Argentina’s dramatic vineyards in pictures

Photographer Colin Hampden-White has provided db with a short but powerful photographic tour of Argentina’s dramatic wine regions and striking cellarmasters.

Having visited Mendoza and the Uco Valley last November, Hampden-White, renowned for his “Greatest Winemakers” series, has taken his photographic talent to Argentina’s vine covered landscapes and vinous personalities.

Speaking to the drinks business about his latest work, he described Argentina’s Uco Valley as “one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to.”

In the foothills of the Andes, Hampden-White said that that short of a slight breathless sensation, it wasn’t until the clouds lifted that he realized how high the Uco wine region really is, with vineyards at elevations over 1,000m.

“You don’t have a sense of how high it really is until the clouds lift and you can see the Andes,” he recalled.

As for his pictures from the trip, he told db that he tried to be as “uncomplicated” as possible with the images.

“I just wanted to shoot what was there as it happened,” he commented.

“The dramatic clouds really do look like that,” he continued, pointing out that he didn’t plan any of the images.

“It’s so stunning, I just had to point the camera,” he added.

As for the few people he captured, he said his approach was the same.

For example, speaking of his portrait of Jean-Jacques and Severine Bonnie (pictured, right), the owners of Diamandes, which features striking lighting as though the pair are about to be beamed up, Hampden-White stressed, “It was like that, there’s no light adjustment.”

Aside from vinous portraits and landscapes, Hampden-White has also created a series of images representing the complex flavours of key noble grape varieties, and the faces behind Scotland’s top malts.

His pictures of Argentina can be viewed over the following pages.

Vines in the Uco Valley which make up part of the Alpasion estate. Photo credit: Colin Hampden-White

Gabriel Bloise, the young and tallented winemaker at Chakana in Mendoza. Photo credit: Colin Hampden-White

Dario Werthein, owner of the Riglos Winery, in his cellar. Photo credit: Colin Hampden-White

Stakes in the ground ready for planting at the Alpasion estate at the base of the Andes. Photo credit: Colin Hampden-White

Dusk at the La Morada de los Andes lodge where it is possible to stay as a guest. Photo credit: Colin Hampden-White

Andres and Martin Rosberg at the pool of La Morada de los Andes – a new lodge and vineyard which they own.
Photo credit: Colin Hampden-White

Flechas de los Andes owned by Baron Benjamin de Rothschild and Laurent Dassault. It is part of Clos de los Siete at the base of the Andes. Photo credit: Colin Hampden-White

Jean-Jacques and Severine Bonnie, owners of Diamandes, in the cellar tasting room. Photo credit: Colin Hampden-White

Changing weather over the vines at Diamandes. Photo credit: Colin Hampden-White

Dawn at Diamandes, an estate owned by Château Malartic-Lagravière in Bordeaux. Photo credit: Colin Hampden-White