Grape varieties in Chile and Argentina (1550-1850). Genealogy of torrontés

Abstract

From the eighteenth century until today Cuyo and central Chile have been the main viticulture centers in Latin America and one of the most developed in the world. Their wine and spirits making have had important social, economic, politic and cultural implications in the region. Behind this, there has been viticulture, intensive and specialized farm-working, and viticulturists, who have had key roles. This article, based on originals and unpublished documents from Santiago, Mendoza, and San Juan notaries and court archives, examines varieties cultivated in the region. At the end, a document corpus was generated with 3.5 million plants in order to identify time of entry, adaptation, and propagation of grape varieties from Spanish colonization until French strains entered the region during mid nineteenth century. In particular, coexistence of Pais grape and Italia grape (muscat of Alexandria) is examined, which had direct influence over the appearance of the Torrontes variety. The latest is the only high value wine-making Creole variety that prevails until today and is the most important in white-wine-making in Argentina.