Bodega Catena Zapata is a family-owned winery located in Mendoza, in the sub appellation of Agrelo, Luján de Cuyo, Argentina. The winery was founded in 1902 by Italian immigrant Nicola Catena and was later passed to his son Domingo.
Nicola Catena, whose family had a tradition of winemaking in Belforte del Chienti in the Marche region of Italy, immigrated to Argentina in 1898.
In 1902, he planted his first vineyard of Malbec in Mendoza, a grape variety that, before this period, was mainly used as a blending grape in Bordeaux.
The winery later passed to his son Domingo. In 1963, Nicolás Catena Zapata, with his doctorate in Economic Sciences from the National University of Cuyo and his master's degree in Mathematical Economics from Columbia University, took charge of the family business. In his early years at the winery, he expanded the business to include bottling.
While a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, in the early 1980s, Nicolás Catena visited the wineries of Napa Valley.
In the early 1990s, Nicolás Catena began the development of vineyards in Gualtallary, in the Uco Valley, at 1,500 meters above sea level. In 1992, he planted a vineyard under the name Adrianna, after his youngest daughter. The vineyard's altitude was considered experimental because the Gualtallary district had not previously supported viticulture for still wines, as the climate was considered too extreme.
Nicolás Catena Zapata was a pioneer in introducing European winemaking techniques to Argentina, and later promoted Malbec and vine growing in high altitudes.
In 1995, Laura Catena, a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard University with a degree in Biology, as well as a medical degree from Stanford University, joined the family winery while still practicing medicine as an emergency room physician. In the same year, she founded the Catena Institute of Wine, a scientific research center focused on the study of Argentine high-altitude terroir, Malbec flavor, Malbec genetic diversity, and the advancement of sustainable viticulture.
Research on high-altitude viticulture was later conducted by the Catena Institute of Wine together with the Mendoza Agronomy School (Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias) and CONICET-IBAM. These investigations examined the effect of high-altitude sunlight intensity on leaves, grapes, and Mendoza wines, and reported that, at high altitude, greater light intensity and increased UV-B levels activate certain plant defense mechanisms, with a positive impact on wine quality.
The Catena Institute of Wine has also contributed to the international profile of Argentine ungrafted vineyards. The Instituto Nacional de Vitivinicultura (INV) reports that around 89% of the country's vineyards are ungrafted and massale-selected. This genetic material is preserved by the Catena Zapata team in its Viejito de Rivadavia Vineyard, an isolated site dedicated to the preservation of massale selections from old vines.
In 1999, Nicolás Catena partnered with Baron Eric de Rothschild, of Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite), to create Bodegas Caro. The partnership was established to make wines that express terroir through blends of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon, and the wines were launched in 2000.
Laura Catena was appointed managing director of Bodega Catena Zapata in 2012. She has since worked to expand the international presence of Argentine wine.
Other members of the Zapata family have also been involved in the winery, including Laura Catena.
The winery structure in Agrelo, Mendoza, has a pyramid design based on Mayan architecture. It was designed by architect Pablo Sánchez ElÃÂa and built in the late 1990s.
In 2023, it was awarded the title of the World's Best Vineyards.