Planting and Growing Grapes

PLANTING and Growing the grapes in the right environment. Not the easiest fruit to plant, grapevines are known as erratic though after taking root tend to grow tolerably. Certain varietals will take root more easily in a terroir with clay soil over a terroir with sandy soil, and planters must keep this in mind.

Wine’s flavor not only comes from the type of grape, but also from the terroir, a French term for climate factors such as sun exposure, wind patterns, weather, soil quality, and topography that influence the wine, giving wine its unique characteristics (see Wine 101 section).

Wine’s flavors also change depending on if the winemakers put in any additives, which modify the wine, or how long the wine is aged for in new versus old or European versus North American oak. There are many different flavor compounds in wine that emerge once fermented such as pyrazines, which create vegetal flavors, or terpenes, which create fruity flavors and floral aromas in wine.

Argentina has ideal terroirs for many grapes, notably Malbec and Torrontes (see the Red Wine Varietals and White Wine Varietals sections respectively). If the grapes grow in poor conditions, the wine will have poor quality; however, what defines poor conditions varies greatly from one grape variety to another. 

Malbec and Torrontes clearly achieve greater expressions in high altitude, dry, sun-soaked climates where few pests live and fresh water irrigation is abundant. Malbec and Torrontes like Argentina, Shiraz likes Australia, Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris like Oregon, and so on and so forth.

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