Video: Blending Wine & Medicine with Argentina’s Dr. Laura Catena

What a terrific chat with Dr. Laura Catena, a fourth generation Argentine vintner, physician and author!

Click on the arrow above to watch the video.

Listen to Laura’s stories about why Catena wines are so special.

Discover more juicy tips that will make you wine smart.

Cheers,

Natalie

We’ll be simultaneously broadcasting on Facebook Live, YouTube Live Stream and Twitter Live Video via Periscope.

Watch previous episodes of the Wednesday Wining Show (WWS)  and find out who’s coming up next.

If you’d like to read the comments for this tasting, or make a comment yourself, visit:

https://www.facebook.com/natdecants/videos/10155436261769845/

Here’s a sampling of our lively discussion from our tasting…

 

 

Laura Catena is a fourth generation Argentine vintner, physician and author. Catena’s great grandfather founded the Catena winery in Mendoza in 1902 after emigrating from Italy. Her father, Nicolas Catena Zapata, often referred to as “the Robert Mondavi of Argentina,” helped facilitate the ascent of Argentine Malbec onto the world stage.

Born in Mendoza, Argentina, Laura graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University and has a Medical Doctor degree from Stanford University. Laura combines a strong science background with a passion for her family winery. She is currently managing director of Bodega Catena Zapata and her own Luca Wines in Mendoza, as well as a practicing Emergency Medicine physician in San Francisco.

Laura has been called the “face” of Argentine wine. She has traveled the globe to lecture about Argentine wines and viticulture and has been an invited speaker at the American Society of Wine Educators, Decanter Fine Wine Encounter, The Smithsonian and the Vancouver Playhouse among others.

In 2010 Laura Catena released her book Vino Argentino, An Insider’s Guide to the Wines and Wine Country of Argentina (Chronicle Books), the first book about Argentine wine by a U.S. publisher. Dave McIntyre of The Washington Post wrote: “Vino Argentino is a mouthwatering introduction to the wines and culture of Argentina.”

EDUCATION

Harvard University
Bachelor of Arts, Biology, magna cum laude, 1984-1988

Stanford University School of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine, 1988-1992

ACADEMIC HONORS

Harvard University
• Harvard College Award for scholastic excellence, 1986, 1988
• John Harvard Award for scholastic excellence, 1987
• Elizabeth Carry Agassiz Award for scholastic excellence, 1987, 1988
• Magna Cum Laude Honors, Senior Thesis in Biology, 1988

Stanford University School of Medicine
• Medical Student Research Scholarship, 1989
• Excellence in Emergency Medicine, Society of Academic Emergency Medicine, 1992
• Dean’s Award for Outstanding Community Service, 1992

POST-GRADUATE EDUCATION

Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA
Residency, Emergency Medicine, 1992-1995

MEDICAL SPECIALTY CERTIFICATION

• American Board of Emergency Medicine, Board Certified since July 1996
• Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians (FACEP), 1998 – present

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE – WINE

Bodega Catena Zapata, Mendoza, Argentina
Managing Director, 2009-present
• Taste and approve all Bodega Catena Zapata wines
• Develop and oversee strategic planning for all vineyard and winery investments
• Manage worldwide export sales and marketing
• Serve as Board Director for Catena Institute of Wine (Founder – since 1995)
• Serve as Board Member on Bodegas Esmeralda, holding company for Bodega Catena Zapata
• Wine Enthusiast New World Winery of the Year 2010
• Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines – 6 times
• Wine and Spirits Top 100 Wineries – 9 times
• Alamos Malbec: # 1 Argentine Malbec & Among Top 5 Imported Wines in US
• Catena Malbec: #1 Super Premium Argentine Malbec & Among Top 5 Imported Wines >$15 in US
(AC Nielsen. US Food & Liquor. Period Ending 8/17/13. 750 ml)

 

Executive Director of Export Markets, 2001-2009
• Managed worldwide export sales and marketing
• Grew exports from 15% to 50% of the winery’s revenue

North America Export Manager, 1998 – 2001
• Managed North American sales and marketing for Bodegas Esmeralda and Bodega Catena Zapata

Catena Institute of Wine
Founder in 1995 – Board Director from 1995 to present

• First ever Argentine Malbec plant selection – 1995
• Study of the effects of high altitude on vines and wine
• Soil geology and soil microbiome studies
• Study of non-malbec varieties
• First Sustainability Code for Argentina – 2012
• Publications in mayor international journals such as Food Science and American Journal of Viticulture and Enology
• Led planting of 500 hectares of vineyards in Mendoza and 400 hectares outside Mendoza in La Rioja, Salta and La Pampa
• Oversaw research department with over 1,000 microvinifications per year
• Joint conference with UC Davis on the future of Wine Science – 2015

Luca Wines, Mendoza, Argentina
Founder and Owner, 1999 – present
• Named “Best of Best” from Argentina, Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate, 2011
• Leading Argentine brand in the $25-30 price segment in USA
• Luca Malbec has been twice in the Wine Spectator Top 100 wines list

Bodegas CARO – Catena’s partnership with Domaines Barons de Rothschild [Lafite]
• Board co-director with Christophe Salin from Chateau Lafite since 2011

IWSC – International Wine and Spirits Competition – Oldest Wine Competition in Europe
• President – 2014 – In charge of promoting competition and awarding medals
• Presided over ceremonies at London’s Guild Hall in November of 2014

LECTURES – WINE

• American Society of Enology and Viticulture, Argentine Wine
• American Society of Wine Educators, Mendoza Terroir
• University of California, Davis Polyphenol Conference, with Professor Roger Coder, Polyphenols in Wine and Health Benefits
• Stanford Business School, Family Businesses
• The Smithsonian Institution, Argentine Wine Roundtable
• Masters of Food and Wine at Pebble Beach, Malbec Seminar
• Judge – Argentina Wine Awards
• Google Headquarters Authors Talk – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VewMa8uWk30

Additional seminars and tastings about Argentine wine around the world including New York, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Portland, Seattle, Chicago, New Jersey, Houston, Washington D.C., Cambridge, Miami, Dublin, Bordeaux, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Ontario, Vancouver, Quebec, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing, Oslo, Stockholm, Munich, Hamburg, Moscow, Amsterdam and Montreal.

 

INVENTIONS AND WINE PUBLICATIONS

Vino Argentino, An Insider’s Guide to the Wines and Wine Country of Argentina
Chronicle Books, 2010
• First book in English about Argentine wine
• A history of Argentine wine including maps, tourist destinations and regional recipes
• Critical acclaim by international press including New York Times, Washington Post, Wine Spectator, Decanter, Oprah Magazine

Sippa Press, LLC
• Co-owner of unique French press-style drinking vessels for brewing, filtering and drinking tea, yerba mate, coffee or other beverages. US Patent, 2008

Mendoza: Our Terroir
Wine Appreciation Guild, 2001
• Editor and Publisher of book on Argentine terroir with acclaimed photojournalist, Sara Matthews

Huffington Post Argentine Wine Column
Writer, since 2009

The Journal of Wine Economics
Opinion piece on the effects of Climate Change on Argentine Viticulture – February, 2016 scheduled

COMMUNITY SERVICE ACTIVITY – WINE

Fundacion Angelica Zapata, Mendoza, Argentina
• Actively participate in Catena Zapata family’s charitable foundation, named after Nicolas Catena Zapata’s mother
• Awarded dozens of scholarships for doctoral studies and masters degrees, provided funding for local school meals and supplies, contributed monetary and wine donations to numerous organizations including the Argentine Sommelier Association, local hospitals, Make-A-Wish Argentina and United Way

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE – MEDICINE

University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA
Clinical Professor of Medicine, 1996-present

California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, CA
Pediatric Emergency Physician, 2012-present

 

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND BOARD MEMBERSHIPS

American College of Emergency Physicians, 1992 – present
Bodegas CARO (Catena-Rothschild) Board, 2000 – present
Bodegas Esmeralda Board Member, 2009 – present
Argento Wine Company Board Member, 2005 – 2012
Pacific Primary School, San Francisco, CA, School Board, 2002-2005

LANGUAGES

Fluent in Spanish, English, French and Italian

 

 

 

 

VINO ARGENTINO BOOK by Laura Catena

 

 

Adrianna Vineyard

 

 

 

Catena Zapata Winery

 

 

 

 

Catena Malbec 2015
Mendoza, Argentina

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snowy Andes

 

 

 

Adrianna Vineyard

 

 

 

Adrianna Vineyard

 

 

 

 

 

 

Catena Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
Mendoza, Argentina

 

 

 

 

 

Old vine

 

 

 

La Pirámide Vineyard at Agrelo

 

 

 

Stairs at Catena Zapata Winery

 

 

 

 

 

Catena Appellation Agrelo Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
Agrelo, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since 1902

 

 

 

Laura Catena & Nicolas Catena Zapata

 

 

 

Laura Catena & Nicolas Catena Zapata

 

 

 

 

 

Catena High Mountain Vines Chardonnay 2016
Mendoza, Argentina

 

 

 

 

 

 

Laura Catena & Nicolas Catena Zapata

 

 

 

Laura Catena & Nicolas Catena Zapata

 

 

 

Laura Catena

 

 

 

 

 

Catena Appellation San Carlos Cabernet Franc 2014
Mendoza, Argentina

 

 

 

 

 

 

Laura Catena

 

 

 

Laura Catena in Calicata

 

 

 

Laura Catena at Adrianna Vineyard

 

 

 

 

 

Catena Alta Chardonnay Catena 2015
Mendoza, Argentina

 

 

 

 

 

 

Laura Catena

 

 

 

Catena Malbec

 

 

 

Adrianna Vineyard in winter

 

 

 

 

 

Catena Adrianna White Bones Chardonnay 2014
Mendoza, Argentina

 

 

 

 

 

 

Catena Zapata Cellar

 

 

 

Catena Zapata Tasting Room

 

 

 

Adrianna Vineyard

 

 

 

 

 

Catena Adrianna Vineyard Fortuna Terrae Malbec 2013
Mendoza, Argentina

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adrianna Vineyard “mirador”

 

 

 

La Pirámide

 

 

 

White Stones “calicata”

 

 

 

Catena Zapata Winery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Laura Catena

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Laura Catena

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Laura Catena

 

Transcript

Tonight, you’re about to meet an extraordinary woman who is both a physician and a top-notch winemaker. She’s going to share stories with you about why Argentine wines are  special and  affordable and how to find them in the liquor store. I’m Natalie Maclean, editor of Canada’s largest wine review site at nataliemaclean.com and you are tuned in right now to the Sunday Sipper Club, where we gather every week at 6:00 pm Eastern, that’s Toronto, New York time to talk to the most intriguing people in the wine world.  I am going to welcome her now because she joins me live from her home in San Francisco. Welcome, Dr. Laura Catena.

Thank you, Natalie.

Hello, Laura. Okay,  I’m going to give you a bit more intro there, but I just wanted to jump into it because you have such a fascinating background and, actually before I even get to that, I would like to know in the comments, folks, I’m just going to be checking on Facebook here, Laura, to see that we’re all good and live. But al, please post a comment, have you ever tasted a wine from Catena Wines in Argentina? I would like to know that. And, because I always love to know how familiar you are with the wines we’re tasting tonight.

I’ve posted a link to all the wines we’ll be tasting,  you can find them. Now Laura, you graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University, you have a medical degree from Stanford. Such an impressive background. Oh, let’s just make sure we can check. Beverly, are you not hearing us? I’m just going to make sure that everybody can hear us first because sometimes that doesn’t come alive,  please, can you hear us? Oh, not yet, she means she hasn’t tasted a wine yet. Right, I thought she couldn’t hear us yet. She just put not yet. Thank you, Beverly.

She has her priorities straight.

Yes, that’s right.

The wine’s more important.

That’s right, I don’t care if I could hear what you’re saying, I’ve got a good wine in my glass. Good point, Laura. Okay.  yes oh, this is such an amazing history you have.  you did all this prestigious studies and schooling. And now, you are splitting your time, or some how dividing it between being an emergency room doctor in San Francisco, and you’re part of your family’s winemaking enterprise in Argentina, arguably the leading family of Argentine wine, Catena, where you are a winemaker and al director and  on.

Laura, let’s just start, what was the moment you realized that you knew you wanted to make wine? Because you’d started on this path to medicine and finished it, but then you’ve al brought in the winemaking aspect. Can you take us back to that moment?

Well, thank you for first of all, Natalie, for this introduction and they hope, they’re probably thinking I’m a very snooty person at this point, but I’m not.

No, no, I love the hat. You’re not snooty at all. You’re educated and you’re fashionable.

Okay, thank you

That’s a Gaucho Hat, right?

I appreciate it. That’s a Gaucho Hat, my boina. I grew up in Argentina and then my father left Argentina for a few years during the military dictatorship and then went to high school in Berkeley and decided to study medicine. I loved biology. But mostly because I wanted to be in a profession that helped people that was actively engaged in helping the world. And at that, time I didn’t realize how much wine helps people. And today, I really genuinely believe that wine, through the health benefits to, through the fact that it relaxes you and makes you happy in the evening, in moderation, helps a lot of people.

Sure, absolutely.

Obviously, if you cannot drink in moderation, you should not drink. But , here I was going on with my career as a doctor, and I love being a doctor, I still practice part-time. But one day my father sent me to this wine tasting at the Wine Spectator in New York. We had been the first South American winery to be invited in 1995. And I actually did know quite a bit about wine at that time because I used to go to France with my father as his translator. This was my father tricking me slowly but surely into coming to work with him, but I didn’t realize it back then.  he said, “Laura, we need to send somebody “who speaks English well.”  of course I’m a dutiful daughter, I had bought a suit which I didn’t have and I headed to New York and I was standing on my booth, and I would see these long lines behind the California, Italian, French wineries, and nobody’s coming to my booth. And occasionally somebody would walk by and look up and see Catena Mendoza Cantina, and they would walk on. And sometimes they would even spit in my spittoon.

Oh, other wines, from other booths?

Yes, and I was pretty cute back then,  even my cuteness couldn’t attract them.

You’re cute now.

the next day I called my father and I said, “Papa, I’m coming to work with you, “because this dream you have of making Argentine wines “that can stand with the best of the world, “of putting Argentina on the wine map is not going to happen “unless I help you.” And  then, it’s because of helping somebody that I went into wine. And now, the love I have for Mendoza, for the people I work with, for the vines, I mean, when you go to a vineyard and you look at the vines and you look at the grapes and when you’re aware about the life underneath in the soil, the insects, everything that lives in a vineyard–

Yes.

And when I stand there and imagine my great-grandfather planting that vineyard, it’s  magical that it’s very special and I’m happy that it’s a family winery because I think most other jobs wouldn’t allow me to al be a doctor.

Yes. I’m thinking how you

Yes.

You combined all of this wonderful history, and thank you for relieving personally my bourgeois stress about writing about wine, I thought, “I’m not a doctor helping people”, but here you are, a doctor who finds almost parallel, if not more ways to help people in the world because of what you’re saying, it relaxes people.

Well Natalie, yes, and remember, Natalie, wine is the original medicine.

That’s true.

Before there were other medicines–

That’s true.

In Roman times, the only thing they had was mostly wine and a few herbs, seriously.

I’m feeling better already. Thank you, doctor. That is fantastic. Okay , now you, you followed your father into winemaking. Now he was more of a, well, you’re both academics, I shouldn’t say he’s more of an academic but he is more reserved, I would think. I’ve met with him and he’s an amazing man. They call him the, I almost think this is a disservice but it’s meant to be a compliment, the Robert Mondavi of Argentina.

I definitely see that as a compliment.

Okay.

I mean, I met Mr. Robert Mondavi and his family and I am in awe of what he did.

Okay.

Absolutely.

you were not just following in his footsteps, but you’re taking that academic approach that, I’ve read that you do 1,000 micro vinifications, tests and all sosorts of things every year. What’s the drive behind that?

Well, when I started working with my father, the first question we asked ourselves was should we just hire consultants, winemakers from all over the world? This was the time in the 90s of what they called the flying winemakers, and you had all these famous people traveling around. And we did have a few of these flying winemakers come by. me of them actually would come by and my dad would say, “Hey, you can make your wine at our winery, “you just need to teach us everything.” And that’s how we met  many great people. But then one day one of the winemakers came and said, “You need to open up the canopy. “You need to take out all the leaves ” that the grapes get the sun.” And he didn’t realize that he was in high-altitude country. And a few days later, the grapes were burnt.

Oh?

And that day I realized that we had to do our own research, we had to figure out what to do in our own place. And it’s not like Argentina just started making wine. We’ve been making wine since the 16th century. We were the fousorth largest producer of wine in the world in the 19th century.

Wow.

this is a country with a lot of knowledge, a lot of traditions, but most the wines were being made in what we called the old Italian oxidized style, which, in these big barriques, and the wine would oxidize and it tastes a little bit like shesorry, which is not bad, but all the wines tasted the same. And  a lot of the technology had to do with not allowing the oxygen in to ruin the flavors. However, the knowledge of the vineyards, the knowledge of the altitude we had, but then we had to take it a step fusorther and I realized that we had to do our own research. We had to study our own plants in order to decide what to do in our own climate and with our own grape, Malbec, which pretty much nobody else knew anything about.

No that’s true, and that’s a good segue, but before I get to that, I’m just going to welcome the many people who have joined us online here, Laura.  you’re with us with Dr. Laura Catena from Argentina. She’s an emergency room medical professional in San Francisco, a doctor, but she’s al part of the family that really is the leader in Argentine winemaking. And I want to welcome Rachelle O’Connor, as she’s here tonight. Adrian Tamblin. “I guess wine helps us very much”, Adrian is saying. Beverly, oh, I’m going to mess up your last name,  Beverly, tell me how to pronounce your last name. ” impressed with Dr. Laura Catena.” Sam, who is a wine teacher out in BC, “Absolutely, they are excellent wines.” And folks, tonight, before I forget to say this, if you click on the share button, let me show you what that means on a slide here, if you click on the little share button, tonight we are starting to reward that. We are going to give away a signed copy of Dr. Laura’s book, Dr. Catena, she insists on Laura, “Vino Argentina”, which we are going to get to. We are going to send you a copy of that, plus two Catena Wines just if you share this video.  right underneath–

There’s the book, guys.

Oh, okay, let’s get to that. It’s a beautiful book, and it’s the first book on Argentine wine in the English language, correct?

Yes.

Yes, and I mean, it’s written by someone who is at the heasort of this food and wine culture.  if you would like to get the book and the wines, you know what to do, share. And al, again, let us know, have you tried an Argentine wine? And even if you’re watching this video replay, we are going to make that decision on the prize winner at next week’s Sunday Sipper Club,  you have a little bit of time. The more you share, the more your chances. Anyway, enough about that, okay,  I’ve welcomed everybody who’s coming in, and there’s more people, Elaine Bruce is here. She first, “The first Malbec I tried “and fell in love with was from Catena and Argentine wine, “and then I researched the cuisine”, yay, yes, okay, Laura likes that. Bruno is saying, “Next pro wine for sure “I will pay a visit to your booth.” She’s no longer–

We’ll be there.

And Laura’s no longer lonely at these booths and they’re not spitting other people’s wine into her spit buckets.

Oh that’s right, that’s right.

Beverly says, “Oh boy, I always share.” Oh yes, you share the videos. Great, Beverly, you’re going to get a chance to win then. And Rachelle, “Laura,  much adoration and respect “for your family and the contributions you’ve made “to the wine world, wow. “Please tell us about the meaning behind “the building structure of the winery.” , yes.

Yes.  the winery is shaped after what looks like a Mayan pyramid. Actually, I think I have a picture of my book.

Okay.

But, oh no, actually, even better, I have a bottle here of wine where there’s a–

Ah, yes.

Image of the pyramid.

It’s got it. I’ll hold up mine too.

Do you see it? Yes.

Yes, we do.

There’s the pyramid, yes.

The pyramid.

when my father was thinking of what shape or style the winery should have, he thought of maybe doing something Italian, there’s  many beautiful Italian buildings, and there’s al Italian style buildings in Argentina, or doing something Spanish. Our family is half-Italian, half-Spanish. Catena is Italian, it means chain in Italian, Catena.

Does it, chain?

Yes. Yes, and in Latin it means the same thing. And then Zapata, you know, we are Zapata, it’s a very Spanish name that’s all through Latin America. And , he was thinking, “Should I do a Spanish thing, an Italian thing?” And then he said, “No, I need to do something that sort of “pays homage to this place that is  different, “this high altitude place.” This really is nothing like anywhere in Europe, and al very different from North America, from Australia, and he al wanted to honor it in me way. And at that same time, for me reason, our whole family started traveling a lot in Central America and started seeing all these ruins, and my father who is this fanatic of history, my sister has a PhD in history,  they share that, he has always studied the history of the Americas. And  he said, “Why not make a pyramid after the Mayans?” Who were really the most advanced civilization of the Americas. They had a language, they understood the stars, they understood time, mathematics, and they aspired very highly, like we do. And  that is where the pyramid came from. Yes.

Oh, that’s a great question Rachelle, and great answer Laura, that’s fantastic.

Thank you for the question, Rachelle.

Yes, Absolutely. And Daniel David Hewitt is here. “The best Malbecs in the world come from Catena. “We love Laura.”

Thank you.

Is that a plant? No it’s not, of course it’s not. This is naturally–

And Natalie, my n, my husband’s in Scotland, and my n, who’s in college, I said, because he’s on Facebook all the time, I said, “Luca, do you want to listen to me being interviewed?” And he said, “Oh sorry, I’m going to be at the library”, which you know, he just doesn’t want to watch me.

That’s okay. Kids need to find their way.

I’m thankful for all of you.

Aww, that’s  sweet, that’s  sweet. He’ll come back round again. I’ve got one in university too, and yes, it’s, okay, Etienne Bezard says, “Nice to see you, Laura.” And Elaine Bruce says, “Your wines are  delicious with barbecue.” We got a lot of participation here today, Laura.

Bon appetite, Etienne!

Yes, you’ve got a lot of fans out there. Okay , now tell us about why Malbec?  you know, Chile has Carmenere and Australia has Shiraz, why did you focus on Malbec? And kind of maybe take us back to a little bit of the history of Malbec and why is it now the flagship wine, grape, for Argentina and for Catena in particular?

me of the question you asked me, I can answer. me I can’t.

Okay.

, Malbec has an extraordinary history in the world. It is known to exist since Roman times. It was very famous in the Middle Ages when it was called le vin noir, the black wine, and it was often used to enrichen other wines.  you’ve probably heard how the Bordeaux wines were enrichened with Hermitage, from the road. Well al, they were richened with Malbec. And that is why by the 19th century, when we have the famous classification, when the French had the 1855 classification, 40 to 60% of the blend of those wines was Malbec.

Oh, and they were adding body and color–

And Cabernet Sauvignon. In fact, what the Bordelaise realized that with Malbec, they could add this texture and color to their wines, and  they planted it.  in 1855, those wines were made basically of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. Like our Nicolas Catena Zapata, that is about a similar sort of blend. But then what happened is after the lots were up, Malbec is a very delicate grape,  it’s a grape that if there’s a little bit of cold weather the yields go down dramatically. Last year, we had a very cold vintage in Argentina. Malbec yields down 50%, Cabernet Sauvignon yields down five to 10.  Cabernet is much tougher, Merlot is much tougher, and it’s al earlier ripening.

I would have never thought that, given Malbec is such a robust wine. I would have never thought it was a delicate grape.

It’s very delicate, and ,  what happened was that when it was brought to Argentina in 1852, it was brought as this famous French grape that was planted in Bordeaux, and it was brought along with many other things. And that’s where I can’t answer your question, why Malbec got propagated and became the number one grape in Argentina in the 19th century, nobody knows. But I had a viticulturist from Italy once tell me, because I asked him, I said, “Why didn’t you plan me varieties from Italy “here in your vineyard?” And he said, “Signora Laura, the only thing that grows well “and makes great wine in this vineyard of mine is Malbec. “And that’s why I plant Malbec.” And I think what happened was that of all the things that were brought over, Malbec just did well, it just tasted good, and it made great wine.  people are smart, if something tastes good and it makes great wine, they replant it. And because the climate is more benign in Argentina, we have less rains, it’s very even, we have all this sun and this cool climate, it was a sort of a marriage made in heaven. And that is why Malbec stayed in Argentina. Now at the time when my father started this project of making Argentine wines that could stand with the best in the world, Argentina was unknown. When I went to that wine show and poured Argentine wine, nobody had had a Malbec. I would not meet anybody in the 90s who had drink a Malbec. Now if I go to a party, they know more about Malbec than they know about football and tango. Malbec is what people know,  it’s very exciting. it’s happened in 15 years, in 20 years. But,  Malbec becomes famous in Argentina. It’s the most widely planted variety, but nobody knows it.  when my father started his project, he started exporting Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.

Ah, the badge wines, yes.

He needed to prove that he could make a great Cabernet and a great Chardonnay, and when people believe that and we got me awards for it and the Catena Cabernet Chardonnay became well-known, then he said, “Now it’s time to come out with the Malbec.” And he al spent quite me time working on the Malbec, because me of the vineyards were not well cared for. We had, we’d made a planned selection of Malbec, and we started studying how to make it and people used to make it like Cabernet Sauvignon, when actually, you need to make Malbec more like Pinot Noir because it has very smooth tannins, you can actually do Pinotage and all the things they do with Pinot Noir to bring out flavor to Malbec, and it doesn’t give you a bitter wine, like Cabernet Sauvignon would.  we had to do a lot of studies, but al, we had to listen to our grandparents because actually, every time my father and I would come up with something, my grandfather would say, “Oh, I already knew that.”

Of course. I’m sure your father loved that.

Yes. My grandfather was such an amazing person that, we loved everything he said, yes.

Well, and your father kind of felt he owed it to his father to explore Malbec because it was your grandfather who kept saying, “No, come back to Malbec.”

Yes, well no, when my father started with Cabernet and Chardonnay, he wasn’t sure about Malbec because he said, “I have yet to have a great Malbec”, and my grandfather always said, “Listen, Nicolas, “I’ve been to Europe, I’ve been to Italy, “I’ve been to France, “our Malbec is as good as their best wines.” And, you know…

Eventually, the n comes around.

Yes, yes.

Just as yours will, and mine.

Yes, I hope .

Oh yes, they will, they always come back. Okay, wow, we’ve got lots of comments flowing by,  I will just take a moment to say Bruno, he actually tasted already the Catena Zapata 2009, and al the Catena Zapata Malbec Argentina 2009. Already, the Angelica Zapata Cabernet Franc Alta.

Wow.

Super fan.

That’s probably from Argentina because we don’t usually sell that abroad.

Oh, okay, Bruno you’ve got an inside source there. Sam says, “Your wines are perfect with asado”, traditional Argentine barbecue. “Loved Argentina when I was there briefly, “especially Mendoza.” Let’s see. Richard Bayard, “Natalie, thanks for having Laura.” My pleasure, my absolute pleasure. “I had a chance to visit Catena twice in Argentina, “including a bus trip across the Andes “from Santiago to Mendoza and met Dr. Catena twice “at the LCBO dinners in Toronto. “We all loved her wines.” Wow.

Thank you, thank you for coming to, I love those dinners. They do such a great job with the food and the wine pairing  I, thank you, my friends, who come to those dinners.

Absolutely, and they’re all here tonight.  Laura, just for interest’s sake, take us for a moment to what you would consider the worst moment of your winemaking career. sort of where were you, what was happening, how did you feel?

Oh God, that’s kind of, well I’ll tell you, I do have a true story about this.  in 1998, we had El Nino.

Right.

It basically rained non-stop for three weeks. We, in the end, were unable to make any of the Catena wines. We have a wine called Alamos, and actually, Alamos got all the Catena, everything went into Alamos. That was the great year for Alamos, because they got all our good wine.

It’s declassified into–

Yes, and Alamos is a fantastic wine–

Sure, for the value, yes.

It’s for the value, it’s fantastic. And 1998, I had just had, I was pregnant with my son,  I was, I lived between San Francisco and Argentina, and Argentina, five times a year, I’m there several months, but that year I was about to have my n,  I couldn’t go. And there was El Nino, and my father had forbidden everybody from telling me the horrible things, that our vineyards were baked, the grapes were rotting, and he knew I would care  much but I couldn’t be there. And actually, watching the harvest have such a difficult time, and I remember I was looking at the weather forecast every morning and telling people, “Tell me, tell me what’s going on?” And actually not being able to be there to suffer with my team was probably one of the hardest things. And of course, I have my beautiful n and he was healthy and I was  happy for that, but not to be able to be there during a rough time, it’s probably the hardest time I’ve ever had.

Yes, that sounds excruciating when you can’t be there. Now, okay let’s end, not end this conversation but let’s go to a happy note now. What’s kind of the absolute best moment of your winemaking career  far, or the moment you say, “Wow, I’m  glad I do this”?

Well, okay,  I’ll tell you two, I have two.

Sure.

one of them, actually is with the wine that’s not mine–

Okay.

But that changed what I want out of wine.  for my father’s 70th birthday, I’d managed to get a bottle of 1939 Chateau Latour.

[Natalie] Wow.

And we opened it with my husband and my father, we took him out to a great restaurant, and the wine was glorious. And during that whole dinner, I could not stop imagining my dad, my 70 year old dad as a baby. I was thinking, here’s the bottle, and here’s my dad, who once was a baby. And it’s almost impossible to imagine your father being a baby. But I remember thinking this is the most beautiful thing ever. And then I got home, and I told my n Dante, I said, “Dante”, I told him, “We had this wine from your grandfather’s birth year.” And he said, “Why didn’t you have one of our wines?” And I said, “Because Dante, even if we’ve been making wine since 1902, “we didn’t save those wines and we don’t have them.” And he said, “You really should have been drinking “one of our wines.” And I thought, “Dante, you’re  right.” And  that day, I decided I will make wines that will last for 100 years for my children, my grandchildren, my great-grandchildren, yours, for your great-grandchildren to drink, you know? For everybody that’s listening.

There’s a legacy.

Children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-great-great-great-grandchildren because that is just a wonderful thing about wine that no other beverage or, there’s nothing that changes every year that every year tastes different and that can last for  long.

That’s true.

that year I decided that, and in terms of our wines, I have to say that getting 100 points on a wine, the first time we got 100 points, that, I know that a lot of people don’t like the whole point system and it is kind of sad to give this beautiful thing that’s almost like your child a number, but to be able to get 100 points for one of our Argentinian wines when it seems like yesterday that I was standing at that booth and nobody was tasting my wine, it was a great pleasure and to share that with my father, that I’m sort of his biggest fan and he’s my biggest fan and we could toast with that wine was really special.

Absolutely. Wow, fantastic. All right, okay  excuse me, we should, this is supposed to be a wine tasting actually,  let me not forget the chat, the conversation is  interesting, Laura, but let’s dive in. I’m going to dive into the Malbec right away because we have to cover Malbec while we’re here.  I’ve got the, your, if you can see this–

Catena Malbec, yes.

Yes, I’m on two different cameras here but I’ve got the Catena.

I call it our Chanel Jacket.

Your Chanel Jacket?

Or our Chanel Number Five, you know, it’s a classic.

I love that. Same signature and  on. , yes, tell us a bit more about this and maybe that history or how it tastes, what you’d pair with it, that sort of thing.

this is a wine that’s like what we call a high mountain blend because it comes from mountain vineyards.

Yes.

And the Malbec plants are all siblings, because they all come from the Catena cuttings, which is our whole selection of Malbec that’s planted at different altitudes. And when you blend from the coolest climate to the warmest climate you get the florals and the minerality from the cool climate, and then you get the richness from the warmer climate. And that makes for a wine that’s very generous, very concentrated, and really, Catena Malbec can go with  many different kinds of foods. Why? Because it has intense aromatics but very smooth tannins.  you can actually pair it with something like meat, which is pretty dense, but the other thing you can pair it with is spicy foods.  I think there’s very few red wines that go with spicy food but Malbec, because of the minerality and the smooth tannins, it can go with a curry, for example. And I often al pair it with vegetables and even with fish. The traditional pairing is white wine, but I, I like Malbec.  I think it’s a very versatile wine because of the smooth tannins.  the thing to remember about Malbec is that it’s a Bordeaux variety, but I think of the palate, if you were blinded, it’s more of the Barolo or Pinot Noir style because the tannins are very ft.

Right.

And that’s a characteristic, it’s genetic of the Malbec grape.  you get sort of something big, but with smoothness.

Absolutely, that really comes through in this one.

That’s what’s classic, yes.

Yes, it’s beautiful. And I just excuse me posted a link to where all of these wines are posted on our site, reviewed, where you can find them in the local liquor store, and I should just say, if you’re just joining us now folks, you’re with the Sunday Sipper Club, we’re here with Dr. Laura Catena, Argentine top winemaker and emergency room physician. And if you share this video, I’ll just show you where you do that, the little share icon, you could win a signed copy a Laura’s book, “Vino Argentina”, and two bottles of Catena wine. There she goes! That’s your book, and we’re going to get to that. Let’s just, let’s just talk about that now. When did that get published, Laura?

it was at the end of 2010.

Mmhmm.

And, but most of the information is still up to date. It actually has a list of wineries that you can visit in the back. When I started working on the book somebody said, “Well, you can’t write a book about your competitors.” And I’m one of those people, if somebody says I can’t do something, then I want to do it even more.

More fuel.

Yes,  I said, “Well why? “I plan to write all kinds of great things about everybody “and somebody’s got to write this book and “the people who know the most about our region “are the wine producers.”  I actually interviewed other producers and nobody had a problem with it, they all wanted to be in the book. In fact, there were a few people that turned their interviews three months late, and they were really sad that they couldn’t be in the book. I said, “You know, we already finished the book.” But everybody wants to be in the book, and it al has recipes, and itineraries, and it has a chapter on what our site is with restaurant recommendations.  it’s a book to get it a few months before you go to start making the food and getting excited about it and then, you should take it with you because in each region, it tells you which wineries you could visit. But many of the wineries in the back are listed with the, the email for making appointments to go visit with the phone numbers.

That’s great. Very practical.

it’s very practical. Yes, yes.

Yes. And even if you’re not going to visit Argentina, which you should, still you could, you could open this book and do a little tasting yourself or with me friends and really get to know Argentina and pair me classic recipes, me asado, maybe me chimichurri, that nice spicy–

Yes, I have a ribeye with chimichurri,  it’s, the chimichurri recipe, the key with chimichurri is you have to make it a few days earlier,  it amalgamates.

Okay.

And my actual favorite recipe in the book is Torrontes ice cream.

Oh, okay, all right.

It’s amazing. It’s the best ice cream you will ever have.

That alone is worth the price of the book, Torrontes.  your book is available on Amazon, I know that, and Chapters Indigo here in Canada, but Amazon around the world, but folks, you could win a free copy, a signed copy tonight if you share the video. Dave Head is here and he has a lot of Catena bottles in his cellar. John Miller is saying, “Great wine discussion.” Yay. Beverly, “My bucket list is to visit your winery.” Excellent. Okay.

I hope .

Yes, okay , and I’ve got another Malbec here, Laura. Maybe you can tell us, let me just see, I’ve got a little bit of a crowded desk here, I’m trying to keep it all straight but it’s, oh, it’s this one. Adrianna, which must be named after your sister, the Adrianna Vineyard Malbec 2013. Again, the links are below here, but tell us a little bit about this one, Laura.

Which, what does it say on the parcel, which parcel is it?

It says Fortuna Terrae.

Oh yes, yes. That was actually the first 100-point wine, but not that vintage. It’s 2012.

Okay.

But this one is really good too. Well, the Fortuna Terrae comes from a parcel in the Adrianna Vineyard which is very high up by the mountains. It’s at almost 5,000 feet elevation. And because of that, it has these very cool nights, it has a lot of sunlight, and it has this incredibly well-drained soil because it’s the, an old dried riverbed. But because the river was moving with earthquakes and volcanoes, there’s all these different parcels.  this comes from a very special parcel that has a deep, low sandy il with huge limestone pebbles at the bottom. And Fosortuna Terrae means luck of the easorth, and it’s because this particular parcel has a lot of native grasses, this is a 100% organically farmed vineyard, it has a lot of insects and little birds and it just looks more alive. There’s all these flowers and I say, “Who planted those flowers?” And nobody knows, it’s just there. And , and the wine is just  generous and  alive–

It’s beautiful.

And , it’s a very aromatic wine, it has violets, a lot of black and red fruits both, and then it’s very smooth, and I think that this one could age easily, 10, 20, 30, 40 years. Hopefully 100, I’m not sure about 100 but, I can’t promise you because I’ll never find out.

Yes, well, and it’s, I’m just smelling and tasting it now, excuse me, it tastes youthful, it doesn’t taste anyway harsh or tannic or not coming together, but it just tastes like a young wine and it’s 2013. This could go a long distance for sure.

I think , I hope .

Oh, Absolutely. All right, and Carla has joined. “Love it!” Lots of heasort emojis. Elaine, Torrontes is her favorite new white wine.

Oh.

Okay, cool. Okay —

Yes, Torrontes is a very interesting variety because it’s native to Argentina. It happened with a cross of two varieties–

Okay.

In Argentina at me point. And it’s planted widely, and mostly in Salta, to the nosorth. And it makes very, very aromatic, very sort of Muscat-y reaning-like, aromatic, and it’s just, it’s just a great cocktail wine. You just walk into the house, I always, when I’m in Mendoza, I always have a bottle of Torrontes in the fridge because when I feel like Torrontes, I only feel like Torrontes.

I know, it’s , it is beautiful, it evokes sort of Marsanne, Viognier, Rhone sort of whites but it’s got its own Argentine signature, it’s that lovely light floral, there’s a couple I know in Toronto, Dasorryl and Tess, and they both love it, that’s almost all they drink.  I know you makeexcuse me, do you make a Catena Torrontes?

No, we have an Alamos Torrontes–

Oh, that’s what I thought, yes.

And the rean why is because Catena is all estate vineyards in Mendoza. Catena Zapata is a Mendoza winery, and  all the wines come from Mendoza. And I think that Torrontes is better from Salta.  that’s why it’s not under Catena.

And which, for the, because you’re in the uthern hemisphere, your harvests are the opposite of the nosorthern hemisphere  February, March, but al the fasorther uth you go, the cooler you get, right?

It takes everybody  long to think, when I’m in nosorthern hemisphere, I still get confused.

Yes, well, even just pointing this video, it’s like talking in a mirror. Anyway, okay,  that’s  cool. Sam, “Love the high altitude Malbecs.” Absolutely. And you know, I think your father and you, of course, were really pioneers in exploring what altitude did to the wines, not just Malbec but other varietals, and just at different gradations. Tell us a little bit about the most remarkable finding you’ve found with altitude as it relates to wines in Argentina.

Yes, , when we started making wines, we were making wines from sort of the medium altitude area and they were actually quite good, and we still have me grape vineyards there. But one day actually, my father was tasting, yes, I was with him, we were in France on one of these trips where I was his translator, that’s how I actually started loving wine, and we had brought a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from a traditional area. Now I’m talking about the late 80s and this producer who is a great friend now and was then from Bordeaux drank this Cabernet Sauvignon and says, “This reminds me of a Cabernet from the Languedoc.” And I guarantee you that for a Bordeaux person to say Languedoc, it’s not good. I think Languedoc is making amazing wines now, but back then it was considered this sort of warm, too warm, lower quality region  I of course knew nothing about wine and I’m thinking, “Languedoc? “sounds good.” My father says, “This is the worst “that somebody could say to you. “He’s saying it’s too warm.” He got back to Argentina and he told his team, “You, go look for a cool climate.” And  we started planting fusorther uth where we now have probably most of our vineyards are in the uth of the Uco Valley where it’s cooler and al west, where the Adrianna Vineyard is. But in the west, where the Adrianna is is in this small district called Gualtallary, there’s not a lot of plantable land because there’s not a lot of water.  there’s actually no capacity for more vineyards at this point.

Okay.

But basically, it was partly because of this challenge, and then what we found there was more sunlight, which the grapes, to protect the skins, they have more tannins at higher altitude. We’ve done lots of research on that.  there’s more tannins, there’s more complexity, and al at the higher altitude, you have these cooler nights, but al a cooler climate overall. And that’s why you can make these very rich concentrated wines but that have freshness, not–

They’re not heavy and flabby.

Listen, over the last month before we harvest, usually the Brix go up by one, and Brix is an indicator of sugar,  really it’s  cool there that you don’t get these heavy alcohols, you get moderate alcohols which is, I think when most of us who drink wine regularly like.

Absolutely, it’s, yes, it’s the pure taste and refreshment. It’s, if you enjoy wine, you’re just not looking for the alcoholic hit, you of course want that slow sort of enjoyment. All right, good. Okay,  we know, let’s see, let me just go back to, oh, I actually need to, because I always get caught up in the conversation here but I have al an interesting wine here that your team sent me, Laura. It’s a Cabernet Franc from San Carlos. Cabernet Franc from 2014, I’ll show it in my camera up here. I don’t know if you can see it. Maybe you could talk a little bit about, the Cabernet Franc, I haven’t heard much about that from Argentina.

Yes,  Cabernet Franc is not widely planted in Argentina but we actually have 20 hectares of Cabernet Franc, which is the same amount that Cheval Blanc has, just–

Oh really?

If you were interested.

That’s a good measure because they’re famous for that wine in Bordeaux.

I know, but in Argentina, but it’s not widely planted like Malbec is but it’s become very fashionable, and it has the sort of Cabernet type of pyrazines, that kind of menthol-y, peppery aromatic.

Definitely.

But it’s a little more generous on the palate, a little smoother, sweeter, not from sugar but just, it’s what the variety gives than a Cabernet Sauvignon. And  actually it’s become  fashionable that there’s not enough, and most of the Cabernet Franc is staying in Argentina, because Argentines are seeking it at their white stores.

They know a good thing and they’re not going to let it out.

Yes, yes. But this comes from San Carlos. We have a beautiful vineyard there and we used to actually blend it in with the Cabernet Sauvignon and how could you blend this? It’s  good.

I know. It’s  distinctive.

Yes.

I’m glad it’s standalone.

Yes, and the Appalachians wines are actually a line that we started about six years ago because what I realized were that people needed to understand our regions. People were saying, “Oh, Malbec is Malbec.” No, Malbec is not Malbec. Malbec is Malbec from Agrelo, Malbec from La Consulta, Malbec from Gualtallary, if you taste a Malbec from a different region, it would taste  different, and I realized that we had not done a good enough job at explaining this,  that’s why we came out with these Appalachian wines that have been really exciting for wine drinkers and I’ve been told by friends that they buy each one of them and then do blind tastings and that’s what’s fun about wine, learning about the different flavors from the different regions and the different producers.

Absolutely. Oh my goodness, I can’t believe the comments are flying by, you’re telling great stories, and then I’m over here and everybody’s, okay Dasorryl Vennard, “Ask Laura about attending school “in St. Louis when she was in the second grade.” I think–

Oh, yes.

You’re getting me throwback questions here from–

, Dasorryl is a good friend. And guess what, he’s been to Argentina many times and he likes to wear a poncho,  we call him Poncho.

Poncho.

Yes, yes,  the story is, when my father came to the US for a summer, and I went to a school in St. Louis and it was very hard because I didn’t speak English very well. And, when we were moving back to the US for two years, I said to my parents, “I want to go back to St. Louis”, because when I had left, they had given me this, this heasort filled with chocolates. And I remember that as the nicest kids I’d ever met because they’d given me these chocolates. And,  I’ve always had a great memory of St. Louis, Misuri.

It’s very nice to make a big impression when you’re a child.

Yes, but actually, there’s generally very, very nice people there and every time I go back, I am  touched by the hospitality. And Canadians, al very, very hospitable.

Well, we try. We often apologize.

I think that when you’re around wine, everybody is nicer.

It is, I think it brings out the best in people, until a cesortain point.

Yes, it does, in moderation.

Moderation, moderation.

Moderation. And as a doctor, that’s one of my responsibilities.

Absolutely.

Seriously.

Yes, Absolutely. And I’m going to come back to you just before, because these comments disappear,  I’m going to read these first, then I’m coming back to that point. Ronald John Benzie, “Can we get these in Australia?” Can they get your wines in Australia?

Yes.

Okay —

In fact, if you go in our website, catenazapata.com or catenawines.com and you look, I don’t remember where it is but it might be something like where or something–

Yes.

And the name of our imposorter in Australia, then you could send them a message, yes.

Oh good, okay. And Lori Kilmasortin is here from Ottawa. “Hello, Dr. Catena.” Hello, Lori. Stephen Andrews in Waterloo, “I am glad I got a bottle.” He’s always tasting on theme. Ronald, “Gracias”, Ronald says.  Laura, back to health and wine because you are a doctor. What kind of advice do you give? There’s  many studies coming out these days for health and wine and we won’t, I know that’s a whole other topic but can you give us your top line of what you believe in terms of wine and health?

Okay.  I mean, basically, the retrospective studies on people who drink in moderation, which is for many people in the wine industry, it’s less than what they drink.  everybody should be reassessing this. It’s two glasses per day for a man, and one glass per day for a woman, and the criteria in Europe are a little bit different. For example in Greece, it’s two glasses for women and three glasses for men. But the study that, there was a very large study done in the US where they found that people that drank in moderation, which really means drinking every day a little bit or three times a week drinking a little bit. For example, if you have your two glasses per day all at once, you have 10 glasses in one day, which would be two bottles, that is very bad for you. That basically puts you at risk of death, depression, all kinds of bad things, accidents,  it’s really the in moderation and not all at once. And that, and especially with food because food allows the wine to be abrbed more slowly. And  if you drink with food, your level in your bloodstream will be sort of lower and more constant.  they think that actually, and actually the studies show that beer and spirits in moderation of the same alcohol quantities are equally as effective, in terms of reducing strokes, and dementia,  that’s about 30% reduction in people who drink in moderation, and al heasort disease, 30% drop reduction. Now there’s a new study being done now that’s just starting and in Argentina, we’re participating. It’s ran by a researcher at Harvard which will actually put people in a you drink wine or you don’t drink wine category and they will follow them for five years.

Ah, interesting.

Now you might have heard me of this data about cancer —

Yes, yes.

Yes,  there’s al me data coming out about sausages, that they increase your cancer risk.  there are me cancers such as throat cancer and ephageal cancer and cancers to do with sort of the gastric tract that even a moderate alcohol consumption can slightly increase your risk. Now we’re talking about pretty rare cancers, and we’re talking about a small increase. It’s not a huge increase.  I think that if somebody has a family history of those cancers, they should talk to their doctor and decide if they should be a drinker or not. , it’s just kind of like everything in life, nothing’s 100% but I think you need to you know do your research and basically talk to your primary care doctor and figure out what’s moderate drinking for you and for me, I don’t have those cancers in my family, but there’s people with dementia  I feel like, okay, I’m drinking wine. But I could be proven wrong. That’s why there’s studies and not individuals, you can’t base your decisions on what happened to your cousin. You truly have to go to a doctor who knows the data.

Right.

Yes.

Wow, that’s good, good advice, sage advice. Okay. Steven, “My wife doesn’t agree, she drinks like a man.” Okay. Elaine Bruce–

Oh actually, actually, I can answer to that —

Okay.

me people have more alcohol dehydrogenase than others. It’s the enzyme that breaks down alcohol —

Ah.

Really, in the future, what I foresee is that you will actually get studied and you will get told what is moderation for you?

Ah, personal medicine.

Because a lot of, right,  in general, men have more alcohol dehydrogenase than women, and al usually, there’s, they have, body mass is higher.  they can,  actually if you’re bigger, you can probably drink a little more for it to count as moderation.  all these studies are not done taking that into consideration. And al not taking into consideration your genetics, whether you have addiction in your family, that’s al an issue.

Yes.

And, I think that towards the future, we will actually get a test that will tell us for your genes, you should drink x, or you should drink less than this, or more than this or whatever. I think that’s what the future of medicine holds for us in this and many other areas.

Wow.

Yes.

That is fascinating. Okay. Lori says, “Maybe I missed this but how many”, oh, Lori is asking, no you didn’t miss this, Lori, “How many hours a week do you work at the hospital? “Is it full-time plus winemaking?”

Yes, no–

This is a how does she do it all kind of question.

Well no, I actually work part-time, which emergency doctors usually don’t work every day because we work a lot of weekends and nights,  I actually work between six and eight days per month.

Okay.

And me months, I work just four,  it’s basically once or twice a week as a doctor, and then I have to spend a lot of hours reading and being up-to-date on all the latest literature, and I al teach. But then pretty much the rest of time, I’m either in Argentina or on Skype or Whatsapp or one of these things.

Wow, okay. Rachelle O’Connor, “Yes, the link between health and wine. “I love the medicine and Malbec reference “you made in your, “to you and your wonderful ability to help people “in moderation to tie it all together. “I smiled when you read that your grandfather “knew and adored you  much. “And that he had a name for you, La Lauchita.”

La Lauchita, that means the little mouse. Because–

Aww!

Because I never stopped moving. And  he called me La Lauchita.

That’s  cute, oh my gosh. Okay, Joseph Fisher, “Laura Catena is one of the nicest people ever. “I’ve met her twice at her family’s winery “and could not have been more welcomed any nicer.” Wow. Stephen Andrews, “It’s the toughest job, “an emergency room doctor, good for you.” Lori Kilmasortin, “Doctor, winemaker, teacher, you’re aweme, “most respected.” We’re just going to all have a visortual group hug right now.  you know what, Laura? I can’t believe it’s almost been an hour.  I have, I’ve not even asked half the questions just because the conversation has been  great. Excuse me, if there’s anything we’ve left out that you’d like to cover right now, is there something you’d like to talk about? Because we still have time, if you have the time, that you feel you’d like to just talk about before we wrap up this segment with you?

Yes, I think that I’d like to invite, first of all, everybody to come to Argentina, to get to know Argentine food, and to al, something I spoke about before about the regionality of Argentine wine. I think that people who learn about wine spend a lot of time memorizing all the regions of France and all the regions of Italy and the regions of Spain, and we have these same kind of traditions with different blends, different flavors of Malbec, and actually different foods in the different provinces. Mendoza is my province, but there’s al other winemaking provinces all across the Andes, from nosorth to uth. There’s 2,000 miles that the vineyards from the nosorth to the uth, down to Patagonia. And  what I hope that all our friends here that have been  wonderful participating is that you will take me time to learn more about different regions, about different varieties in Argentina, the different flavors of Malbec, and drink not just my wines, but many other wines from Argentina, and that you will take this learning and share it. Because we, as a winemaking region, we supposort a lot of people. My region, Mendoza, ever since we’ve been exporting wine has become much more prosperous. There’s better schools, there’s better hospitals, and people have more, and a lot of it it’s thanks to you, in Canada, and people all over the world buying our wines. And  I’m hoping that our friends here on the show will act as ambassadors for Argentina. And I’m very grateful to all of you who already do. Like you, Natalie.

Aww, that’s  lovely, Laura. And you make us feel good about drinking wine. It’s mehow helping humanity. But still–

Yes, you are, you are.

Putting it all in perspective, , we are going to wrap up this segment. Folks, I’m going to stay online a bit longer to just take more questions and talk about upcoming guests and  on. But a reminder, you can win a signed copy of Laura’s book, maybe she’ll hold it up for us as I say this. Yes, a signed copy of “Vino Argentino”, the first book in the English language about Argentina, written by Laura, about the food and wine culture. It’s an essential book if you’re going to visit Argentina. And even if you’re not, if you’re going to sit and learn about Argentina, taste Argentine wines, maybe gather me friends, have a little tasting, this is the book for you because it’s got recipes, all kinds of things. And you can win two bottles of Argentine wine. All you need to do is share, click on the little share icon, make a few comments, just let people know in your timeline just how much you enjoyed this chat. And that’s all you need to do. Laura,  much, thank you  much for all your insights tonight, generously sharing your time, your wines, all that you do. You’re a real inspiration for me personally and it’s clear for all the people that joined us here tonight.  thank you  much for being with us this evening.

Thank you, and everybody come visit us in Mendoza.

We are all coming. It’s going to be a big bus.

I hope .

Or airplane. Maybe we’ll get an airplane. Anyway,  we will say goodbye for now and you must come back and join us again, Laura.

Adios, amigos.

Ah, adios. Okay. All right folks, I’m going to stay on here a little longer. What I would like to know from you is what is the most interesting point you learned tonight? If you could post it in the comment section below, what is it about Argentine wines or anything Laura said or maybe another comment by another person tonight? I would love to know. And next week, we’ve got Clark Smith, who is an innovator and a disrupter and a disturberhe’s a great guy from California who’s going to be here. I am really searching out the most intriguing people in the wine world for you. You don’t want to miss that chat next Sunday at 6:00 pm Eastern time, New York, Toronto. If you want to know when we go live, click on the follow button, and it will just give you a little ting when we’re live in case you forget, all that kind of thing. But again, I’m just going to go back to the comments here and let’s see, oh Paul, “What a fascinating time. “Thank you for all you do, Laura.” Elaine, Lori, thank you, Beverly, thank you. Such a great chat, wasn’t it? I mean, she’s  smasort and that, these are the kind of guests I want. It’s just, to share the history, the insight, to bring the wine alive, there’s lots of great wine out there. But when you can couple that with someone who really can tell the story and be animated about it, give us education, even when we don’t realize we’re being educated. It’s like, my mom used to hide the peas in the mashed potatoes.  get the nutrition we’ll eat in the good stuff.  again, if there’s anything else, oh, Lori says, “I liked her comment “about how we focus on different areas of France “and other countries, but maybe we don’t realize that “Malbecs are al, have many micro-regions, “that they’re not all the same thing.” Dave”Natalie, I wish Paul a happy 70th.” 70th bisorthday! Paul, Patti and Paul, you must be celebrating. Happy bisorthday to you both, oh, to you both, to Paul. Well, to you both, you’re both celebrating the bisorthday. And I believe Jon Steeves is having a bisorthday tonight too.  Jon, Monique, if you’re having a bisorthday, it’s feeling like Good Morning America here with the bisorthday wishes, but that’s fun. I like it when it gets personal. Caria, “Thank you from Paraguay.” Excellent. Oh, Carla, sorry. My vision is, I’m looking away across here. Carla, I’m  glad you could join us. I just love how this brings us all together from around the world.  guysas usual, even after the live broadcast is finished, I will be jumping in here, Laura will be jumping in here to answer your questions, and for that contest where you can win a signed copy of her book and two bottles of wine, we are not going to announce that ’til next Sunday,  you have a week to get in here, to share it, to comment, to do all sorts of things to win your prize, because it’s going to be well wosorth it. And I’m going to try to do that more often, just to make it more fun here. Rachelle, “Tonight’s Sunday Sipper Club was fantastic, “really enjoyed it, thank you both.” Thank you. Thank you, Dave, thanks Paul. Ah, not yet. “I still a couple of months before of being young.” Okay, comes in November. Excellent, Paul. Paul and Patti in Virginia.  guys, I think that’s it for me, I think I’m going to sign out. Hey Steven, notice that I did not spit much. Yes, it’s good Malbec. I did spit me of it. Anyway guys, next week, you don’t want to miss it, 6:00 pm, Toronto, New York time, Clark Smith. This guy has ruffled a lot of feathers in the wine industry but he is smasort. Smasort, smasort, smasort. And he’s into postmodern winemaking. It’s hard for me to describe it all, but you know, and you’re starting to trust me with the guests I’m getting, you’re going to love this guy. He’s got a lot of provocative things to say. He’s going to open our eyes to winemaking as it is today and where it’s going in the future. Don’t miss it.  I’ll see you next Sunday on the Sunday Sipper Club. Take care.