Gonzalo Gouguenheim
Gonzalo Gouguenheim’s winery sits high in the Uco Valley with the Andes Mountains looming in the distance, like some improbable backdrop to a film set. It is one of the highest wineries in the Mendoza wine region, and the vines thrive on the meltwater flowing down the mountains in what is an otherwise dry desert climate. Gonzalo took over the vinery from his father Patricio. His father was born to French parents who had moved to Buenos Aires, Patricio’s love affair with wine began at just seven years of age when, in that French way, he was given red wine mixed with sparkling water at mealtimes. Years later, after the Argentine economic crash in 2002, he would quit his job as a businessman in Buenos Aires to take over a beautiful but neglected winery on the slopes of the Uco Valley.