The spaniards found in Mendoza the best conditions for growing grapes, which then spread to all Cuyo, through a prodution method called Creole. After finishing the wine, it was moved to other cities. Such was the growth of the vitiviniculture that in the 16 century emerged the first 10 wineries, that together have a capacity to produce 130,000 liters and were estimated an planted area of 20 hectares in 17 century.
As mentioned above, until the 19th century, was used for wine production the “creole method” consisted of a crude drawing of a domestic nature and helped by homemade tools made of leather. Production of existing wineries plus domestic production led at that time, produced 400,000 liters of wine and 70 ha. planted vineyards.
Consequently, soon began to produce a surplus to be sold outside the region, for which it was necessary to consolidate the routes for which the product would be moved. Progress also generated the expansion of the activity, new wineries were installed in the province but in this opportunity with modern and advanced systems of production.
After the independence with Spain, the conditions were generated to overcome the limits imposed by the metropolis, in the regional economic development. A new economic and social model was created from which the industry reached extraordinary levels of production and turned Mendoza into a world power, but at the same time arose questions around the identity of the wine produced, due to the strong european influence that characterized it.
Two major crises affected the wine industry in Mendoza. The first was during the dictatorship of Rosas in 1930 that generated large problems of stock accumulation and falling of prices, which forced the government to intervene through the nationalization of Giol cellar and the creation of a technical body to regulate the activity. In 1970 began the second great crisis that led to the ruin of renowned wineries as Arizu, Gargantini and more.
Between the late 80s and early 90s, a new era began in the Mendoza wine industry. Older immigrants winemakers, were replaced by new entrepreneurs, domestic and foreign. In 2003, 20 groups invested $145 million in Wineries of Mendoza and in 2002 Argentina exported wines by U$S150 million, unprecedented in the nation’s history.
