Geographic Indication approved for high altitude Mendoza sub-region

A sub-region of Mendoza in Argentina has been awarded Geographic Indication status after a four-year campaign led by local producers.

San Pablo Estate, Bodegas Salentein, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

San Pablo, a sub-zone in Mendoza’s Uco Valley, is the northernmost sub-region in Tunuyán, Uco Valley.

It is also one of Mendoza’s extreme regions in terms of altitudes, with vineyards planted between 3,600 ft (1,100m) and 5,600 ft (1,700m) above sea level.

Its name corresponds to Estancia San Pablo, a Jesuit mission established there towards the end of the 17th Century, according to Wines of Argentina.

It has an arid climate and an average of 500mm rainfall per year.

(Photo: Google Earth)

San Pablo is located on the alluvial fan of the Las Tunas River, on the right bank, consequently the soil has a high pebble content as well as other calcareous materials.

A spokesperson for Bodegas Salentein, one of the businesses that backed the campaign for a GI, said these conditions “leave a well-defined imprint on the quality standards for wines produced from these grapes.”

The GI spans the following areas:

• East boundary: Provincial Route N°89
  North boundary: Las Tunas River
  West boundary: dimension lines at 1.700 meters above sea level
  South boundary: Villegas Creek up to its intersection with Cuevas Creek

The Salentein winery was the first winery to produce Estate Bottled wines from what today is the GI San Pablo and one of the first in the Uco Valley.

Salentin launched the campaign in collaboration with Bodegas Tapíz, and Familia Zuccardi wineries, together with the Facultad de Agronomía de la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo (Agronomy School of the National University of Cuyo) and the Instituto Nacional de Vitivinicultura (National Institute of Viticulture), in 2016.