Apr 17, 2026 – 06:27 am
This April 17, wine lovers celebrate the World Malbec Daya red variety of French origin that found its ideal home in Argentina and became its emblematic variety.
The origin
He Malbec is an ancient variety historically linked to Cahors, a city in the southwestern region of France where it is also known as Côt. In the Middle Ages, Cahors wines enjoyed great prestige and were known as “the black wines” for their deep color and robust structure, although their style has evolved over the centuries.
Until the end of the 19th century, the variety was also used as a blending grape in Bordeaux wines, but the phylloxera plague, which devastated European vineyards, marked the beginning of its decline and progressively reduced its presence in blends. Despite this, another destiny awaited him on the other side of the Atlantic, in Argentine lands.
The migrant strain
On April 17, 1853, the project for the Quinta Normal de Agricultura was presented before the House of Representatives of Mendoza, an initiative promoted by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento that contributed to the development of Argentine viticulture.
The French agronomist Michel Aimé Pouget was in charge of leading this project and is recognized for having introduced Malbec in Mendoza, along with other French varieties that began to be grown on Argentine soil.
More than a century later, this historical milestone was taken as a basis by Wines of Argentina, an organization dedicated to the international promotion of Argentine wine, to establish Malbec World Day, celebrated for the first time on April 17, 2011.
Valérie Avila de Montulé, certified sommelier. April 14, 2026. Photo: LP/ Alexander Arosemena
The success of Malbec
There are many reasons behind the success of Argentine Malbec. Among them, its extraordinary adaptation to the terroir of Mendoza stands out, the heart of the country’s viticulture, a province that today concentrates nearly 84.7% of the planted area of Malbec in Argentina (39,856.4 ha).
In Mendoza, Malbec found the ideal conditions for optimal ripening of the grapes: a dry climate, high altitude vineyards, abundant sunlight and a wide thermal range that favor a seductive expression of the variety.
It was the emigrants from Europe, especially from Spain and Italy, who developed viticulture in the First Zone, the name by which Luján de Cuyo and Maipú are historically known, where the Malbecs that conquered the world in the 1990s were born. Wines with a fruity and spicy character, whose aromas are reminiscent of plums and blackberries, with notes of pepper and nuances of vanilla, coffee and chocolate when they have aged in wood. Its silky and enveloping tannins conquered wine lovers around the world, helping to position Argentina as one of the great wine producers.
Pioneers such as Nicolás Catena Zapata pushed the limits of viticulture, exploring increasingly higher and colder areas at the foot of the Andes Mountains to preserve freshness in wines. In this search, which began in the early 90s, the Uco Valley offered the ideal conditions for a new expression of Malbec. The success of that vision prompted the arrival of other wineries and winemakers who were looking for fresher, tense and more elegant interpretations of the variety, consolidating the Uco Valley as one of the most promising regions of Mendoza. This new trend of Malbec is a reflection of the place and the character of the mountain, with wines that reveal floral, herbaceous and mineral nuances. Some have even chosen to leave wood aging behind to embrace a purer, fresher expression of the fruit.
Malbec is capable of adapting to a wide variety of terroirs and is present in 18 Argentine provinces. It can deliver fresh and light wines to concentrated and very intense wines depending on the specific conditions of each place and the decisions of each winemaker. In Panama we can find a great variety of specimens from Mendoza (from Luján de Cuyo, Maipú and Valle de Uco) and also some proposals from Salta, San Juan and Patagonia.
The pairing
It is the red wine par excellence to accompany Argentine empanadas and cuts of meat. From the traditional Argentine barbecue or the American BBQ, to dishes such as pasta, pizzas, hamburgers, braised meats, lamb and mature cheeses, Malbec demonstrates great versatility that also explains part of its success.
More than a red variety, Malbec today represents one of the most successful stories of modern wine: that of a French strain that found a new home in Argentina, its own identity and an extraordinary international projection. This April 17 is also an invitation to discover why it continues to conquer palates around the world.
‘Your Malbec, your call’
That is the motto of the 2026 Wines of Argentina campaign, which invites you to enjoy Malbec freely and spontaneously, without rules or protocols.
Every year, the Malbec World Day It is celebrated in multiple cities around the world with a wide variety of events.
This year, attendees Wine & Cocktail Fusion Fest that organizes THEY and The Pressyou will be able to enjoy a wide variety of wines from Argentina, among which you will find different examples from the Rutini, Mendel, Kaiken and Bodega Calle wineries.
Find your favorite and join the celebration!
