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EP 929 Laura Catena from Bodega Catena Zapata


Gary Vaynerchuk sits down with Laura Catena, from the famous Bodega Catena Zapata in Argentina. They try a Chardonnay and Malbec from Catena and some tasty treats.

Wines tasted in this episode:

2008 Catena Alta ChardonnayArgentine Chardonnay
2008 Catena MalbecArgentine Malbec

Links mentioned in todays episode.


Latest Comment:

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luca bercelli

95/100
Phenomenal guest (one of the best) and phenomenal show. Absolutely loved it.

Tags: Argentina, chardonnay, malbec, red, review, Video, white, wine, wines

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  • Anonymous

    Good question, I was going to ask the same thing. 62-64 degrees will be cool enough to enhance aromatics yet still enable an experienced taster to detect potential flaws.

  • wow, 43 min episode on a friday! Catena very available in Sweden from 12 bones and up to 78. Malbec=12 dollars. GARY let the woman answer your questions!!!! Janice tried wine at room temperature, she said so on your show. Free tasting at the Vineyard? I got a free tasting at 8 different places in France two weeks ago, even at a 2GC. Who charge for tasting and where and why?QOTD: Package winetours from Europe at reasonable cost.

  • Anonymous

    Dude! Dudet! excellent! Catena Rocks! big ole chunk of meat with your personal knife!

  • SlowWineLover

    Great sales person and clearly a very lovely lady. Clean, fruit driven, but somewhat boring, recipe style wines. I wonder what she thought of you slating (81 points) their chardonnay in the recent chardonnay blind tasting!

  • KevO

    Laura Catena was one of the best, most gracious and smartest guests that you’ve ever had. I’m not sure that Laura ever finished a thought/question, G did you really have to step all over her? You tried the same wine with Michael Schlow and didn’t care for it, why no challenge? Was it a different vintage? 2007 I think, how did you rate the 2008 Malbec? Probably should have been a two parter. I’m really interested in trying the Chard, how much oak? I really love the true fruit coming through in them as well as some of the other white varietals.
    Sorry for being so critical this morning, maybe too much caffeine.

    QOTD: 1 – under $13, 2 – how well does an ‘only English speaker’ do navigating the country? If like Germany, I’m there…KevO

  • Matteo

    Great show, She clearly doesn’t seem to concerned about loosing US market share if Malbec goes the way of Australia as much as you tried to shake her down. What is the US market share for Catena if Argentina is 70% and they are in 55 other countries?

  • Understood KevO will try harder next time!

  • I wondered too 🙂

  • Sorry for the cut offs 🙁

  • Phong thnx for hanging with us!

  • Listening to your feedback and will bring it back “meaning reel it in at times” 🙂

  • sorry 🙁 was too excited

  • I know guys, I know, I am flawed 🙁

  • Laura is enchanting! Great interchange between you too, though I am DYING for some alfajores now! Love what Catena brings to the table, both with wine and tradition. Keep the style as it is…don’t blow it up.

    Side QOTD: $10-12 popped right in there for me.
    QOTD: Many of the previous suggestions are right there. Advertising up during our fall/winter for future travel. A new push by Argentina’s tourism bureau would help, though it sounds like many in the wine industry can probably pull something together. I would love to swing by Argentina after visiting my fam in Santiago.

  • Loved this show. What a super lady.

    Have her back. I want to see the green cap next time….And throw some Argentinian beef on the table.

  • Brad B.

    Laura was fantastic. I visited Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego once on the way to Antarctica and it was great, but Laura makes me want to visit the rest of Argentina. Wine, meat, beautiful landscapes, and charming women? What else is there?

    Gary, I know you get excited, but you have to take a breath sometimes and let your guest finish a sentence! I don’t think she was able to finish a single thought she had. But I know you are trying. She handled it well and was very gracious which is nice. I will have to look for those dulce cookie things in Wegmans. I have bought the dulce con lecce there before–great stuff.

  • Very nice episode. Really liked Laura. I guess you weren’t feeling up to the challenge of the recent wine you had, a little challenge. She was just too sweet huh?

    I really liked it all though and my mouth was watering after the “peanut butter” cookies.

    QOTD: Help us get there. Give us some connection, plan, incentive. I’d love to come, seems so out there though without knowing where to go. Guess I need the book? 😉

  • Oakmon’s BF

    The Jets are playing the Vikings. Whatever happened to Lars?

  • got better in the end, don’t be to sad G it’s sort of the charms with this show, sometimes 😀 Have a nice weekend.

  • Chech out episode 715 and 716. Really good. And the one with Janice Robinson No 568. And why not 756 and 757. female knowlaedge in abundance and good shows.

  • Catena Zapata is featured in this book (Wineries Archetecture & Design) on pg 138. Nice write up.
    http://www.amazon.com/Wineries-Bodegas-Architecture-Design-Arquitectura/dp/8496241785/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1286647089&sr=8-2#_

  • Bbolter

    THIS is why I started watching so long (two years) ago. Knowledge. Insight. Honesty. Dissection. Less hype, more wine. Thank you for refocusing with such an amazingly bright and interesting guest.

  • Thnx, will be refocusing more and more 🙂

  • LARS …WOW! classic 😉

  • BB I Know, I get excited and do a really poor job interviewing at times, I really apologize, I am trying 🙁

  • WHat do u mean?

  • Anonymous

    Friday for both parts of the Wine & Spirits vlog I got only the vlog without the wines tasted section or the comments section or ANYTHING else. I even clicked on the episode title thinking that I may have been the 1st commenter….nothing. Refreshed the screen….nothing. I was really bummed because I thought that I had some truly PROFOUND things to say 😉

  • scottEJ

    Nice, pleasant show to watch. So cool that she chose being an entrepreneur in the wine world over being a doctor. True passion. Thanks for her on the show G. and thanks for coming Laura. I have enjoyed the Catena line for many, many years and will continue to do so as long as the passion is there.

    QOTD: Argentina is my list of vacation spots. I see so many Argentinian steak houses popping up, I could only image that this will promote more tourism to that part of the world. I look forward to going there soon. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

  • MJP

    Laura Catena was really charming. Great show. Makes me want to make a steak and drink some malbec.

  • philoxera

    Nice Guest….Pity about the host!!!!!! 😉

  • Anonymous

    I have wanted to go to Argentina for many years. I am intrigued by the wine regions as well as Buenos Aires and many other parts of the country. I like that you are making wines with a sense of place and that is really what defines my taste. I love wine that expresses authentic terroir and has a soul. Continue to make high quality wines with that goal, and I will continue to buy them! Some of the best wines I have ever tasted have been from Argentina. in fact the 2005 uNico by Cobos is in the top three wines of my life. Keep up the good work! I dont think Argentina will become flavor of the month because the wines have more personality. I drank a lot of Auzzie shiraz for a time and they all started to taste the same. Make unique wines and people will buy them.

  • Cellarrat5

    Good show, with a charming, intelligent and beautiful guest. I unfortunately do not have much experience with Malbec. I have tried a few blends that were quit good, but I do not believe I have tried any 100% Malbec before. I plan to remedy this as soon as I can actually taste anything again (the beginning of harvest season is reeking havoc on my immune system).

    SQOTD: see above comment, but the first number that popped into my head was 18 bones.

    QOTD: Social media (sounds like Catena might already be exploring/exploiting this category). I also believe it would be beneficial to have some information about your personal story and the rich history you described on this episode. “Wine people” such as myself always enjoy hearing the story behind the vine, and I believe this would draw others to your winery and your cause.

  • David M Roberts

    Huge fan of Catena malbec, so this was a great episode. I think I like the label even more, now that I can see the lovely woman behind the juice.

  • Sstec001

    Great show….

  • Andres

    Domestic consumption in Argentina accounts for over 70%, with the US buying roughly one third of all exports, so that would mean it is about 10%…

  • Latour90

    Another great one GV. Sometimes it seems the female guests are the best. Heidi Peterson Barrett, Jancis Robinson, Michelle Turnbull, now Laura Catena. Everyone of those show were outstanding. I’m having the JETS Uncorked wine Monday while they crush that photo lover Favre and slouch Moss.

  • Andres R.

    I believe it was the Cab Sauv that was tasted with Michael Schlow, not the Malbec. No problems for English speakers in Argentina!

  • Rimarfish

    Rewatching this episode. One of my favorites

  • WineWoman

    Finally sat down to watch the longer show. Excellent, entertaining guest. Might consider a visit there. Gary had a great idea involving a wine festival type promotion. I think instead of the Thunder Cruise, maybe a guided tour with the Vayniac entourage and whomever else might be interested would be one small way to get more tourists there. Personally, I am more dedicated to visiting U. S. wineries, but the way Laura described Mendoza and Buenos Aires, it sounded very beautiful and I’m sure it is.

  • AndresR

    It really takes only about 10 hours to fly from Dallas Fort Worth to Buenos Aires. There are also several -usually overnight- flights from other US cities. And there is virtually no time change, so the jetlag is really reduced…

  • Nice show Gary. I don´t think you interrupted inappropriatelly. Laura is a bussiness woman. Look for Sémillon from Mendoza or Patagonia (these usually much better than Mendoza). But even if you want a super Semillon from Lujan de Cuyo try Ricardo Santos selección, one of the best.
    You may find it tasted at http://www.argentinawinesrevisited.blogspot.com

  • Jer

    I sensed some sexual tension here…the 2007 was a great malbec; looking forward to the 2008…

  • Andres, Thanks for the info. Cheers!

  • tmok2000

    Really enjoyed the show and the guest. Laura is very passionate about wine, and very knowledgeable as well. I also want to add that I like the Catena Alta Chardonnay very much. It is one of my go-to chardonnays. For that price, it’s hard to beat.

    QOTD: To be honest, Argentina is not on my top 5 tourist destinations. I don’t know why, but it hasn’t been. Now that I have seen this show, I will keep that in mind. I think what Argentina needs is an icon — something that everyone can immediately associate to when thinking of Argentina. It’s kind of like the Napa Valley of San Francisco, the White House of Washington DC, and the Statue of Liberty of NY. When I think of Argentina, all I can think of is Diego Maradona and Cordoba Guitars. That’s pretty pathetic! No? Hopefully, great Malbec and wine in general will become that world recognized icon of Argentina some day.

  • I think Argentna needs to do a better job at BRANDING Argentina and not MALBEC! In my experience at wine tastings, I feel that more people are aware of Malbec as a varietal rather than the Argentine origins. On some level they are leaving themselves wide open to other countries producing Malbec and getting lost in the shuffle.

  • Alex T

    QOTD: Mendoza seems like a fascinating area! It appeals to me as a wine drinker and a backpacker/climber. Speaking for the CKC crew, $$ is definitely a tricky obstacle when it comes to traveling. If there are any ‘deals’ for flying into Mendoza, or making them publicly known is always appreciated. I’m always scouring studentuniverse.com or priceline.com for great deals, but I’m sure there are many more ways. Otherwise, I’m totally with Gary as far as teaming up with other wineries so travelers can get the ‘whole experience.’

    If only I could convince my friends to go on a 1-month, 6,000 mile road trip…

  • Anonymous

    Another great show! Gary, your batting average is way up after the last few shows. Fantastic and fascinating guest. Once again, I learned a lot. QOTD: I think Argentina needs to find ways to educate people about its culture and especially cuisine in this context, which most North Americans are totally unaware of. For example.

  • Carl

    Gary, you really nailed it. A few years ago $10-12 Malbecs were great. Now they are $14-15 and don’t taste as good. But more expensive Malbecs are really good. It’s just my mind still thinks $10-12. I did travel to Argentina and Chile a couple of years ago. Great trip. Lots of beef but Mendoza produces great vegatables – tomatoes were always served.

  • Gduffin

    Gary if you want to see the authintic Argentine Gaucho with all of you new attire, the beret, belt with the knife, watch your buddy Anthony Bourdain’s show on Argentina. It makes you want to have a big Argentine steak with that Malbec.
    Great show, QOTD $20, because for $20 you can get a wine from Argentina is on par with a $40-$50 Napa Cap. Dan is right, Laura is enchanting. Argentina is definitely on the must go list. Vineyard House

  • Brad B.

    Funny, I just watched the Argentina No Reservations episode off Netflix, about 15 minutes ago. Those guys know their beef.

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