Is Argentina becoming the next Australia?

Over a decade ago the guiding entities in the Australian wine industry made a decision that the sweet spot for their product was to have the wine in the bottle and out to retailers worldwide under $10, in many cases way under $10. It has been and remains a disastrous decision for wine exports from Australia. The only producers that can flourish are the ones that produce the cheap and cheap tasting wines adorned with animal labels from tails to eyes.

The lackluster quality of these wines that are sent from Australia to inundate every grocery store shelf in the land has caused the rest of the industry in Australia to shrink and leave producers of some really good “Aussie” wine wanting for importers. As consumers continue to turn away from the not so good wines it seems as a whole they are painting all wines from down under with the same broad brush. It has made Australian wine one of the toughest sells in the industry.

Following several tough vintages and a proliferation of Argentinian Malbec that seems to all taste the same Argentina may indeed becoming the next Australia! Sameness across the broad spectrum of wine from any country of origin is never good, it causes boredom with the category and while favorites will always have their customers in general wine consumers like to try new things. Not only new wines but different tasting wines too. It is a rare wine enthusiast that craves the same flavors all the time, most of us enjoy a bit of differentiation along our wine journey.

This is where Argentina now finds itself. There is just too much Malbec coming from there that could all be from the same producer with the same approach leading to wines that taste strikingly similar across the board. It is not the entire continent though one need only look across the Andes to Chile or north to Uruguay to find some very innovative winemakers and some great wine.

In both Chile and Uruguay, albeit a much smaller production level, you are finding the aforementioned innovation but also a varied approach to varietal selection. While all we are seeing from Argentina seems to be Malbec and more Malbec, with an occasional smattering of Malbec based blends from Chile and Uruguay there is a large mix. Tanat, Carmenere, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, and many vineyard designates of these varieties abound. It seems the biggest challenge with wines from both spots is being able to secure them on a regular basis. They are so popular in fact that we are looking for 4-5 wines from either country for each one we secure.

The situation is similar at the distributor level which in many ways can drive or restrict what we carry on the retail side. For every really cool and delicious Chilean wine we taste we are shown more than 5 nearly identically tasting Malbecs from Argentina. While we tried to not be bored with the category it is a challenge. We simply do not need nor do we have the consumer demand for all that Malbec.

Are there good and in some cases very good wine making it to the States from Argentina? Of course. There are not enough though and the sheer volume of the wine coming from Argentina now makes mining of those great wines all the more challenging.

The wine industry in Argentina is by no means doomed. They still have ample time to turn away from the business model that was so disastrous for Australia. Caution is required though. A few more years of seeing the same slew of indistinguishable Malbec and we may be categorizing the wines from both places as the “A” wines. No other information needed.

If there is a topic you would like to read about or if you have questions on wine, you can email George@thedinnerpartyshop.com, or make suggestions by contacting the Healthy Community section at the Coeur d’Alene Press.

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George Balling is co-owner (with his wife Mary Lancaster) of the dinner party, a wine and table top décor shop located by Costco in Coeur d’Alene. George worked as a judge in many wine competitions, and his articles are published around the country. You can learn more about the dinner party at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com. Be sure and check out our weekly blog at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com/home/blog-2. You can get all of these articles as well as other great wine tips by friending us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop.