An Introduction to Zuccardi

Established in 1963 by Alberto Zuccardi, the estate has become one of the leaders’ in Argentinian winemaking under the watchful eye of the third generation with Sebastián Zuccardi. Following in his grandfather’s footsteps, he creates wines with a sense of place; the Andes mountains and the unique climate of the Uco Valley.

 

Q&A

Describe yourself in 3 words…

Viticulturist, winemaker, and drinker!

 

Provide a brief description of your winery and vineyards…

We are a family of winegrowers with a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Constant research and training are a premise in our work. In 2009, I formed the Research and Development area, which meant a great little revolution for the winery, as it represented the way we interpret the place and the type of wines we wanted to make. R&D defined our identity as producers, determining where we wanted to go and what our wines wanted to say about us. That was the beginning of our Vineyards in the Uco Valley and the construction of the winery at Finca Piedra Infinita, in Paraje Altamira.

 

What is your winemaking philosophy?

We do mountain wines. Our greatest challenge is making wines that reflect the uniqueness of the place where we grow. We want our wines to express the landscape, the climate, and the soil of the micro regions in the Uco Valley, and also their relationship with the Andes Mountains.

 

If you had to recommend one of your wines to a customer, which one would it be?

I would say Concreto. Concreto is a wine that truly represents us. It is a wine that clearly tells the family's philosophy and expresses the potential of the region. In Concreto we seek to “undress” the wine, enhancing its expression of the place and showing the naked texture that the calcareous soils of Paraje Altamira give us. For its production, we select only the most stony and calcareous plots of the vineyard; and we vinify with the whole bunch as it was done in the past. Fermentation and storage are done completely in concrete tanks without epoxy, looking to avoid the influence of aromas and flavours that do not come from the vineyard, and to amplify the texture of the wine.

 

What is your favourite varietal to work with? And to drink?

Without a doubt, Malbec is the best vehicle to express our terroirs, and it allows us to show the characteristics of the place with great transparency. Malbec is our emblematic grape, but I believe that the future is in the place and its interpretation! Its plasticity to adapt to our places is so impressive and generates the possibility of continuous exploration into its different variations and, therefore, it continually surprises!

 

What is your favourite food and wine pairing?

I drink wine every day! I like it, I enjoy it and I accompany all meals. Malbec is an extremely versatile wine when combining with meals. It can be combined with meats in general, red meats, especially a typical Argentine barbecue, goat meat from Malargüe (in Mendoza), or a Patagonian lamb (Patagonia Argentina). Anyway, I recommend looking for wines that can accompany the table and people. Sometimes the best pairing is the situation and who you share with. Those wines become memorable.

 

What has been your greatest achievement as a winemaker?

I am proud to have achieved a clear vision regarding what wines we want to make and how we want to express our places, always seeking uniqueness and not perfection. Our wines are mountain wines, in which the mountain range determines its identity through the climate, the alluvial soils, the light, the height and the water with which we grow. Our identity as producers has to do with the fact that we are people who were born and live in the mountains, and that is a pride for me.

 

What are the key trends have you seen emerging in Argentina over the past couple of years?

Without a doubt, the consideration of the Argentinian Wine industry is growing throughout the world, but according to the markets that we reach and the recognitions we obtained as a country, we could say that we are highly regarded. There is a lot of work to be done to teach consumers about our wines and places, though first it was necessary to discover them, get to know them, deepen the work, and achieve wines that tell the story of where we grow. 

I feel that there is nothing that we do not have. Today we are making wines at the highest level in the world, and we must work on communicating that, making people discover them so that the real dimension of where we are standing is taken. Having a strong local market and growing in terms of quality gives even more strength to what we have been doing. For me, the local market is also strategic and has nothing to envy, from the consumer's palate, to the international one.

Today Argentina is known for Malbec, but in the future, we must complement this work through the places. I am optimistic that it is a matter of work and time, but the current approach is correct.

 

What does the future hold for Zuccardi?

Zuccardi Valle de Uco is a family project, a project of generations that must continue. My goal is to continue learning about our vineyards, exploring different areas of the Uco Valley and continue developing our own Zuccardi identity. We want our wines to be part of the great areas in the wine map. Simple things do the biggest challenges!