WOMEN+POWER 2025: Laura Catena

There are few families that so deservedly dominate a country’s wine making than is the case of the Catena family’s presence in Argentina. Founded in 1902, Bodega Catena Zapata is the nation’s powerhouse and as the winemaker’s website states: The story of Catena is the story of Argentine wine.

Founder Nicola Catena planted Malbec vines in his adopted country, seeking to elevate them from a traditional blending wine in Bordeaux to a world class single varietal. His grandson, Nicholas Catena Zapata, took the family-owned operation to the next level, including in the revolutionary role his daughter, Laura Catena, has manifested in developing world class wines.

Laura currently serves as Managing Director of the family’s Bodega and founded the Catena Wine Institute, a research entity designed to study the unique terroir of Argentina and, in particular, of the higher altitudes in Mendoza that have brought much praise to the family’s wine and to Laura herself. Her research was initially applied to Chardonnay in the winery’s Adrianna Vineyard and the result, the White Stones and White Bones bottlings, are among the most celebrated Chardonnays from the New World.

Laura joined her father in 1995 in the family business after graduating magna cum laude from Harvard in 1988 and then earning a medical degree from Stanford. She currently splits her time between Mendoza and San Francisco. She also has her own labels of wine, La Posta and Luca.

In a recent interview, Laura reflected on gender roles in wine in Argentina. I grew up going to the winery with my father and grandfather; I remember that wine making was a man’s world. My father always equally encouraged myself, my sister, and my brother to study hard and there were no greater expectations for the boys over the girls, which was rare. At that time in Argentina the idea was that if you were a man, you needed a good job that paid a lot of money, and if you were a woman, you needed a good husband. And it’s not that long ago! But my father had great expectations.” Bravo to him…and to her.