To say that Laura Catena was a force of nature would be undeniable. As well as raising three children and working as an ER Doctor in a San Francisco hospital, Laura works seriously closely with her Father, Nicholás at the family winery, Bodega Catena Zapata in Mendoza, makes her own artisanal Mendoza wines under the Luca label, and somehow finds time to act as a globe-roving ambassador for not only her family wines, but Argentinian wines as a whole (witness her 2010 book “Vino Argentino : An Insider’s Guide To The Wines And Wine Country Of Argentina). Just thinking about all that tires me out a bit…
And yet, even with all these responsibilities, every time I have seen her in action she is so full of verve and energy for her passions, her enthusiasm for Argentinian wines is altogether contagious. It’s hard not to walk away from a tasting/lunch with her without craving the nuances in Malbec she so eloquently describes. It is indeed no wonder that she is one of the most respected figures in the world of wines today.
The history of her family’s winery is an interesting one. From her Grandfather, Nicola Catena, fleeing the famine-struck Marche region of Italy in 1898, to the enviable international reputation that the house has today, Laura sees both the winery and the wines as having gone through three separate revolutions through three separate evolutions.
