The Malbec grape was first cultivated in France, but after it was introduced in Argentina by French agronomist Michel A. Pouget in the mid-1800s, and after the original French Malbec vines were severely affected by blight in the 1860s, it became synonymous with the Argentinean wine industry. Argentina is now the largest producer of Malbec in the world, and Malbec World Day was created to celebrate this wine success story. April 17, 1853 was the day a bill was introduced to create an agricultural school that became the starting point for the development of the Malbec variety in Argentina.
