partners who will own their own vineyards and share some common areas.
Ramiro Marquesini, director of the company in Argentina, highlighted that “we have already begun to clear the land in order to plant, and have also started to build the 1000 m2 guest house designed by Bórmida and Yanzón. Guillermo Chacciaguerra will be in charge of vineyard management, while Karim Mussi (Alto Cedro) will be the winemaker of this business venture.”
It is worth mentioning that the team has hired Pedro Parra, a Chilean expert in terroir, who is performing an electromagnetic field analysis that enables to determine the soil makeup and identify the varieties that will best adapt to each section.
Of the total 90 hectares comprised by the project, 60 will be used for vineyard growth. The final aim is to attract 50 partners, 20 of whom are already in.
Wineries continue investing
In turn, Dante Robino has had some sections of their winery remodeled and is about to inaugurate them. Since 2008, the winery has been working on a 1.5 million dollar investment plan with the purpose of optimizing premium wine production capacity and opening the doors to wine tourism. This investment project includes the construction of a space exclusively devoted to the production of premium wines, with a line for the manual selection of grapes, small stainless steel tanks and state-of-the-art pressing equipment, as well as a new temperature-controlled barrel room. The area destined to wine tourism has been thought out with more spacious and more comfortable paths for visitors throughout the almost centennial building. This, together with the technological advances carried out, is all aimed at enhancing the winery’s value.
Rafael Squassini, commercial director of the winery, pointed out: “Opening our winery’s doors to consumers is a strategic strength that confirms our vision. We have always worked with an open-door approach, but so far it’s been merely focused on our products. We thought that having our consumers visit us at home would be very important for them to get to know us closely. The decision to embark on this substantial investment came from an understanding of the demands of our local and foreign customers, in relation to the importance that wine tourism has gained. The idea is for everyone to be able to experience the winemaking process and to feel warmly welcomed at our winery.”
Written by Ma. Soledad González for Winesur.com
Translation: Inglés del Vino
Source: http://www.winesur.com/top-news/the-vineyard-real-estate-business-expands
