Wine Law

The first actors to point out are the small and medium companies – producers, wineries, artisans, family entrepreneurships, both organic and industrial: more than 900 active wineries throughout Argentina. It is estimated that 92% of the winegrowers have up to 25 hectares, with those concentrating 55% of the total cultivated vine area in the country. The provincial and municipal authorities are also worth mentioning. They make up the administrative units in which the wineries are located and can encourage or discourage production from their respective bureaucracies. In this same space, the local Stock Exchanges and the universities collaborate, respectively, with marketing and research for an activity that is highly significant for the territory since by its nature it is anchored to it. For instance, if someone makes bolts, it would not matter where that person makes them; the same cannot be said for wine. At the national level, the issue becomes more complex, with several national organisations intervening. The most important one – the enforcement authority – is the National Institute of Viniculture 2 , which operates under the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries and works closely with the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (in Spanish, INTA) 3 , a body that provides technical support and depends on of the same Ministry. Moreover, as it happens in the provinces, national universities have also a role to play, alongside the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (in Spanish, CONICET) 4 , supporting research and innovation issues. Regarding brands and names, the National Institute of Industrial Property (in Spanish, INPI) 5 is the responsible organisation, and in what concerns exportation, the Argentine Foreign Ministry is the one that intervenes, especially from the so-called Foreign Trade Work Agenda. On the private sector, there are different organisations, but the most important is called Bodegas de Argentina 6 , a business chamber that brings together most of the main wineries throughout the country, as well as small and medium-sized wineries, which make up 70% of the partners of the entity. It was created in 2001 as a result of the merger of the Centro de Bodegueros de Mendoza , 2 Source : https://www.argentina.gob.ar/instituto-nacional-vitivinicultura. 3 Source : https://www.argentina.gob.ar/inta. 4 Source : https://www.conicet.gov.ar/. 5 Source : https://www.argentina.gob.ar/inpi. 6 Source : https://www.bodegasdeargentina.org/.