Export Market Guide - Argentina

All regulatory information for exporting wine to Argentina, including the regulatory environment, duties and taxes, and permitted additives.

Unless an exemption has been granted by Wine Australia, grape products exported from Australia must comply with the Food Standards Code. Accordingly, the labelling and wine standards information in Wine Australia’s Export Market Guides should be read in conjunction with Wine Australia’s Licensing and Compliance Guide which contains the requirements of the Food Standards Code and applicable exemptions.

Argentina is located in South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay. It has a land area of 2,736,690 sq km, and almost 5000 kilometres of coastline. Argentina’s climate is mostly temperate with an arid region in the southeast and subantarctic in the southwest. Argentina is also home to the Andes mountain range which runs along its western border with Chile. 

Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay formed the Southern Common Market (known as ‘Mercosur’) in 1991. Venezuela joined Mercosur in 2006 but is currently suspended. Chile and Bolivia also have special trade agreements with the member countries. Mercosur represents a market of almost 250 million people with a multi-trillion-dollar combined GDP. Argentina is also a member of the United Nations, the G20, the World Trade Organisation and the Cairns Group. Argentina is seeking membership to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

In 2001, Australia and Argentina signed the Mutual Acceptance Agreement on Oenological Practices, an initiative of the World Wine Trade Group. The essential element of the Agreement is that each country will permit the importation of wines from another signatory country as long as the wine is made in accordance with the producing countries’ domestic laws on oenological practices. In January 2007, the World Wine Trade Group signed an Agreement on Requirements for Wine Labelling. The labelling agreement allows for the possibility of a single ‘global’ label through eliminating mandatory placement requirements and introducing a ‘single field of vision’ concept. Refer to Labelling Requirements for further details.

Argentina has a thriving domestic wine industry and is among the world’s leading wine producers. Argentina’s wine culture is influenced by 19th and 20th century Italian immigration, hence wine is used to bring families together around the dinner table. Mendoza is Argentina’s most well-known wine region and is located on a high-altitude plateau in the eastern foothills of the Andes, in the shadow of Mount Aconcagua. The region is responsible for approximately 70 per cent of Argentina’s annual production. Argentina produces mostly red wines, with Malbec, Bonarda and Cabernet Sauvignon the most widely planted varieties. White varieties are not as extensively planted, but Torrontés, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are the most produced in the category.

Argentina’s wine import market is relatively small, with the majority of imported wines coming across the border from Chile. Smaller quantities are imported from France, Italy and Spain. Australia is only a minor player in the Argentinean domestic market, however, wine has been identified as an export and investment opportunity by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.