Harvest in Argentina usually falls in March and April. That surprises people in North America and Europe, where harvest means September and October.
The reason is simple. Argentina is in the Southern Hemisphere, so its seasons run opposite to the north. This is how the vine's year unfolds in Mendoza, from winter to harvest and back.
Why the seasons are reversed
The Earth is tilted. For half the year the Northern Hemisphere leans toward the sun and has summer. For the other half, the Southern Hemisphere does.
So when it is winter in New York, it is summer in Mendoza. When the leaves turn in Vermont, the vines in Argentina are just pushing out their first shoots. The vine follows the same cycle everywhere. It just starts at a different point on the calendar.
The vine's year, month by month
Think of it as a wheel. Our illustration, The Vine's Year, draws it that way: one turn, from rest to harvest and back to rest.
July and August: pruning
Midwinter in Mendoza. The vines are dormant, bare wood with no leaves, and growers prune by hand, cutting back last year's growth. Each cut decides where the coming season's shoots will grow. It is slow, cold work, and some of the most important of the year.
September and October: budbreak
Spring arrives. The buds left after pruning swell and open, and new green shoots push out of the old wood. Frost is the worry at this stage, since one cold night can damage tender new growth.
November: flowering
The shoots are long, and the vines flower. Grape flowers are tiny and green, packed into small clusters. Most vines pollinate themselves, and the window is short, usually a week or two. Wind, rain or a cold snap can mean fewer berries later. We wrote more about it in every grape starts as a flower.
December and January: fruit set
Each pollinated flower becomes a small, hard, green berry. Through early summer the berries swell. Growers manage the leaves and shoots, balancing shade and sun on the fruit.
February: veraison
The grapes change color. Red varieties like Malbec turn from green to deep purple. The berries soften and sugar builds. Growers start tasting and watching closely.
March and April: harvest
Late summer into early autumn. When the grapes are ripe, they are picked. Timing depends on the variety, the vineyard and the weather, so harvest across Mendoza is spread over several weeks. Grapes for lighter styles, such as Rosé, are often picked earlier than those for fuller reds.
May and June: rest
Autumn turns to winter. The leaves color and fall. The vine draws its energy back into its trunk and roots and goes dormant. Then the wheel turns again, and pruning begins.
What this means for the vintage on a label
The vintage on a wine label is the year the grapes were picked. That has a quiet consequence.
- A Northern Hemisphere wine labeled 2027 will usually come from grapes picked in late summer or fall of 2027.
- A Southern Hemisphere wine labeled 2027 will usually come from grapes picked in the first months of 2027.
In general, then, a Southern Hemisphere wine was picked about half a year before a Northern Hemisphere wine of the same vintage. It can reach shelves sooner, too, though that depends on how long each wine is aged before release.
It is also why a wine from Mendoza can be poured in the same calendar year it was harvested, while the north is still waiting on its own grapes.
Our centennial harvest
Our vineyard is in Perdriel, in Mendoza. The vines were planted in 1927 and turn 100 in 2027.
That makes the harvest of early 2027 their centennial. Those grapes grow from the flowers of November 2026. If you are curious about what a century does to a vine, our guide to what "old vine" means is a good place to start. For a wider view of the region, read a short guide to Mendoza wine country.
Questions we get
When is harvest in Argentina? Usually from March into April, which is late summer and early autumn there. Exact dates shift with the vineyard, the grape and the year.
Is a 2027 Argentine wine older than a 2027 French wine? In a sense, yes. Both are named for the year of harvest, but grapes in Argentina are usually picked months earlier in that year than grapes in France.
When should I visit Mendoza's vineyards? It depends on what you want to see. Harvest, roughly March and April, is the busiest and most festive time. Spring, around October and November, brings new growth and flowering, with snow still on the Andes.
