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Varietal: Chenin Blanc
Incredibly dexterous, Chenin Blanc is capable of producing a wide range of styles from lusciously sweet to bone dry and sparkling to still. Indigenous to the Loire valley in France, some of the most popular sub regions include Savennières (exclusively dry), Vouvray, Montlouis, and Coteaux du Layon who's villages, Quarts de Chaume and Bonnezeaux make, when the weather permits, some of the finest dessert wines. In it's new home, in South Africa, it has taken over as the most planted varietal accounting for nearly a fifth the area under vines in the whole country and double what is grown in France. It may not retain its wet wool and honeyed aroma but its naturally high acidity is a saving grace for the countries hot Mediterranean climate.
Country: Argentina
A source of great value wines, whether they're for everyday drinking or laying down. Malbec has taken off as the predominant red wine grape variety, producing deeply colored fruity wines with good texture and weight. Bonarda, thought to have been brought over from the Savoie region of France is the second most popular variety. Almost exclusively produced in Argentina, Torrontés is the most popular white wine variety. The Cafayete Valley in Salta producing some of the finest examples which typically display distinctive floral aromas. Although a newcomer to the country with just a 1000 hectares in 1990, Chardonnay has taken off with great success and is now the third most popular white variety with 16,000 acres under vine (2012).
Region: Mendoza
Mendoza is Argentina’s most important wine region, responsible for two-thirds of the country’s overall wine production. Located on the eastern side of the Andes Mountains along the Chilean border, vineyards in Mendoza are grown in some of the highest altitudes in the world. Mendoza did not play a significant role in the wine industry until the late 19th century when an immigration trend brought large amounts of Southern Europeans with significant wine knowledge to the region. This elevated Mendoza to world-wide recognition and established it as the fifth largest wine region in the world.
While Malbec grows exceptionally well in this region, Mendoza in also known for producing Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Torrontés.
Sub-Region: San Rafael
Type: White
White wine is a wine whose color can be pale-yellow, yellow-green, and yellow-gold colored. The wine is produced from a variety of grape varieties. The flavor and color comes from the juice of the grape and sometimes the skin of the grape as well. Interestingly, not all white wine comes from white grapes. Some select red grapes are used as in Champagne.