Argentina, Land of Wines Gonzalo A. Casanova Ferro1 1. Historic Context; 2. Actors and Protagonists; 3. A Difficult Legal Framework; 4. An Opportunity for Tourism. 1. HISTORIC CONTEXT In the beginning, there was Wine... Why are we paraphrasing a biblical text that never existed? Well, because we had wine since colonial times with the first conquerors – in 1557, the first vines entered in what would be Argentina’s territory from Chile. Thus, it can be said that we were talking about wine and savouring it even before we existed as a nation-state; in fact, by law, we declared it a national drink. What this means for us and for the region, including Wine Tourism, is what we are going to discuss. However, we will first go through three topics that will serve as an introduction: The first has to do with the meaning, raised in cultural and historical terms, as well as geographical and economical; The second with the plot of actors – who are not few –, all those who intervene institutionally and fundamentally in the role of promoting wine; and The third, commenting on the normative system of the activity that works as a great articulator as if it were the nervous system of Argentine wine production. 1 University of Buenos Aires.
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