They say necessity is the mother of invention, and it has certainly been the impetus behind a wave of technological advancements in Argentine vineyards and cellars, reports Amanda Barnes.
Argentina’s economy has long been defined by crisis and volatility – from chronic inflation to import restrictions. Yet, in spite of these barriers, the country’s winemakers have forged a unique path to technological innovation, shaped more by ingenuity than access.
Since the early 2000s, the global wine industry has embraced a wave of sophisticated technology across viticulture, winemaking and business operations. But Argentina was largely left out of this boom. Import restrictions, foreign currency controls and a highly politicised system made access to international equipment difficult and expensive.
In many cases, producers were required to offset imports by exporting goods of equal or greater value. Layered atop chronic inflation, economic crises and the pandemic, the situation significantly hindered the nation’s technological development.
“As well as limited imported equipment, we have also had a deficit in education due to a lack of resources,” explains Rodrigo Serrano, head winemaker at Domaine Bousquet. “It is a major challenge to find and train workers in the vineyard and winery. Regardless of how much you can mechanise processes in the future, it is still passionate and knowledgeable people who are fundamental to success.”
Domestic innovation
Yet these restraints have also catalysed domestic innovation. Doña Paula’s head viticulturist Martin Kaiser, for example, was inspired by pruning machines he saw while travelling in Australia, but was unable to import them into Argentina. Instead, he worked with his team and local engineers to create their own. “It can prune around one-and-a-half hectares a day,” says Kaiser, who continues to make fine adjustments to the technology. “It is great for reducing vineyard costs.”
The Doña Paula team also invented a vaporiser to combat ants’ nests – a major challenge in Mendoza’s vineyards. The vaporiser works as an alternative to agrochemicals and is in line with organic regulations. “Sometimes it is because the technology doesn’t exist,” explains Kaiser. “Other times, we simply can’t access it here. So we invent it.”
Cryptocurrency leader
However, there is one area of technology in which Argentina has emerged a global leader: blockchain and cryptocurrency. Driven in part by the instability of the Argentine peso, the country has become one of the highest adopters of cryptocurrency worldwide, and a regional hub for blockchain development. In 2018, Costaflores Organic Vineyard in Mendoza became the first winery in the world to launch a wine-backed crypto asset. Each bottle of wine from that vintage was tied to an MTB token, creating a transparent and tradeable product.
Founder Mike Tango Bravo also pioneered the use of blockchain for operational transparency, launching OpenVino. The open-source platform records every vineyard, winery and distribution process on the blockchain – from the temperature readings in the fermentation tanks in the winery and sensors in the vineyard, to detailing every payroll and sales transaction.
The project has since been studied by academic institutions, and elements are under trial by Argentina’s National Viticulture Institute and multiple other wineries in the country.
Some producers have launched direct-to-consumer ecommerce platforms that integrate digital wallets and stablecoin payments. This not only helps sidestep the volatile peso, but also gives wineries greater control over margins.
Open markets
In December 2023, everything changed. The election of President Javier Milei marked a sharp economic shift. The ultra-liberal politician quickly lifted trade restrictions and opened Argentina’s economy to international imports.
For winemakers, this represented a long-awaited opportunity.
“Although we have previously experienced limitations on importing new technology, given the challenging economic climate in Argentina, the situation has improved significantly more recently,” explains Hervé Joyaux Fabre, owner and head winemaker of Viñalba in Mendoza. The Bordeaux native, who moved to Argentina in the early 1990s, adds that, under the current regime, “we now have greater access to innovative equipment and technology from abroad”.
Fabre has been quick to swap older tools for contemporary technology in the vineyard. “We’ve been replacing tractors for more modern alternatives to increase efficiency,” he explains, adding that his latest addition is a tool that has swapped wheels for wings. “We regularly use drones to check that our vines remain healthy – if some plots need more water or fertilisation, aerial photos allow us to react swiftly.”
Aerial imagery
Meanwhile, at Doña Paula, Kaiser is also using aerial imagery, in combination with AI, to predict the precise water needs of the vineyard. “Using past records in combination with future predictions, we have a tool that adapts the irrigation per plot based on the soil type and water retention,” he explains. “It’s much more efficient and protects our scarce water resources.”
Guillermina van Houten at Catena Zapata outlines the producer’s layered approach in using a combination of technology for vineyard analysis. “We integrate multiple layers of information from drones, satellite imagery, field measurements and detailed soil studies (soil augers and soil pits), using Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to accurately delineate vineyard parcels,” she explains.
She adds that it gives the winemaking team greater understanding of the specificities of each plot: “This approach allows us to better understand the complexity of the terroir and its influence on vine performance. As a result, we can harvest each parcel separately and carry out microvinifications to evaluate quality and identify unique wines.”
Bag in box tech
In the winery, Domaine Bousquet was an early adopter of advanced equipment, having imported Argentina’s first optical sorter – even before the restrictions were lifted. Now, with the greater ease of imports, the winery is looking to its next big technological investment – the latest bag-in-box (BiB) system.
“We are really happy with how sustainable bag-in-box technology is, and sales of BiBs have gone very well for us in Europe,” explains Serrano, adding that bag-in-box wines rely heavily on fool-proof technology. “We have been studying the best machines and last year travelled to Italy for a research trip to learn more about the latest machines. Now we are building a new wing in the winery to be able to install the latest technology and take advantage of this to transition to packaging our most premium wines in bag-in-box too.”
Another winery that was an early investor in optical sorting machines is Achaval Ferrer, where head winemaker Gustavo Rearte is also using new technology for his fermentations in the winery. “Automated pumps and peristaltic pumping systems allow us to continue this gentle treatment of the must during fermentation,” he explains. “Our barrel rooms and tanks also use auto-controlled temperature systems.”
Poll position: Argentina changed its fate when it elected Javier Milei as President
Artificial intelligence in marketing
Furthermore, Achaval Ferrer has been employing AI in its marketing.
“Marketing is an area where AI has really made an impact,” explains Rearte. “We’ve used AI to design more relevant labels, ensuring our messaging better resonates with audiences and aligns with the brand vision.” Bousquet has employed AI for design and content creation, and also for analysing commercial performance.
At Trivento, a tech-integrated approach is already firmly in place. “QR codes in our production facilities identify and track barrels, vats and tanks,” explains PR & communication manager Victoria Acosta, adding that the team also developed their own mobile app to monitor operational tasks. “We use augmented reality to overlay virtual information and verify on-site data such as condition, material, type, capacity, structure, function, toasting level and even the year of acquisition, among other features. This allows us to streamline not only operations, but also real-time inventory control of supplies, wine movements and work orders.”
In the future, Trivento plans to implement blockchain technology for greater traceability, and is currently launching new QR codes on its labels that allow users to create their own tasting profiles for wines, which will soon be complemented by an AI sommelier service.
Tech meets terroir
Despite the excitement around drones, sensors and apps, perhaps the most important investment today lies in understanding terroir. Across Argentina, wineries are undertaking soil, climate and geological studies in both old and new vineyards in order to define what makes their vineyards and wines unique.
“The most important technology of today is research into terroir, into soil, climate and plant genetic material,” says Laura Catena, owner of Catena Zapata and founder of the Catena Institute of Wine. “At the Catena Institute, we are able to undertake the kind of detailed terroir research that is very difficult to do in other countries due to cost constraints.”
Part of the latest genetic research that the Catena Institute has been undertaking is a large-scale massal selection preservation project, and the 1,001 Vines Project, which catalogues hundreds of cuttings from old, often centenarian vineyards.
Argentina’s massal selections – which account for 90% of its vineyards, compared to the average of 5% in France – are one of the greatest assets in Argentine viticulture, but also one of the most at risk.
“In Argentina, we have the luxury of having preserved all this genetic diversity, mostly because the clonal technological revolution never made it to Argentina in the 1950s due to geopolitical issues,” explains Catena. “Today, I think that it was a blessing that we remained isolated, because all that genetic diversity was preserved and, today, we can continue to preserve it.
“In France, this kind of work is done by the government, but at Catena we have decided to do it ourselves, because the government is either taking too long to do it – or not doing it at all.”
That producer-led spirit extends to biodiversity and sustainability initiatives, which have become a growing focal point for producers throughout the country. “Some of our key projects include biodiversity studies on arthropods and ants, floral cover cropping to support beneficial insects, and carbon balance assessments,” explains Lucía Romero, global export manager at Grupo Avinea, which is soon to launch Viña Artesana with a series of wines named after the flora found in the vineyard. “All data is openly shared via the Matriz Viva platform, fostering transparency and industry collaboration.”
Innovation born from adversity
Whether driven by scarcity or by a deep-rooted spirit of resilience, Argentina’s ingenuity has become a defining strength of its wine industry. From pioneering blockchain-backed wine traceability to developing home-grown vineyard machinery, Argentine winemakers have consistently found ways to leapfrog conventional development paths. What sets Argentina apart is not just its adaptability, but its collaborative ethos. From terroir and biodiversity research at the Catena Institute and Matriz Viva to open-source platforms such as OpenVino, the willingness to share knowledge and data has supercharged industry-wide progress.
Indeed, this culture of openness – both technological and human – could become Argentina’s key competitive advantage in a global wine market hungry for transparency, authenticity and innovation.
While upcoming elections may cast fresh uncertainty over economic policy and the future of open trade, one thing is certain: Argentina’s winemakers have shown that, when access is limited, they invent – and when opportunity knocks, they leap.
Dining and Cooking