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Featured Wineries

This is your guide to the best wineries in South America. Read all about the best wineries to visit in Argentina, the top wineries in Chile, the most exciting wineries in Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia and Peru.

In the ultimate guide to South American wine, we have all the best wineries of South America in one place. Discover our free guide to the wineries of Latin America, including natural wines, family wineries, big brands, quirky wineries and some of the best for wine tourism, winery restaurants and wine hotels. Your guide to visiting the wine regions of South America.

Guide to Serra Gaúcha wine region in Brazil

by Amanda Barnes March 29, 2023

written by Amanda Barnes

Serra Gaúcha is one of the most famous wine regions of Brazil, in the heartland of Rio Grande do Sul and home to the famed Vale dos Vinhedos. The wine region really is the heartland of fine wine in Brazil, with some of the most-prized appellations and best-known wineries as well as the greatest concentration of Brazilian wine production.

The ultimate guide to the Serra Gaucha wine region in Brazil

Terroir facts

Vale dos Vinhedos

Pinto Bandeira

Other sub-regions

Recommended wines for Serra Gaúcha

Serra Gaúcha is home to Brazil’s best-known wineries and is the most-visited wine region in the country. It is through a combination of terroir conditions and the important amount of Italian immigration in the region that has made it the bonafide heartland of Brazilian wine.

Most of Serra Gaúcha’s vineyards benefit from a hilly topography, which naturally allows the heavy rainfall – which can be quite typical in summer – to run off without waterlogging the vineyards. The conditions are quite similar in most sub-regions, with the soils generally being of mixed clay and basalt.

There are many different grape varieties planted in Serra Gaúcha but some of the highlights include Chardonnay, Merlot, and Moscato, as well as the excellent sparkling wines of both traditional and charmat method. Many of the wine styles of the region are influenced by the Italian and Portuguese heritages of the wine families that have settled there.

March 29, 2023 0 comment

Featured Argentina Argentina Wine Guide Argentina Features

Guide to the wine regions of Argentina

by Amanda Barnes January 14, 2023

written by Amanda Barnes

Check out our ultimate Argentina wine guide and get to know everything about the terroir and the wine regions of Argentina.

Guide to wine regions of Argentina

Facts on Argentine wine

Northern Argentina wine regions: Salta, Catamarca & Jujuy

Cuyo wine regions: Mendoza, San Juan, San Rafael, La Rioja

Patagonia wine regions: Neuquen, Rio Negro & Chubut

Central & Atlantic Argentina wine regions

Map of Argentina’s wine regions

Most of Argentina’s wine regions are located along the western edge of the country, in the foothills of the Andes mountains that form a natural frontier with Chile. The foothills offer the ideal natural landscape for vineyards to be able to thrive in the desert, as they slope gently downwards and are irrigated by the rivers carrying snowmelt from the Andes down to the arid plains below.

From Río Negro in the south to Salta and Jujuy in the far north, most of Argentina’s wine regions share this dry, warm and sunny mountain climate and gradually sloping alluvial soils. However in recent years we’ve seen a steady growth and diversification of Argentina’s wine regions, expanding further south into Patagonia as well as eastwards into the Pampa and Buenos Aires.

The wine regions of Argentina: Salta, Cafayate, Caclhaqui valleys, Maipu, Lujan de Cuyo, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Patagonia, Buenos Aires — Colomé vineyard in Salta. Photo by Stephane Rampon

Key Facts on Argentine wine

Hectares planted: 197,965
Producers: <900 wineries; 23,699 vineyards
Production: 1.1 billion litres of wine (2020)
Wine regions: Jujuy (42 ha); Calchaquí Valleys (4,468 ha); Catamarca Valleys (1,721 ha); La Rioja (6,539 ha); San Juan (31,960 ha); Mendoza (149,002 ha); San Luis (107 ha); Neuquén (1,764 ha); Río Negro (1,526 ha); Chubut (87 ha); La Pampa (279 ha); Córdoba (261 ha); Buenos Aires (148 ha); Entre Rios (49 ha); Misiones (12 ha); Santiago del Estero (1 ha)
Most-planted varieties: Malbec, Cereza, Bonarda, Cabernet Sauvignon, Criolla Grande, Syrah, Torrontés, Pedro Giménez, Chardonnay, Tempranillo

The wine regions of Argentina

Northern Argentina

Jujuy

At the northernmost tip of Argentina, Jujuy is, in a word, extreme. Bordering southern Bolivia and the edge of Chile’s Atacama region, Jujuy has both jungle and desert salt flats but it is largely dominated by the high plateau of the altiplano which scales up to altitudes of over 5,000 metres.

The wine regions and vineyards of Jujuy are mainly in the narrow 80 km-long mountain valley and canyon of Quebrada de Humahuaca and the warmer valleys in the south known as the Valles Templados. Although there aren’t many vineyards in Jujuy (the region has just 42 hectares to date), Jujuy claims some of the highest-altitude vineyards in the world.

Calchaquí Valleys

The Calchaquí Valleys is one of Argentina’s most extraordinary wine regions and it has, remarkably, been producing wine for hundreds of years, despite the challenges of its high altitude and remote nature.

Old vines can be found throughout this string of mountain valleys which runs north to south, spanning over 270 km and three of Argentina’s provinces: Salta, Tucumán and Catamarca. The Calchaquí Valleys may only represent 2% of the country’s vineyards, but it claims a disproportionate share of Argentina’s wine awards — and with good reason, I say. High-altitude viticulture can be hard work, but it certainly reaps the benefits of distinctive personality and I never fail to be impressed by the incredible value and quality of Calchaquí wines.

Read more in our Guide to the Calchaquí Valleys wine region

Valleys of Catamarca

With over three-quarters of the province covered by mountains, Catamarca’s wine regions are unsurprisingly defined by their mountains and moderated by their altitude. Although Catamarca’s vineyard area is impressive in size, the wines are sadly less so. The province is a major producer of juice – so you won’t find as much wine coming out of Catamarca as you might expect – and also jug wine. Some of the better known wine regions of Catamarca are within the Calchaqui Valleys.

January 14, 2023 0 comment

The wine regions of Peru: Lima, Ica, Arequipa, Moquegua, Tacna.

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Guide to wine regions of Peru

by Amanda Barnes December 10, 2022

written by Amanda Barnes

The wine regions of Peru are some of the most extreme and memorable in South America. Check out our ultimate Peru wine guide and get to know everything about the terroir of this historic wine nation and the modern wines of Peru.

Guide to wine regions & wines of Peru

Facts on Peruvian wine

Lima wine region

Ica wine region

Arequipa wine region

Moquegua wine region

Tacna & Sierras del Peru wine region

Map of Peru

Ultimate guide to wine regions & wines of Peru

Most of Peru’s vineyards hug the coast running south from Lima, where the lower-altitude, coastal regions of Lima, Ica, Arequipa, Moquegua and Tacna provide have provided the ideal climate for Pisco production over the past four centuries.

Traditional Pisco and Criolla varieties dominate, with Quebranta, Mollar, Albilla, Negra Criolla and Moscatel as the top varieties planted throughout Peru’s wine regions. These varieties are largely made into Pisco, but there is also an exciting and growing tendency towards making artisanal, dry wines from Criolla varieties.

In Ica, Peru’s most important and concentrated wine region, you’ll also find Peru’s most diverse range of international grape varieties.

Fast Facts on Peruvian wine

Hectares planted: 29,000*
Producers: 10,000* growers
Usage of grapes: table grapes 65%; Pisco 27%; wine <7%
Wine regions: Ica (7,600 ha); Lima (2,950 ha); Arequipa (1,300 ha); Moquegua (870 ha); Tacna (810 ha); Sierra del Perú (<100 ha)
Most-planted varieties: Quebranta, Italia, Albilla, Negra Criolla, Mollar, Moscatel, Torontel, Uvina, Isabella

*Statistics include table grapes and grapes for Pisco production.

The wine regions of Peru

Lima

Although there are vines planted throughout the region of Lima, over 80% of Lima’s grape production is concentrated in Cañete — and in particular around Lunahuaná — which is the southernmost sub-region by the coast, just above Ica. The vast majority of wine grapes in Lima end up being used for Pisco production, although there is a small amount of wine production too. It is more typically Borgoña wine though, from the hybrid varieties of Isabella and Niagara respectively, although there is growing interest in making fine wines.

Ica

Even though Ica is the heartland of Peruvian wine production, it is one of those off-the-beaten-track wine destinations. Tacama claims to be the oldest active vineyard in the New World, set up in the 1540s by Francisco de Carabantes. It is also one of Peru’s most visited wineries, along with nearby Intipalka. There are also a host of smaller wineries in Ica too, and a growing scene of natural wine producers here including Bodega Murga and Mimo.

Read more about Ica in our ultimate guide to wine in Ica

December 10, 2022 0 comment

Featured Argentina Featured Wineries Uco Valley Wineries

Bemberg Estate Wines

by Agustina Abal March 26, 2022

written by Agustina Abal

Bemberg Estate Wines is the luxury winery and portfolio of the Bemberg family in Argentina, focused on single terroir wines from around their best estates in Argentina. The winery is in Gualtallary in the Uco Valley.

About Bemberg Estate Wines

When the Bemberg family bought the Peñaflor group of wineries in 2011, winemaker Daniel Pi began making a few wines especially for the family. From their 3,500 hectares of vineyards around the country, Pi would select the very best plots to make a handful of vinous gems. It is still this concept that is at the heart of this fine wine endeavour — showcasing their most distinctive vineyards and terroir expressions.

The stunning boutique winery is set within their estate in Gualtallary, but a taste through Bemberg is a terroir tour of Argentina: four Malbecs from Gualtallary, La Consulta, Pedernal and Chañar Punco; Cabernet Sauvignon from Cafayate; and a Chardonnay and a very classy Bordeaux-blend from Gualtallary. These Bemberg wines are the crème de la crème of one of Argentina’s leading wine families.

March 26, 2022 0 comment

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