San Juan is Argentina's second largest wine producing region after Mendoza. It is located to the north of Mendoza and shares similar attributes on the eastern flank of the Andes Mountains. The region's vineyards are warmer, and lie on alluvial plains between 2,000 and 4,000 feet in elevation.

It is a semi-desert and relies on irrigation from rivers flowing down from the Andes for irrigation. The "zonda," a hot dry wind that can tear through the region is a distinctive feature, helping to air the vines, but also occasionally fierce enough to cause damage.

San Juan is an older region that was long known for producing more "high-octane" blending wines, but in recent years has been looked to by some of Argentina's larger wines as a source of weighty blending components or rich, distinctive wines in their own right— the Pedernal Valley, a region only 60 miles north of the city of Mendoza being the prime example. (Wine/Appellations)