MundoAndino Home : Andes Argentina Guide at MundoAndino
Criolla Grande
Criolla Grande (also known as Criolla) is a wine grape commonly found in Argentina. It is different from the Chilean wine grape Pais, also known as Criolla Chica, but ampelographers believe that both grapes share a common parent. As of 2006, Criolla was the third most widely planted Argentine wine grape after Cereza and the more widely exported Malbec . It is primarily found in the Mendoza region. The grape has pink skin and is more thick than its Chilean cousin, Pais, and is used to produced deeply colored white wine. It is sometimes used to produce a light colored rose. The grape is rarely exported outside of Argentina where it is used to produce massive quantities of box and jug wines. J. Robinson (ed) "The Oxford Companion to Wine" Third Edition pg 210 Oxford University Press 2006 ISBN 0198609906
History
The grape is believed to have been brought to the region by Spanish conquistadors during their colonization of the continent in the 16th century. Along with Chile's Pais and the Mission grape of California, the grape is believed to be a descendant of the Spanish "common black grape" brought to Mexico in 1520 by the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes. K. MacNeil The Wine Bible pg 836 Workman Publishing 2001 ISBN 1563054345
Need more information for your travel research or homework?
Ask your questions at the forum about Argentine culture or help others to find answers.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Criolla Grande
