Political instability affecting French winemakers in Argentina

(Decanter) - Political instability in Argentina is pushing up production costs for French winemakers based in the country, prompting questions over the rationale for making wine there.

Vincent Wallard, co-owner of Terroir restaurant in London, has just left Argentina after six years of making wine in Maipu, south of Mendoza, to move to the Loire valley, where he will begin making a wine in Bourgueil.

‘Making a wine in South America was initially fairly simple compared to France,’ Wallard told decanter.com, ‘as I was able to do things like buy grapes from different regions and vinify in one cellar, which is not allowed in most French AOCs. 

'But the hyper-inflation over the past three years has meant it now costs three times as much to make wine there as it did in 2010. Things are getting more complicated all the time, so I am shifting my South American base to the Limari Valley in Chile, which is politically more stable.’

Under President Cristina Kirchner, Argentina has been experimenting with currency controls, and export controls. 

Official figures for inflation are around 10.8% for 2013, while most economists estimate the real figure to be closer to 30% (in February 2013, the International Monetary Fund said the country had to give more accurate inflation figures or risk expulsion).