American grapevine culture and research in Berisso, Argentina

Abstract

The “Riverbank wine of Berisso”, made from american grapevine (Vitis labrusca var. Isabella), is a typical local product, original from an area deeply forgotten of the Pampa riverbank: the Berisso district (latitude 34°53 South, longitude 57°54 West), close to Buenos Aires city, one of the counties most affected by the big Argentinian economic crisis at the end of 2001. The value that distinguishes this product and its permanence throughout different historic moments is the know-how characteristic of a certain group: the wine producers from Berisso. That know-how is repeatedly transferred from generation to generation orally and practically, the productive techniques enabling the vineyard maintenance and its subsequent processing of wine. Recently, in Argentina the possibility of making abandoned regions dynamic is being taken into consideration in order to rescue the food production typical of the area and this process is based on local initiatives. This kind of action is associated with the changes in the food consumption pattern observed in the common urban consumers, where the revaluation of the beliefs related to rural customs, to the rescue of tradition, and to natural behavior is becoming increasingly important. The case of the riverbank wine of Berisso is an example that allowed the Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales de la Universidad Nacional de La Plata, in the context of its basic functions – teaching, research and extension – to begin an integrated work anticipating some trends in Argentina already observed in other developed countries. Historical and sanitary aspects, phases of primary and industrial production, commercialization, comsumption and challenges to face about the case of the riverbank wine of Berisso are described in this review.