In 2020 there were about 200 companies that received tourists in their vineyards. Now there are almost 400 distributed among 17 provinces.
Wine tourism is occupying an increasingly prominent place within the wine sector. It went from being a marginal experience for visitors to becoming a business unit that brings substantial income to the wineries. This is reflected in concrete figures: in 2020, 200 wineries distributed in 14 provinces were engaged in this activity; instead, there are currently almost 400 wineries that open their doors to tourism in 17 provinces.
The relevance that wine tourism acquired was one of the factors that the national government took into account for the creation of a Fund for the Development of Wine Tourism (FDE) that will administer $300 million to finance its development among small and medium wine producers.
The FDE was created from an initiative of the Wine Corporation (Coviar), which signed an agreement with the Ministry of Economy of the Nation. The Fund will grant Non-Reimbursable Contributions (ANR) to the wineries, which will be used to develop and promote wine tourism ventures in infrastructure or working capital, strengthening the value chain of the sector and the development of regional economies.
It is intended for wine makers and producers from all over the country, whether or not they are open to tourism. In addition, it seeks to generate tools for the promotion and development of the sector as a whole and of current or future wine tourism ventures that encourage the optimization of human resources, training and technological supports with their actions and activities.
The non-refundable contributions will attend the reconditioning of receptive tourism in wineries and vineyards. A part will be allocated to the training of guides specialized in oenology.
The main developments are linked to wineries located in the Cuyo region, but they are also distributed in other producing provinces, with more or less productive activity, such as the province of Buenos Aires itself.
In Buenos Aires, two enterprises stand out that produce wines as well as offer immersive experiences for visitors. One is in Chapadmalal, where the Peñaflor group has the Trapiche Costa y Pampa winery, which produces oceanic wines a few kilometers from the beach. The other experience is Bodega Gamboa, which generated a tourist and gastronomic experience in its vineyards located in the town of Campana, one hour from the Federal Capital. The success of this experience motivated the winery to buy land in General Madariaga, near Pinanar, to proceed with a second development with similar characteristics.
Jorge Velazquez
Source: Ambito
