Argentina's Criollas, not to be overlooked

A selection of Criolla wines from Argentina

An under-appreciated and significant resource in Argentine vineyards investigated.

I recently co-hosted an intriguing webinar and tasting for Wines of Argentina with their UK ambassador Phil Crozier and Jorge Prieto of the INTA, Argentina’s Agricultural Technology Institute. We were discussing the research carried out by Prieto and his team into the Criolla varieties in Argentina and their considerable genetic diversity.

Criolla is the name given to the family of varieties that are crossings of the first grapes that arrived with Spanish missionaries in Argentina in the 1500s. Most famous of these in Argentina is Torrontés, Argentina’s signature white variety. Other...