Neuquén Wine Regions, Patagonia’s Emerging Wine Territory

A territorial perspective on landscape, lifestyle, gastronomy, and wine in Argentine Patagonia.

By Sergio Landoni, Sommelier de Territorio

Published: February 1, 2026 · Updated: February 13, 2026

Neuquén Province, in Argentine Patagonia, is a wine territory shaped by wind, desert light, and Andean rivers. It is also shaped by the way people live here. Wine is part of the table, the landscape, local food, and the travel experience. That connection is what gives Neuquén wines their character.

What makes Neuquén so interesting is its diversity. The same grape can taste very different depending on where it grows. Pinot Noir is not the same in San Patricio del Chañar as it is along the Limay River. Malbec also shifts, from the central plateau around Cutral Co to the northern valleys near Chos Malal. Across the province, whites often stand out for their clarity and natural acidity, helped by dry air, sunlight, and cool nights.

And then there is what matters most: the people. Producers, vineyard teams, winemakers, large projects, small family stories. They learn year after year, they adapt, they read the wind and the water, they build identity harvest by harvest. This is not a technical encyclopedia. It is a view from the territory, built from conversations, from the road, from the vineyard, and from the glass.

Spanish version: Neuquén wine regions (ES)

Why zones matter in Neuquén

Because “Neuquén” is not one single profile. Wine is explained by the exact place where it is born. Wind does not behave the same in San Patricio del Chañar as it does in the north. Water does not work the same in a river-influenced vineyard as it does on a plateau fed by deep wells. Altitude, soils, night temperatures, and scale change the result.

Talking about zones does not divide Neuquén, it helps us see it clearly.

1. San Patricio del Chañar

Geographic reference: about 50 km northwest of Neuquén city, on the plateau linked to the Neuquén River irrigation system.

San Patricio del Chañar is where modern Neuquén wine became visible. It is an oasis on the plateau, where irrigation turned arid land into one of Patagonia’s most important wine poles. Wine here comes from contrast: stony soils, constant wind, wide day-to-night range, long sunlight hours, and dry air. When these conditions are handled with precision, wines show freshness, tension, and a firm Patagonian edge.

Soils, climate, and style

Gravelly soils with low organic matter and strong drainage push roots deep and help regulate vigor. Persistent wind and cool nights support natural acidity and build firm, fine tannins. Pinot Noir can be clear and tense, Cabernet Franc can be aromatic and structured, and Chardonnay can be clean, vivid, and gastronomic.

Wine tourism and gastronomy

El Chañar is also a corridor where wine is lived on site. Vineyard visits, restaurants, and experiences in the open plateau landscape complete the story: the place is not just a backdrop, it is part of the taste.

Recent restructuring and evolution

In recent years, San Patricio del Chañar has also gone through a productive restructuring. In 2021, Grupo Peñaflor acquired the facilities and a significant portion of the historic vineyards of Bodega Patritti, marking a new phase for the original estate. Meanwhile, the Patritti family continued producing their traditional labels — including Primogénito and Sangre Azul — at boutique scale, while the former property began operating as Bodega Marantiqua. This coexistence of large-scale investment and family-driven precision confirms the maturity and diversity of the Chañar wine pole.

2. Confluencia, near Neuquén city

Geographic reference: around Neuquén city, where the Limay and Neuquén rivers meet, creating the Río Negro.

Confluencia is the wine that still lives close to the city. Smaller vineyards, surrounded by urban growth, remain rooted in river history and old fluvial soils with mineral character. The river moderates the climate, wind arrives softer, ripening can be slower, and wines often lean toward balance and definition rather than impact.

This zone carries memory. It is connected to orchards, chacras, and immigrant agriculture, long before wine became a visible part of Neuquén’s identity. That background shapes the style: wines that feel close to everyday life, naturally food-friendly, and quietly precise.

Subzone · Neuquén River bank (Centenario)

Within the same regional logic, the Neuquén River bank around Centenario adds another voice. The landscape opens, agriculture becomes visible again, and vineyards fit into a corridor of chacras on the way toward Cinco Saltos. It is a more “valley and farm” expression: less about the city edge, more about continuity of productive land.

Along the Neuquén River bank, small artisanal projects also contribute to the area’s identity. In Vista Alegre Sur, Costa Oculta (Ojo del Río wines) works at a minimal-intervention scale, with limited production of Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay. The focus is on low-intervention farming and honest expression of place, rather than volume or visibility.

Projects like Viñas Constanza represent that continuity. A family story planted in 2006 on a reconverted orchard property, with first harvests from 2008 onwards. Their choice of Refosco as a signature variety also says a lot: a grape with firm acidity and structure that, in this context, can feel honest, balanced, and made for the table.

Confluencia is not about scale. Its value is coherence: soil, river, history, and wine holding together, both inside the city’s reach and along its productive riverbank.

3. Limay River, Senillosa and Picún Leufú

Geographic reference: from Senillosa to Picún Leufú, following the Limay River corridor.

The Limay River corridor is one of the most expressive parts of Neuquén’s map. The river brings life, irrigation, and climatic moderation, helping preserve natural acidity even in warmer seasons. Sandy soils with gravel, open landscapes, and persistent winds encourage low vigor and concentrated fruit.

Wines from the Limay corridor often feel clean and direct. Pinot Noir can be delicate and precise, whites can be vibrant and clear, and the overall profile tends to privilege tension and drinkability over weight.

A corridor in evolution

Senillosa and Picún Leufú are still building their public identity, but the potential is easy to taste. Dry air, wind, and river influence support wines that feel fresh, contemporary, and place-driven.

4. Cutral Co and Plaza Huincul, the plateau

Geographic reference: Cutral Co and Plaza Huincul, central Neuquén, on the plateau, far from major rivers.

This is Neuquén’s frontier wine zone. It is a landscape better known for energy towns and the oil industry, yet increasingly capable of expressing wine as a cultural and territorial statement. Viticulture happens under demanding conditions: open plateau, strong winds, low rainfall, and a harsher sense of desert.

There are no nearby rivers. Irrigation depends on deep wells, and that changes everything. Water management becomes essential, vines face stronger hydric stress, fruit concentrates naturally, and wines can show depth, structure, and intensity without losing definition when the work is precise.

What makes Cutral Co and Plaza Huincul special is also the story. Wine becomes a symbol of diversification, resilience, and identity in a territory long defined by energy.

5. Alto Neuquén, the northern valleys

Geographic reference: around Chos Malal and Taquimilán, northern Neuquén, pre-Andean landscapes and higher altitude valleys.

Alto Neuquén is root and memory. Wine here is not lived as a pole, it is lived as a story: old pergolas, small vineyards, clean air, colder nights, and a landscape that sets the pace. This is not a volume region, it is a region of meaning.

The north holds a very particular geological layer too. In several sites the soils show a marine-calcareous imprint, adding a distinct sense of place to wines made at small scale. Beyond Chos Malal and Taquimilán, there is also small production around Buta Ranquil, where the vineyard story continues in a quieter, local rhythm.

Old Criolla vines are part of that living memory. Some vines are locally reported to be more than 150 years old. Here, Criolla isn’t used to chase trends. It’s used to keep culture alive: wines with identity, honest fruit, natural freshness, and a sense of continuity—wine rooted in northern life, not a passing fashion.

Malbec also takes a different shape in Alto Neuquén. It can show a lighter, more floral and tense profile, with a natural acidity that comes from the climate. When you taste the same grape across nearby places, one thing becomes clear: the variety changes because the land changes.

And sometimes a detail says more than a long explanation. A Malbec called Gran Terroir, from Bodega Des de la Torre, carries a label featuring the map of Neuquén, made in goat leather. It is a quiet, powerful gesture: a piece of territory turned into a label. Several bottles of this wine reached the Vatican and today form part of its cellar. Not as a random anecdote, but as proof that when a wine has identity, it can travel far without losing its origin.

Alto Neuquén also holds potential. Beyond what is already planted, surrounding valleys invite careful exploration, always with respect for scale. In the northern landscape, wine becomes personal, and that is where its value begins.

Closing, an invitation to taste Neuquén

From the plateau of El Chañar to the Neuquén River bank, from the Limay corridor to Alto Neuquén, wine changes because the place changes.

Neuquén is not one wine region, and it does not need to be. It is a province where wine changes with landscape, water, wind, altitude, and the decisions of those who work the vines. Understanding these zones is not about fixing a definitive map, it is about seeing better, understanding why a wine feels different depending on where it comes from, and recognizing that territory matters.

If you enjoy discovering emerging wine territories, Neuquén invites curiosity. It invites tasting. And, above all, it invites experiencing Patagonia through the glass, around the table, and through the people who make this place feel alive.

Map, Neuquén wine regions

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