By Andrew Catchpole for TheRealArgentina.comWhile Chileans are investing in the Argentinian wine industry, there is a strange lack of investment the other way around.
I have a notion that it’s pretty unlikely that either a Chilean or Argentine could have invented the saying ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’. Travel from Chile’s dry Central Valley over the dizzying Andes to Mendoza or La Rioja and a similarly boney dry land awaits. Yes, there are great green swathes of agriculture, and not least vines, but these verdant-looking oases are typically down to the hand (and irrigation) of man. ‘The grass is always greener…’ is clearly an expression born of cooler, wetter, northern climes.
Take the spirit of the saying, though, and you might be forgiven for thinking that Chile’s vignerons are spending an unusual amount of time gazing lovingly at the rival vineyards across the great Andean divide. And not just gazing. Investment has flowed in, as have winemakers, with Argentina now boasting quite a number of Chilean-backed wines.
Chilean giant Concha y Toro has a well-established foothold in Trivento, while the charismatic Aurelio Montes of Viña Montes is making some excellent Argentine wines at his Kaiken estate. Other Chilean producers busy at work here include Aresti (Espiritu de Argentina), Santa Rita (Doña Paula), Santa Carolina (Finca del Origen) and Augustin Huneeus of Veramonte fame, plus others beside.
The intriguing thing, though, is that few (if any) Argentine winemakers have felt inspired to spread their wings, repay the compliment and embrace their rival’s soils. Of course, as anyone who has visited both Argentina and Chile will know, there has long been a...Read Full Article
