10 facts to know about malbec

April 17 is the time to raise the glbad and to grill Malbec, iconic strain of Argentina that celebrates its day around the world.

Wines of Argentina is the entity that chose this date. The reason is that it was the same day of 1853, when the project was presented to the legislature of Mendoza to found a Quinta Normal and a school of agriculture, one of the fundamental stones of the national vitiviniculture.

As part of this celebration, Wines of Argentina promotes events around the world. In fact, in 2019, celebrations are planned in 75 cities in 44 countries, including Argentina.

And although this strain is native to the French region of Cahors, it has definitely found a unique and irreplaceable identity in the different local terroirs – from Patagonia to the Cafayate Valley.

In this sense, winemaker Daniel Pi, of Bodegas Trapiche, emphasized that "malbec is undoubtedly a blessing, the great fortune we had when it was introduced in France in the mid-nineteenth century, in Argentina, thanks to its natural conditions, the original material has been virtually intact and the Malbec is incredibly adapted to the conditions encountered along the Andes. "

For his part, the prestigious winemaker Marcelo Pelleriti said: "Malbec is more than a grape variety, it is a means of expression, it is a culture, it is a commitment to the terroir and the people, it is a source of happiness, to believe in this stock and it generates a unique synergy, an invincible common commitment ".

Its characteristics have appealed to local consumers and international palaces. And that explains the weight and transcendence that he has acquired over all these years.

Therefore, we present below ten facts explaining why malbec reigns in Argentina and also governs the wine sector:

1. In Argentina, 98.5 million bottles are consumed

According to data from the Observatoire vitivinicole, in 2018, some 73.8 million liters of Malbec were shipped domestically, equivalent to more than 98 million bottles every 365 days.

There is another interesting fact: according to the Argentinian Wine Observatory, ten years ago, Malbec accounted for 31% of the volume of varietal denomination wines consumed in Argentina. Last year this proportion had already increased to 40%.

2. Nearly 390,000 bottles are exported daily

According to a report from Argentina's Wines, some 140 million bottles were sent to international markets last year, or 390,000 bottles every 24 hours.

This involved an exponential leap from what happened a decade ago, with growth of 97% over this period.

The United States remains the main destination of the variety, with a market share of 34%; followed by the United Kingdom, Canada and Brazil. For its part, China remains one of the most important markets since, with an expansion rate of nearly 28% per year, it ranks sixth in the export ranking.

3. There are more than 1600 Argentine brands in the world

Given that 45% of all that is exported is Malbec wine, it is understandable that there is a legion of wineries in the major world markets.

According to official data, there are currently more than 1,650 wine brands offering this variety in some gondolas abroad.

"Today, no one doubts that Argentina is indisputably synonymous with Malbec, because it directly badociates the country with this grape variety which, in turn, has given a flourishing character to the wine industry during the last twenty years" , said the President Argentine Wines

4. The companies that run the business

Together with annual exports of $ 180 million and a presence in over 95 countries, Peñaflor is positioned as the leading exporter of Argentine wine and the world's largest malbec producer.

At the same time, the Domaine Bousquet brand has become the main supplier of organic Malbec on international destinations.

At the local level, Luigi Bosca became the most sold Malbec in 2018, at the billing level, via Mercado Libre, the largest e-commerce platform in Argentina.

5. New acres of Malbec are planted every 24 hours

There are currently 42,231 hectares of this variety, which implied a sharp increase of over 60% over the 26,255 hectares recorded a decade ago. This rate equals 4.4 hectares per day.

According to the INV registers, Mendoza is the leading national producer of malbec with 36,585 cultivated hectares (85% of the total vineyards). They are followed by San Juan with almost 6.2% and Salta with 3.2%.

6. Malbec is planted in 18 provinces

In Argentina, registered vineyards are neither more nor less than in 18 provinces. Although, as has been said, Mendoza and San Juan account for more than 91% of the total, the rest is highly atomized.

In addition to other clbadic productive areas, such as Salta, Jujuy, La Rioja, Catamarca, Cordoba, Tucumán and Neuquén, vineyards have proliferated in recent years in Chubut, Entre Ríos – which, in the early nineteenth century, was an important production hub -, Misiones, La Pampa, Rio Negro, San Luis, Buenos Aires province and up to Santa Fe and Santiago del Estero.

In the case of Buenos Aires, the INV indicates that there are 12 hectares in total. At Villa Gesell, for example, 0.1 hectare is registered, as in Cañuelas, while in the Partido de la Costa, 0.2 hectare is registered.

7. The highest malbec vineyard in the world is in Jujuy

The vineyard with the highest Malbec grape varieties in the world is located in the province of Jujuy, more precisely in Quebrada de Humahuaca, more than 3,300 meters above sea level.

The winemaker responsible for this adventure is Claudio Zucchino, who grows certified organic malbec, as well as Syrah, Merlot and other varieties.

Virtually touching the clouds, Zucchino produces an bademblage called Uraqui, which means "terroir" in the Aymara language.

8. Malbec is bred on rubble

In the province of Córdoba, in the department of Calamuchita, close to the San Luis border, the mining company Fluorita was confronted with a program of restoration of the environment.

Thus they sought to give a usefulness to the rubble of pebbles produced by the activity. Thus, 100 meters from the ore extraction site, they armed remaining stones of an area of ​​three hectares that began to be planted in 2014 and now has a hail net and even a drip irrigation system. The goal of the project is to cover 60% of the area with malbec.

9. Before, Malbec called "Malbeck"

For many decades, many wineries in Argentina have evoked the name "Malbeck" or even "Malbek", which is now the emblem of the national wine.

In a recent dialogue with iProfessionnel, the prestigious winemaker Ángel Mendoza, pointed out that Malbeck was the surname of a Hungarian winegrower who had spread this strain in France.

From there, he started to identify himself as "Mr. Malbeck's grapes" and, from all the synonyms, it's the name that eventually arrived in Argentina, "he said.

10. With Malbec, almost all sorts of wines are made

There are virtually no categories of wines that are not made with the Malbec variety.

In addition to clbadic reds in their different styles, Malbec whites, rosés, sparkling wines, late harvests and headers are also produced.

According to "Paco" Puga, an oenologist at the El Porvenir winery in Cafayate, "it is the most versatile variety I know because a very wide variety of wines can be made". This particularity has positioned it as the iconic strain of our country, but that's what producers in Cahors, Chile, California and South Africa want to emulate. "

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