Patagonia IG

Patagonia is a name that covers a lot of ground. The INV recognised it in Resolution C.37/2002, and a label can read Patagonia or Patagonia Argentina. The synonym Patagonia Argentina dates from 2009, and a 2022 INV resolution confirmed that either form works, after years of argument over a trademark on the word that a court voided in 2014.

In the INV's 2025 figures Neuquén has 1,507.6 hectares, Río Negro 1,259.8, La Pampa 321.6 and Chubut 122.0. The northern valleys share a dry climate, little rain and a wide swing between day and night temperatures. The main hubs are San Patricio del Chañar and Añelo in Neuquén and the Alto Valle around General Roca in Río Negro. Producers working in the territory include Bodega del Fin del Mundo, Familia Schroeder and Malma in Neuquén, Humberto Canale, Chacra and Noemía in Río Negro, and Otronia and Casa Yagüe in Chubut. La Pampa has no IG of its own, so its vineyards on the Colorado river, mostly in Puelén department (306.2 hectares), use Patagonia as their only IG.

Because the name is so broad, I look at what sits underneath it: the province, then the valley, then the narrower IG. A Pinot Noir from the Alto Valle and a Chardonnay from Chubut share the cold and little else. I'm looking for acidity that holds the fruit up and alcohol that stays in check.