University of California, Davis produced a special clone of the variety (known as the Mendoza clone) that, despite it propensity to develop millerandage, is still widely used in Argentina and Australia. Argentine Chardonnay has shown to thrive in high altitude plantings and is being increasing planted in the Tupungato region on vineyard sites located at altitudes around nearly . Modern wine industry By the turn of the 21st century there were over 1,500 wineries in Argentina. The two largest companies are Bodegas Esmeralda (which owns the widely exported brand Alamos) and Peñaflor (which owns another widely exported brand Bodegas Trapiche). Between the two of them, these companies are responsible for nearly 40% of all the wine made in Argentina. The Argentine wine industry is fifth worldwide in production and eighth in wine consumption. The continued trend of the industry is to increase quality and control yields. Between the mid-1990s and early 21st century, Argentina had ripped up nearly a third of its vineyards but reduced yearly production only by 10%. This meant there was an increase in yields from 66 hl/ha to 88 hl/ha. See also Globalization of wine Foreign trade of Argentina Sir Edmund James Palmer Norton Agriculture in Argentina References External links Wines of Argentina Instituto Nacional de Vitivincultura * Lacoste, Pablo. La vid y el vino en el Cono Sur de América Argentina y Chile (1545-2019). Aspectos políticos, económicos, sociales, culturales y enológicos. Mendoza, 2019 National liquor