Torrontés is a white

grape variety This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...

, mostly produced and known in

Argentine wine Argentina is the fifth largest producer of wine in the world.H. Johnson & J. Robinson ''The World Atlas of Wine'' pg 300-301 Mitchell Beazley Publishing 2005 Argentine wine, as with some aspects of Argentine cuisine, has its roots in Spain. Dur ...

, producing fresh,

aromatic In chemistry, aromaticity is a chemical property of cyclic ( ring-shaped), ''typically'' planar (flat) molecular structures with pi bonds in resonance (those containing delocalized electrons) that gives increased stability compared to satur ...

wines with moderate

acidity In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a ...

, smooth texture and

mouthfeel Mouthfeel refers to the physical sensations in the mouth caused by food or drink, making it distinct from taste. It is a fundamental sensory attribute which, along with taste and smell, determines the overall flavor of a food item. Mouthfeel ...

as well as distinctive peach and apricot aromas on the nose.Robinson, Jancis ''Vines, Grapes & Wines'' pg 47, 246 Mitchell Beazley 1986 Three Torrontés varieties exist in Argentina: Torrontés Riojano, the most common, Torrontés Sanjuanino, and Torrontés Mendocino. It is primarily Torrontés Riojano that has received attention for the quality of its wines, and is the variety used for most Argentine wines simply labeled Torrontés.J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes'' pg 187-188 Oxford University Press 1996 The three grapes are relatively similar but do have some noticeable differences. Torrontés Riojano and Torrontés Sanjuanino both tend to have large loose bunches of pale grapes while Torrontés Mendocino, however, has smaller, tighter bunches of darker yellow grapes. Torrontés Riojano is the most aromatic of the three, with aromas reminiscent of

Muscat Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was ...

and Gewürtztraminer wines. The least aromatic, and least widely planted, is Torrontés Mendocino with the aromatics and plantings of Torrontés Sanjuanino falling in between.Oz Clarke ''Encyclopedia of Grapes'' pg 267 Harcourt Books 2001 All three Argentine Torrontés varieties belong to the '' Criollas'' group of grape varieties, which is a term used for presumably American-born

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s of the European grapevine ''

Vitis vinifera ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran. There are curr ...

''.J. Robinson (ed) ''The Oxford Companion to Wine'' Third Edition, Oxford University Press 2006, pg. 703, Around in Argentina have been planted with Torrontés Riojano, and with Torrontés Sanjuanino. Plantings in the very high altitudes (1700m+) of the Calchaquíes Valleys in the far north of Argentina have recently met with success. The vine is highly productive and is just under ten percent of all white grape plantings, however as a

varietal A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...

, it made up almost 20 percent of all white wine sold in Argentina in 2008. The

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...

region in northwest Argentina is particularly noted for its Torrontés as the grape thrives in cold dry, windswept conditions.

History and relation to other grapes

Recent research using DNA profiling has shown that the different Torrontés are genetically closely related but distinct grape varieties, and that Torrontés Riojano, Torrontés Sanjuanino, and Torontel (also known as Moscatel Amarillo) are all separate crossings of

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

(originally reported as Criolla Chica) and

Muscat of Alexandria Muscat of Alexandria is a white wine grape that is a member of the Muscat family of ''Vitis vinifera''. It is considered an "ancient vine", and wine experts believe it is one of the oldest genetically unmodified vines still in existence.J. Robi ...

.Torrontes Riojano

Vitis International Variety Catalogue The Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) is a database of various species and varieties/cultivars of grapevine, the genus ''Vitis''. VIVC is administered by the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding (''Institut für Rebenzüchtung Gei ...

, accessed 2010-07-14Torrontes Sanjuanino

, accessed 2010-07-14Torontel

, accessed 2010-07-14 Torrontés Mendocino was found to probably be a crossing of Muscat of Alexandria and another, so far unidentified grape variety.Torrontes Mendocino

, accessed 2010-07-14 While the

-like qualities of the Torrontés varieties meant that a relationship to Muscat of Alexandria had been expected, the presence of Mission or Criolla Chica in the pedigree was unexpected to the researchers. For many years it was believed that the Torrontés of South America was the same variety as the Torrontés grape from Galicia in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, also known as

Albillo Albillo or Albillo Real is a white Spanish wine grape varietyAlbillo Real
,

Indeed, even wine expert Jancis Robinson, noted as much in her 1986 book on the world's grape varieties. However, recent DNA evidence shows that there is probably no direct relationship between the Argentine and Spanish Torrontés varietiesAlbillo Mayor

, accessed 2010-07-14 and more recent editions of Robinson's wine books acknowledge the new findings. There is also a less common red wine grape called Torrontés, which is also known under the synonyms Tarrantes and Turrundos.

Wine regions

Torrontés is grown throughout Argentina and its acreage is steadily increasing. Part of its increase in numbers comes from the increase in Argentine wine exportation where the grape has found considerable success in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and abroad but also from a better understanding and identification of the different Torrontés varieties that allow for better accounting of plantings. For most of its history (including into the late 20th century) Torrontés lagged behind Pedro Giménez and Ugni blanc among white grape varieties in Argentina. But by the early 21st century, declining plantings in those two varieties and the growing popularity of Torrontés allowed it to surpass them and become Argentina's most widely planted white variety where it continued to be as of 2008. The different Torrontés varieties have developed niche in different areas of Argentina. Torrontés Riojano is widely grown in the

La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous community and province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, an ...

and Salta provinces of northern Argentina and is, in fact, the single most widely planted variety (both red and white) in La Rioja. In Salta, the grape is often planted in high altitude, sandy vineyards that are often more than above sea level. Here, the harsh growing conditions allow the variety to attain high acidity and assertive flavors. In the arid San Juan province, Torrontés Sanjuanino is found but is planted to a much less significant amount than Torrontés Riojano. Torrontés Mendocino is, by far, the least widely planted variety and is mostly found in the southern province of Rio Negro.

Outside of Argentina

Torrontés is grown in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. However, the exact number of plantings (and of which variety) are not completely known. In 1996, Jancis Robinson noted that there were several hundred

hectares The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...

of ''Torontel'' grown but that some of these plantings may actually be the Galician variety. Additionally, Torrontés is known in Chile often under the synonym ''Moscatel de Austria'', which is believed to be Torrontés Sanjuanino. According to wine expert

Oz Clarke Robert Owen Clarke (born 1949), known as Oz Clarke, is a British wine writer, actor, television presenter and broadcaster. Early life Clarke's parents were a chest physician and a nursing sister. He is of Irish descent and was brought up Roman ...

, most plantings of Torrontés in Chile are Torrontés Riojano and the grape is primarily used in the production of the Chilean brandy, ''

pisco Pisco is a colorless or yellowish-to-amber colored brandy produced in winemaking regions of Peru and Chile. Made by distilling fermented grape juice into a high-proof spirit, it was developed by 16th-century Spanish settlers as an alternative ...

''. Torrontes is also grown in

Samaipata Samaipata may refer to: *Samaipata, Bolivia *El Fuerte de Samaipata El Fuerte de Samaipata or Fort Samaipata, also known simply as "El Fuerte", is a Pre-Columbian archaeological site and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Florida Province, Sa ...

, Bolivia.

Spanish Torrontés

While DNA evidence shows that there is probably no relationship between the Galician variety of Torrontés and the South American variety, consumers may still see Spanish wine labeled as Torrontés from the Galician wine region of Ribeiro as well as other '' Denominación de Origen'' such as the

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. the island had a population of that ...

of the Canary Islands (most likely the

Terrantez Terrantez (also known as ''Cascal''Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) Terrantez'' Accessed: August 16th, 2012) is a white Portuguese wine grape variety that was once widely used on the island of Madeira to make the sweet fortified wi ...

variety of Madeira),

Montilla-Moriles Montilla-Moriles is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) for wines located in the southern part of the province of Córdoba (Andalusia, Spain). It is bounded by the river Genil to the east, by the river Guadajoz to the west, by th ...

and

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

Wine style

According to wine expert Jancis Robinson, Torrontés has the capability of producing wines of high quality, but its success is dependent on the skill and care of the

winemaking Winemaking or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. The science of wine and ...

process, particularly in maintaining suitable acid levels to balance the wine. At its most ideal, Robinson notes, Torrontés are ''"wines for early drinking that are not too heavy, are high in acidity, and are intriguingly aromatic in a way reminiscent of but not identical to

."'' But poorer made examples can come across as bitter and excessively alcoholic. Wine expert Oz Clarke, also notes the dependency on careful vinification for the quality of Torrontés but also notes that the size of the harvest yield can also play a substantial role. While the aroma of Torrontés is often associated with Muscat, Clarke notes that many examples can be very similar to Gewürztraminer with subtle spice notes mixed with the floral bouquet of the wine. Clarke also notes that the wine tends not to age very well and is often consumed within a year of its

vintage Vintage, in winemaking, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product—wine (see Harvest (wine)). A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certa ...

date.

Synonyms

The three Argentine Torrontés varieties are known under the following names: * Torrontés Riojano is also known as Malvasia (cf.

malvasia Malvasia (, also known as Malvazia) is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands and the island of Madeira, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world. ...

), Torrontel, and Torrontel Riojano. * Torrontés Sanjuanino is also known as Moscatel Romano, Moscatel Sanjuanino, and Torrontel. * Torrontés Mendocino is also known as Chichera, Loca Blanca, Palet, Torrontel, Uva Chichera and Torrontés Mendozino. In Chile, the variety is also known as Torontel and Moscatel de Austria.

References

{{wines White wine grape varieties Argentine wine