Salta

The INV places the oldest vineyards still recorded in Argentina in Salta, dating them to 1862. It distinguishes two kinds of viticulture in the north-west: an older one in La Rioja and Catamarca and a newer one in Salta, Tucumán and Jujuy. Salta's vineyard area grew by 24.5% between 2014 and 2023, from 3,051 to 3,798 ha, while La Rioja's shrank; in the region as a whole, 50.5% of the vines in 2023 had been planted after 2000. Wines of Argentina's national timeline dates the arrival of Vitis vinifera with Spanish colonisers to 1551, but neither source gives a separate colonial date for Salta. The Calchaquí Valleys, Cafayate and the other provincial names are recognised as geographical indications under Law 25.163.

North-western viticulture lies in Andean valleys with enough water for irrigation, between 23° and 29° S; in places vineyards exceed 3,300 m. In Salta most vines are in the Calchaquí Valleys, a landscape the province shares with Tafí del Valle in Tucumán and Santa María in Catamarca. Wines of Argentina gives the province a mean annual temperature of 15 °C, 203 mm of rain and vineyards at 1,530-3,111 m. Cafayate, the main valley and wine centre, holds 60% of the vineyards of the Calchaquí Valleys and 75% of Salta's area (2,720 ha in 2021); it has 186 mm of rain, a mean of 16.2 °C and vineyards at 1,500-2,020 m. Its soils are sandy loams of coarse grains with gravel and fine sand at the surface, over finer sand and round stones. Cafayate is a focused origin inside the province, not a synonym for every Salta vineyard.

Wines of Argentina describes the wines of the north-west as showing a strong influence of terroir, marked above all by altitude, and great varietal character. It names Malbec as the most planted variety in the region and Torrontés as its emblem. The INV notes that Valles Calchaquíes was the north-western IG with the highest export value in 2023, at a higher average price per litre than Valles del Famatina in La Rioja. Neither body publishes a sensory description specific to Salta.

The province's IGs are Salta, Cafayate or Valle de Cafayate, Cachi, Molinos and San Carlos, all within the interprovincial Valles Calchaquíes IG. In 2021 red grapes covered 69.9% of the area, white 28.7% and pink 1.4%. The main varieties were Malbec (1,646.6 ha, 45.7%), Torrontés Riojano (896.9 ha, 24.9%), Cabernet Sauvignon (469.9 ha), Tannat (135.5 ha) and Merlot (52.1 ha). Exports of IG wine from the north-west in 2023 went mainly to the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark and Canada. Provincial and valley names indicate different geographic scales on labels.