Torrontés Riojano

The white grape variety originates from South America (Argentina) and belongs to the group of the so-called Criollas (see there the history in detail). Synonyms are Malvasia, Torrontél, Torrontél Riojano and Torrontés. Despite seemingly suggestive synonyms or morphological similarities, it must not be confused with the varieties Moscatel Amarillo, Muscat Blanc, Torrontés Mendocino or Torrontés Sanjuanino (same parents). According to DNA analyses carried out in 2018, it is a presumably natural cross between Criolla Chica (Listán Prieto) x Muscat d'Alexandrie.

The early-maturing, high-yielding vine is susceptible to botrytis and downy mildew. It produces highly aromatic, acidic white wines with a pronounced muscat tone and slightly bitter aftertaste, as well as ageing potential. These are usually used as blends with neutral-tasting varieties such as Pinot Gris. Torrontés Riojano is the most important of the three Torrontés varieties grown in Argentina. It was first mentioned in 1861 in the province of La Rioja, as well as Mendoza, Río Negro and San Juan, where it is still widely grown today. In Argentina, it is cultivated on a total of 8,208 hectares of vineyards. There are also further stocks in the countries of Chile (643 ha), Peru (8 ha) and Uruguay. In 2016, a total of 8,859 hectares of vineyards were designated. It is thus ranked 79th in the global grape variety ranking.

Source: Wine Grapes / J. Robinson, J. Harding, J. Vouillamoz / Penguin Books Ltd. 2012

Voices of our members

Serious sources on the internet are rare - and Wine lexicon from wein.plus is one such source. When researching for my articles, I regularly consult the wein.plus encyclopaedia. There I get reliable and detailed information.
Thomas Götz
Weinberater, Weinblogger und Journalist; Schwendi

Welcome back!

Torrontés Riojano

Voices of our members

The world's largest Lexicon of wine terms.

EVENTS NEAR YOU