Everyone associates Mendoza with its wineries and great viniculture, but over the years the bodegas have moved further and further away from the local culture and community. Gwynne Hogan looks into the past, present and future relationship between the local wineries and the local people.
For over a century wineries and wine consumption have been an integral part of Mendocinian life, however, the role that this industry plays is one that has changed dramatically over time. The first European immigrants to Mendoza brought with them generations of grape growing and wine making tradition and saw the land and climate Mendoza provided perfect for viniculture.
From 1887 to 1910, the amount of land dedicated to grape growing increased by 600% reaching than 30,000 hectors. Much of the 20th century was characterized by huge production of wine for domestic consumption. The possibility of exporting that product came as an afterthought, if of course, there was any wine left over.
Due to this history, it goes without saying that wine drinking and wineries have long been a powerful engine influencing local culture and economy. The harvest provided jobs for anyone in need and the queen of the harvest (Vendimia) was chosen among the pickers as the most industrious in the fields. Wine snuggled its way into the drinking habits of everyday life accompanying lunch and dinner, and the national religion of weekend asados (barbeques) demanded a big, busty Malbec to complement it.
But within the last ten years the face of wine culture has altered dramatically. An economic collapse in the early 2000's inspired winemakers from countries all over to take interest in Mendoza for the rock-bottom land and labour prices it offered. Foreign capital flowed in and elaborate new wineries popped up all over, often more extravagant than their older siblings. These new wineries employed international staff and winemakers, and tend to gear their products and services towards an international market. While transforming Mendoza into a global wine producer and tourism hotspot, it appears also to have distanced the local population from the heart of the industry. Winemaking, which had been 100% local—pickers, agronomists, winemakers, vineyard owners, caretakers, and of course, consumers — now found itself spiralling away from these roots. One concrete result is that many younger Mendocinians, have almost all but abandoned wine, preferring nationally produced (and terribly mediocre) beer, or the potent and medicinal liquor Fernet.
Besides changing the drinking habits of the younger generation, international focus on Mendoza has dug itself into the very heart of Mendocinan culture, highlighting the dramatic difference between haves and have-nots. Tourists and those earning in foreign currency on Argentine soil enjoy the 'divide by four' (or five, or six) equation that makes gourmet dining and outstanding wines daily commodities. A slur of top restaurants and pricy hotels are a testament to this fact. This lavish reality enjoyed by the passers-through hovers eminently above a less comfortable one that is lived daily by the grand majority of the local population, who struggle with the skyrocketing prices of basic items, who patch, rebuild and fix rather than buy, and whose humble savings every day feels like it is worth less and less. Popular graffiti offers a biting critique of these dual realities in which a butler bent over a suitcase is caught in a Kama-Sutra like pose with the suitcase's owner behind him.
Despite this divide, several small initiatives are underway that aim to (at least symbolically) combat it. The winery where I work, for example, recently provided a tour and tasting guided by the winemaker for a group of men working in the winery's vineyards. The afternoon ended in a champaña toast, winemaker and employees expressing mutual thanks for the work and dedication of the opposite party.
A more formal approach towards bridging the gap between tourist and local is underway in the government-affiliated Turismo Social, a program founded within the last year by tourism student Facundo Pardo as a project connected to his degree. The program offers Lujaninos free, guided tours of tourist attractions in Lujan, and functions on little to no budget, relying on the cooperation of the private sector. Day trips can include tours and tastings in a selection of the fifteen wineries that participate, visits to religious monuments, or lunches in scenic destinations like the damn in Potrerillos or hot springs in Chachauta. While any resident of Lujan is eligible, the program's focus tends to be the older generation of retirees who logistically have the most free-time. Pardo helped illuminate the goal of Turismo Social explaining that Lujan receives a tremendous amount of national and international tourists annually, who visit places and gain experiences that many Lujaninos cannot afford. Turismo Social makes these experiences available to the local residents and then has the additional goal of subsequently transforming its participants into more educated ambassadors for lost or confused tourists wondering through Lujan.
While many of the higher prestige positions in the wine industry have attracted international candidates, the demand for local manual labour remains huge. As such, most of the participants of Turismo Social have worked in the industry at some point but according to Pardo have generally, "worked in the fields" and "don't know about production." He describes the broad positive response to winery visits, and how local tourists leave ecstatic at having tasted a gamut of sophisticated wines.
But alone, this small-scale effort will not be enough to bridge the gap in the ever-increasing difference between tourist and local. If things continue along the same path, we will inevitably find ourselves in a land of separate but equal wineries: those who cater to local interests, tastes and wallets, and those whose prices make them utterly geared towards a foreign budget. Perhaps the most successful wineries will find a way to break out of this rigid dichotomy, incorporating local desires and needs in alongside of those of an international community.
Contact Facundo Pardo for more information on the Turismo Social project: 261 498 1912
