Nicola Catena arrived in Mendoza, Argentina from the Marche region of Italy in 1898, and planted his first Malbec vineyard in 1902. His son Domingo then grew the business until the Catena family became one of the largest vineyard holders in Mendoza. He did so while overcoming challenges brought on by the many crises of the Argentine economy.
The business was transformed by Domingo’s son, Nicolás, who holds a doctorate degree in economics. In 1980 he came to the United States as a visiting professor at University of California, Berkeley. During his time in the San Francisco Bay Area, he was inspired by the recent victories that California wines had seen in competition with those of Europe. He visited neighbouring Napa Valley, which was at that time beginning to emerge as a world-class wine region, and he began to wonder if Mendoza could compete on an international scale as well.
Upon returning to Argentina, Nicolás was the first to believe that Argentina could produce a wine that could compete on an international stage. He was the first to introduce modern European winemaking and viticultural techniques to Argentina, including small French oak barrels, drip irrigation, low yielding French Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon cuttings, extremely low yields and plant-by-plant selection.
Nicolás embarked on a series of initiatives to determine the best growing regions of Mendoza. He planted at a variety of elevations, studying the effects of altitude on growing conditions. In 1992 he was the first to plant a vineyard – Adrianna - as high as 5,000 feet elevation, unheard of at this time.
Nicolás also made the first and only Mendoza Malbec vine cutting selection, isolating the best genetic material from his family’s 70 year-old Angelica vineyard. Since 1994, he has experimented with these cuttings to select the best seven vines for further planting. These “Catena Cuttings” are the basis for the Catena family’s high altitude Malbec vineyards.
Nicolás was the first to produce a world class 100% Malbec from Argentina, the 1996 Catena Alta Malbec which received 94 points from Robert Parker of The Wine Advocate.
Nicolás’ breakthrough wine was the Nicolás Catena Zapata. It was the first Argentine wine to become accepted internationally as an "icon" wine that could be compared with the best of the world. The 1997 vintage was released in 2000 through a series of blind tastings held in the USA and Europe where it was compared to Chateau Latour, Haut Brion, Solaia, Caymus and Opus One. The Nicolás Catena Zapata 1997 came in either first or second in every tasting. At that time there were no other such wines from Argentina. With the 2004 vintage, the Nicolás Catena Zapata became the first Argentine wine to receive 98+ points from Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate.
Laura Catena, Nicolás’ daughter, is President of Bodega Catena Zapata. Having grown up in Mendoza, she was then educated at Harvard and Stanford Universities as a biologist and physician. She practices medicine part time at the University of California San Francisco, and divides her time between California and Mendoza. Laura uses her academic training to run Bodega Catena Zapata’s Research & Development program. Together with a team of young, innovative winemakers and viticulturalists, Laura is constantly delving deeper into the terroir of Mendoza. Nicolas & Laura oversee all of the final blends for the winery, ensuring that each and every one reflects the Catena family terroir.
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