Bolivian wine-growers banking on 'distinctive' altitude flavour

Grape producer Luis Zambrana harvests grapes at a vineyard in Valle de la Concepcion community, some 30 km from Tarija, Bolivia. At almost 2,000-meters above sea level, Bolivian wine-growers are continuing a centuries-old tradition started by Jesuit missionaries in a bid to capture a niche market with their unique product.. – Photo: AFP

At almost 2,000-meters above sea level, Bolivian wine-growers are continuing a centuries-old tradition started by Jesuit missionaries in a bid to capture a niche market with their unique product.

In the southern Tarija department in the foothills of the Andes mountain range, the little known Bolivian vineyards find themselves dwarfed between the two regional wine-growing giants: Argentina and Chile.