Calingasta IG

Calingasta sits closer to Uspallata in Mendoza than to San Juan city. It's a dry, high desert valley with about 80 millimetres of rain a year, mostly in summer. The daily temperature swing can reach 24°C, which raises the frost risk. Soils are stony and there isn't much clay.

It's small and growing. The INV counted 253.9 hectares at the end of 2025, and Calingasta is the only San Juan department that has gained real vineyard area since 2016, about 130 hectares. A 2023 count of 218 hectares put Malbec at roughly 132 and Cabernet Sauvignon at 35, with reds at 191 hectares overall.

Cara Sur, started in 2011 by Sebastián Zuccardi, Marcela Manini, Pancho Bugallo and Nuria Añó, works old vines around Barreal and Hilario. Alta Bonanza de los Andes in Sorocayense and Entre Tapias in Barreal are two more producers. Since 2023 three more areas, Hilario, Sorocayense and Tamberías, can go on the label, and I'd look for them alongside Barreal.