Cane Cultivated in Mendoza
The Terroir
Mendoza premium material
The cane has many points in common with the wine. It is a very complex and sophisticated material, used by an industry with the highest quality standards. This is why growing conditions are essential. Only in Mendoza are all the factors that result in this material that is characterized by its stability, its sonority and depth of nuances combined.
We have different plantations in specific areas of the Mendoza territory. Thus, unlike what happens with wild cane, we can control the largest number of crop variables. This is directly reflected in the homogeneity of the product.
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Sun and weather
Almost 3,000 sun hours a year, plus a semi-desert climate with dry air and little rainfall, result in a dense fiber cane and a characteristic golden color.
Raw Material Care
A first-class material needs special care. That is why we follow strict harvest, sunning and parking schedules. Furthermore, in none of our plantations do we use pesticides or agrochemicals.
Who is Argendonax?
Cane supply from the Gonzalez-Davolos family
Founded in 1985 by the Gonzalez family, we are one of the world's largest woodwind raw material producers, having worked wih one of the leading manufacturers of reeds for clarinet and saxophone in France for much of our history.
We were pioneers in the cultivation of Arundo Donax in Argentina, and today we have demonstrated the excellence of this material through Gonzalez Reeds and various manufacturers to whom we supply.
Our History
It all started in 1963 when the symphonic orchestra of the National University of Cuyo brought to Mendoza numerous musicians from Argentina and abroad. In those years, this orchestra became one the most prestigious in the country, leading to the creation of one of the best music schools in South America.
Along with those young artists came the oboe player Juan José Gonzalez, who played the first oboe at the orchestra and also became head teacher of the oboe class in the music school.
Ever since he arrived in Mendoza, Juan José Gonzalez became interested in studying the qualities of the cane that grew wild in the flat lands, at the foot of the Andes Mountains. He could have never imagined that years later, thanks to those tests, that cane would become worldwide famous.
In 1983 Juan José, together with his son Juan Pablo, founded a company with the intention of growing Arundo Donax and selling it to different foreign reed makers. That is how Argendonax SRL is created, first being a supplier of raw material, until 1995 when the first reeds are launched to the market under the brand “Zonda”. These were the perfect result of many years of research and technological development. The goal was to manufacture the best reeds in the world. It was not until 2000 that the history of Gonzalez Reeds began with the innovative FOF model.
Meanwhile, Argendonax has continued to provide uninterrupted raw material to both Gonzalez Reeds and manufacturers around the world, turning Mendoza cane into a reference and reputable material.
Argendonax Cofounder, Oboist Juan Gonzalez