Catena Zapata

It was Nicolás Catena who thrust Argentinian wine into the modern era. A widely traveled academic economist, from Bordeaux to Napa.

About the winery

Nicolás Catena traveled the world looking for inspiration to build his winery in the 1990’s. He decided that even though he has Italian and Spanish roots, he did not want to copy an Old World architectural style. Nicolás wanted to create something new that payed homage to the distinctive Mountain terroir of his native Mendoza. On a trip to Central America, Nicolás fell in love with the Mayan pyramids. The Mayans aspired to reach the highest levels in farming, math, language and architecture. This Native American culture was an inspiration for Nicolás to build the CATENA ZAPATA pyramid winery following the Mayan architectural style.

Learn more about Catena Zapata and their facilities at:

http://www.catenawines.com/

Location

Mendoza

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History & Geography

Catena Zapata is a family-owned winery located in Mendoza, in the sub appellation of Agrelo, Argentina. It was founded in 1902 by Italian immigrant Nicola Catena and was passed to his son Domingo. Domingo’s son, Nicolás Catena Zapata, was one of the first to introduce European winemaking techniques to Argentina and pioneered Malbec and vine growing in high altitudes. Currently, Laura Catena, her daughter, runs the winery and the revolutionary Catena Institute of Wine, which focuses on the study of terroir, sustainability and other research findings that will help further elevate Mendoza as a top quality wine region. The family’s historic Adrianna vineyard has been called South America’s grand cru (it is the only South American vineyard with six 100-point wines). The family winery is responsible for the renaissance of the Malbec grape from its origins in France to its new home in Argentina.