Great wines begin in the vineyard.
Catena Zapata’s vision is to make rich and unforgettable wines that are true to the land. Founded in 1902, Argentina’s Catena Zapata is known for its pioneering role in resurrecting the Malbec grape and in discovering extreme high altitude terroirs in the Andean foothills of Mendoza.
Through the pioneering vision and tireless work of Nicolás Catena Zapata over the past 40 years, Argentine wine now stands with the best wines of the world. The family’s historic Adrianna vineyard has been called South America’s grand cru. Now under the direction of fourth generation vintner Dr. Laura Catena, Catena Zapata continues to lead Argentina into the next century of winemaking through the work of the Catena Institute of Wine and its mission to preserve the vines and the winemaking culture of Mendoza.
Laura Catena
Dr. Laura Catena is a fourth generation Argentine vintner, physician and author. Catena was born in Mendoza and spent her childhood with her grandfather Domingo at the family’s winery in the small village of La Libertad. Laura graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1988 and has a Medical Doctor degree from Stanford University. In 1995 Laura joined her father Nicolás Catena Zapata at the family winery and founded the Catena Institute of Wine with the vision of making Argentine wines that could stand with the best of the world.
She is currently managing director of Bodega Catena Zapata and works closely with Alejandro Vigil and Luis Reginato to make the vineyard selections and blends for the family’s wines. Laura is also founder of her own Luca Winery in Mendoza, Argentina, as well as a practicing part-time physician of Emergency Medicine in San Francisco. Laura splits her time between Mendoza, Argentina and San Francisco, California.
Dr. Laura Catena has been called “the face of Argentine wine” for her active role in studying and promoting the Mendoza wine region and Argentine Malbec. Laura’s life obsession is to learn more about high altitude viticulture, the vineyard soil microbiome and wine ageability.
Nicolás Catena Zapata
A winner of Wine Enthusiast’s New World Winery of the Year Award, Nicolás Catena Zapata is the quiet revolutionary in the Catena family history book. He has charted the family’s path to the new frontier of winemaking, drawing on lessons learned from the land and in the classroom, then applying his education to dare to challenge the conventional wisdom.
After taking the reins of the family winery, Nicolás got an opportunity in the early 1980s to become a visiting scholar of economics at the University of California at Berkeley. Inspired by the Napa Valley wine revolution, Nicolás returned to Mendoza and began to push the boundaries of what was possible by planting vineyards at high altitudes in the Andean foothills. Today, the Adrianna vineyard – at almost 5,000 feet elevation – has been called the grand cru of South America, and Nicolás is credited with the renaissance of the Malbec grape in Argentina.
Deborah de Corral
Deborah de Corral is a singer, television host, model and chef, born in Buenos Aires Argentina. Deborah began her career as a model, but is possibly better known as a Grammy-nominated singer and television host. Deborah is a lifelong cook, and in addition to hosting live events and designing celebrated restaurant menus, she has hosted television and online cooking programs for years.