Bodega Catena Zapata

Whilst it was Nicola Catena who planted the first Catena vineyards in Mendoza in 1902, it was his grandson, Nicolás Catena who was the visionary who has taken their vineyards, and most of Argentina, out of the realms of mass produced wines for the home market, into the international premium wine market. He recognised the potential of high altitude sites with low soil fertility and excellent irrigation potential, and then set out to find the best clones to produces wines to the very high standards that he set himself.

Nicolás recognised that the wine is as much made in the vineyard as in the winery and introduced they latest techniques in "precision viticulture" whereby detailed attention is paid to the vines throughout the growth cycle to maximize quality. In their words "Each vine is treated individually in order to realize its maximum potential", through careful pruning, leaf thinning, green harvesting, vigour control and hand harvesting.

Through scientific research into microclimates, effects of altitude and clone research, there is also a belief at Bodega Catena Zapata in the importance of blending single varietal wines from different vineyards in order to achieve a blend that is of a higher quality and complexity than the single parts. There are no wines made from single vineyards.

For more information on the wines of Bodega Catena Zapata and more photos of the incredible architecture of their winery, visit: http://www.catenawines.com/eng/index.html