EXTREME WINE PROJECTS
This wine’s from where?!...
Three adventurous winemakers are braving unlikely regions – from French Polynesia and Patagonia to Sweden and Iran – to prove that some grapes can thrive against the odds
Otronia
ARGENTINIAN PATAGONIA
Patagonia is itself extreme. The claw-like peninsula that unites Chile and Argentina at the fin del mundo (‘end of the world’), Patagonia remains one of the sparsest-populated regions on the planet. Its pervasive climate, dramatic beauty and remote nature has made it the subject of adventures and pioneering tales for centuries. South America’s winemakers don’t lack thirst for adventure, either, and their pioneering projects in Patagonia make extreme viticulture feel like a sport.
Aurelio Montes’ new vineyard in the watery archipelago of Chiloé, a remote set of islands better known for whale-watching, is only reached by boat or air, while Fernando Alameda’s new project in Chile Chico breaks all records for southerly viticulture at 46° south. On the Argentinian side of the border, new vineyards in Chubut province extend east from the Andean foothills to the coast. One in Bahia Bustamante has water lapping at its feet and rheas, penguins and sea lions as companions. These are just a handful of the extreme vineyards that are set to see fruit in the coming vintages.
FEROCIOUS WINDS
One intrepid project, though, is already seeing results, and they are nothing short of thrilling. Otronia is currently the world’s southernmost commercial vineyard and winery, at 45°33 south, beating all the vineyards of Central Otago in New Zealand. But it isn’t just the latitude that makes this 51ha vineyard at Sarmiento in the steppes of Argentinian Patagonia extreme. The winds here can hurtle through at above 100kph.
Extreme projects such as Otronia – in the far south of Chubut – require guts and, let’s be honest, money. The man with both is Argentinian billionaire and oil magnate Alejandro Bulgheroni. His dream team of consultants – soil and terroir expert Pedro Parra and oenologist-producer Alberto Antonini – were sceptical when he asked them to plant there in 2011. But the vines not only survived, they surpassed all expectations.
‘Otronia’s terroir is extreme in many ways,’ explains winemaker Juan Pablo Murgia, who also manages Bulgheroni’s estate in Mendoza, Bodega Argento, some 2,000km away. ‘Our average annual temperature is just 11.5°C. We’re also in the heart of Patagonia, and winds sweep through with ferocity and frequency.’
Frost protection has been a
