San Pablo in the Uco Valley is now officially Argentina’s newest GI (Identificación Geográfica, IG in Spanish) with the San Pablo GI approved earlier this month. Vineyards of Salentein, Zuccardi and Tapiz are included within the 510 hectares of vines currently planted in the San Pablo IG area.
Spearheaded by these three wineries, the application for the GI took four years to reach approval by the INV.
Characteristics of San Pablo GI
Ranging from 1,100 metres to 1,700 metres altitude, the San Pablo GI is one of the cooler sub-regions of Mendoza and the Uco Valley.
The region is part of an ancient alluvial fan and the vineyards are planted on sandy-loam soils of alluvial origin with a high pebble content with some calcareous material.
Wineries with vineyards in San Pablo include Salentein (300 hectares), Zuccardi (35 hectares), Bodegas Tapiz (452 hectares).
There are a wide range of grape varieties planted with San Pablo, including white wines of Chardonnay, Verdejo and Sauvignon Blanc, as well as many red wines including Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir.
The boundaries of the GI are defined by:
- 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
