Lisa Denning

In the world of wine, few names carry the weight of Biondi-Santi. The estate gave birth to Brunello in 1888, setting the standard for the wines of Montalcino. For over a century, generations of the Biondi-Santi family produced austere, long-lived...

"Cab Franc is an immigrant success story," says John Leo of Onabay Vineyards, describing how this classic European variety has found a proper home in New York State. A new coalition, Cab Franc Forward NY, agrees and is championing it as the state's signature red variety. Their inaugural Grand Tasting in Manhattan on February 4, 2025, brought together thirty-five wineries and over 500 attendees, including 280 wine professionals. The unprecedented gathering displayed Cabernet Franc's growing prominence—it's now New York's most planted red vinifera grape, with 638 acres under vine. 

Christopher Loewen stopped by Grape Collective to share his thoughts on working with old vineyards, the challenges of low-intervention winemaking, and the lessons learned from generations before him. 

Parés Baltà is a family-owned winery located in the Penedès region of Catalonia, Spain, with a winemaking history dating back to 1790. The winery is currently managed by the third generation of the Cusiné family, specifically Joan and Josep Cusiné, along with their wives, Elena Jiménez and Marta Casas, who serve as the lead winemakers.

When you pick up a bottle of wine, do you ever stop to consider the values of the people behind the label? For most of us, it’s all about the taste—but there’s often a deeper story to discover. At Argentina’s Bodega Santa Julia, the Zuccardi family goes above and beyond, creating eco-friendly wines while making a meaningful impact on their community.

The Zuccardi family's wine story is deeply rooted in Argentina's Mendoza region. They own over 800 hectares of vineyards and two well-known wineries: Bodega Zuccardi in the Uco Valley and Bodega Santa Julia in Maipú. Over three generations, they have built a strong reputation for quality wines and respectful winemaking traditions.

It all began in 1968 when Alberto Zuccardi, an engineer, bought land in Maipú to test an irrigation system. This technical project unexpectedly turned into a family passion for winemaking. By the 1980s, Alberto's son José Alberto took the reins, naming the winery after his daughter Julia and steering it towards sustainable production and organic farming. 

Caring for Land and People

But the Zuccardi family’s vision reaches far beyond environmental concerns—it’s also rooted in social and cultural responsibility, a commitment championed by the late Emma Zuccardi and carried forward today by her granddaughter.

“My grandparents were very focused on caring for the land and the people,” said Julia Zuccardi. “My grandfather was very connected to nature. He believed our responsibility was to take care of the land and give future generations the same or better than we have.”

While Alberto’s work in organic and regenerative farming laid the foundation for environmental stewardship, Emma pioneered the winery’s social mission.

“My grandmother was very connected to people,” Zuccardi explained. “She believed in caring for our community and always wanted to provide our workers and their families with the tools to improve their quality of life.” 

During a recent visit to Mendoza, Julia Zuccardi welcomed our group of writers for a leisurely lunch at Pan y Oliva, a cozy restaurant in Santa Julia's Visitor’s Center. Over plates of burrata with roasted tomatoes, honey-glazed salmon, and homemade pasta, Zuccardi shared family stories, many about her grandmother Emma, whose community-focused vision shaped the winery's social sustainability. Afterward, she took us on a tour of the facilities, including a daycare, sewing center, and adult school—each stop showing how dedicated the Zuccardis are to improving the lives of their workers, their families, and the broader community.

Education and Empowerment

Social equity may be a common focus for companies today, often supported by Human Resources departments, but Emma Zuccardi was ahead of her time. "Fifty years ago, my grandmother didn’t know anything about corporate social responsibility," Zuccardi explained. "But she was very active and passionate, creating what we now call cultural centers."

The two cultural centers, one at the Maipú vineyards and the other in Santa Rosa, offer adult education programs that let workers complete their studies without compromising their incomes. Each center also provide various facilities, including a gym, library, and computer access, benefiting employees and the local community.

“In the beginning, my grandmother faced challenges with the adult school,” Zuccardi recounted. “Classes were held after work, and people often quit school to care for their families. So, she revised the program. Now, classes are held during work hours twice a week, and we pay workers to attend. We believe that if they have a better quality of life and improve their education, it’s better for our company, too. It’s like a circle.”

Today, more than 100 people graduate from these programs annually, both Santa Julia employees and those from the surrounding community. “The idea is to impact not only the people who work with us but the whole community,” Zuccardi said.

The cultural center isn’t just about education either—it’s a place for economic empowerment, especially for women in the community. Emma saw a need for women to have financial independence and professional skills, so she launched a sewing workshop where they could learn a trade and earn an income to support their families by making and selling shirts, pants, uniforms, aprons, and more.

“Many of these women used to stay home, but now they have jobs and can contribute financially to their families,” Zuccardi told us. “At first, my grandmother had to educate them on the importance of their work. When the women said they needed to stop at 11 to make lunch for their husbands, she would laugh and tell them, ‘No, you don’t. You have a job, and your husband can make his own lunch.’”

This commitment to people and the community was formally recognized in 2001 when Bodega Santa Julia became the first winery in Argentina to receive Fair for Life certification. This distinction acknowledges their efforts to combat unsafe working conditions, child labor, and other injustices while promoting fair working conditions.

A New Vision for Parenting

The daycare program at Santa Julia was another of Emma’s groundbreaking initiatives. It supports both parents’ professional lives, especially women, who often have to choose between motherhood and working outside the home. With facilities that range from infant care to after-school programs, the daycare gives women freedom and equality in a supportive environment. 

“My grandmother was a visionary,” Julia says. “She started the daycare many years ago so parents could work, knowing their children were well cared for. We have about 60 children here, and it’s open to the community, so children from all backgrounds mix. This diversity is important to us, and we are proud because it reduces social distinctions among the kids.”

“The kids are being taken care of during working hours, yet their parents can still come by and see them. And mothers can breastfeed their infants in the middle of the day since we have a special room for that,” said Zuccardi.

Importantly, all programs are operated in partnership with the government which contributes to some of the salaries. However, the Zuccardis cover the rest and take on the costs of construction, equipment, and materials. “We feel it’s the right thing to do,” Zuccardi shared.

Wine as Culture

As our tour wound down, Julia told us about the winery’s art gallery, another passion project of her grandmother’s: “She loved art and wanted a place to showcase local artists because, as we always say, wine is culture. When you talk about wine, you talk about culture.”

The gallery includes pieces by local artists, including colorful works by Emili...

"Wine is all about celebration,” said Daniel Johnnes during a recent wine pairing dinner at Charlie Bird in lower Manhattan. "The joy is in sharing it with neighbors and the community." Johnnes is the man behind the world-renowned La Paulée fe...

Weed & Wine is a documentary that explores universal themes of family, legacy, and sustainability. Emmy-nominated filmmaker Rebecca Richman Cohen invites viewers into the lives of two families: the Jodreys in Humboldt, California, and the Thibons in Rhône Valley, France.

As the Jodreys transition from black market to legal cannabis cultivation, the Thibons continue to care for their biodynamic vineyard, a tradition that has been passed down through generations. Both families face unique challenges, but what binds them is their passion for their craft and their struggle to protect what they’ve built for future generations.

Grape Collective spoke with Cohen to learn more about the making of Weed & Wine and the stories that shaped it.

Lisa Denning: What inspired you to make a documentary that explores parallels between the cannabis and wine industries?

...

The story of Malbec in Argentina is one of dramatic ups and downs. From its introduction in the mid-19th century to its near disappearance in the mid-20th century and its subsequent resurgence as Argentina's flagship wine, Malbec has shown itself to be resilient and adaptable. One of the key figures in Malbec's comeback is Paul Hobbs, a visionary winemaker, consultant, and winery owner, who recognized Malbec's ability to reflect Mendoza's varied landscapes. His work, together with others, has helped put the grape and Argentina on the worldwide wine map.

From Apples to Grapes

Paul Hobbs grew up on his family's fruit farm in upstate New York. Little did he know that these early experiences in the orchards would lay the foundation for his future career. 

"My family grew apples in upstate New York," says Hobbs. "I was introduced early on to the idea that a sense of place imparts unique characteristics to the fruit from where it was sourced, whether it be an apple or a wine grape."

Hobbs’ upbringing ingrained in him the idea that winemaking happens as much in the vineyards as in the winery. “The more one understands the DNA of a site,” he says, “the more that character can be reflected in the finished wine.”

Hobbs' early experience with apples has guided his groun...

Since we last spoke with Philippe Pascal, founder of Burgundy's Domaine du Cellier aux Moines, he and winemaker Guillaume Marko have started an exciting new venture in Beaujolais. The new project, Domaine Mont Bessay, located in the heart of the Juliénas Cru, ...

For Josef Mantler, winemaking is more than just a job—it's practically ingrained in his DNA, considering his family has been cultivating grapes for over 700 years. The present estate, located in Krems, Austria, was originally a Sterian monastery, acquired by the Mantlers two centuries ago. 

The family takes a "less is more" approach in both the vineyards and cellar, letting the wine naturally reflect the character of each vintage. They've practiced organic farming since the 1950s, officially becoming certified in 2009. Additionally, 60% of their land remains uncultivated, which contributes to a balanced, biodiverse ecosystem grounded in healthy soils and teeming with local wildlife.

Josef Mantler visited Grape Collective to discuss the changing climate, a topic that keeps him up at night. Yet, he’s optimistic about the future of winemaking in Kremstal and excited about some very promising developments in the Austrian wine industry.

Lisa Denning: Can you tell us a little bit about the history of your family's estate? 

Josef Mantler: Our family was always in farming during the Middle Ages in Europe. Virtually everybody was a farmer. My family had the luxury of being free farmers, so we weren’t bound by any nobleman. We know that the family was in wine growing since the 1300s as we have a contract stating that a Mantler bought a small vineyard close to the city of Krems, which is still our whereabouts to this day, so they were somewhere around the city of Krems, but we don't know exactly where. 200 years ago, there was the opportunity to buy a small farming stead, a small monastery from Sterian monks who produced traditional wine north of the Alps in the further parts of Austria. So my family bought it, and we've been there for 200 years. So we've always been farmers with a big house. 

What generation are you?

Directly traceable? Since the 1600s—we have had a couple of Catholic priests in the family who took a lot of time and effort to trace the lineage. But I'm the sixth or seventh Josef in a row on the farm where we are today. Very uncreative naming! 

Did you always think you would go into the family business or was there a time where you were thinking of something else? 

Actually, most of the time I was not thinking about becoming a farmer. I was very lucky that my father never pushed us into the family business. He was always very generous when it came to supporting any of our interests. He would've allowed us to study anything and even if we wanted to become something like an actor, he probably would've supported it till the end. But during high school it started to dawn on me that wine growing is a very exciting job. So I probably decided when I was around 18 or 19 before going to university that I want to stay in the family business. My father was very happy, but he would've never pushed me. 

Can you tell me about the terroir of your region? 

The terroir in Kremstal is quite diverse. So if somebody asks about what the terroir is, it's like please, don't ask. But the Kremstal style, since there is so much diversity, is very difficult to explain or get across as a very concrete point. But our village is a very fertile sediment of chalk dust from the ice ages, which was collected on a mountain of solid rock. So on top, we have chalk dust; beneath it, we have chalk rock. And it's quite fertile. It has very good water-saving capacity, but as soon as you go into the next village, it changes completely. So the Kremstal is a very diverse, very interesting wine growing region. And for us, it's loess. Other winemakers in Kremstal will tell you a completely different story. 

What is your philosophy of viticulture and winemaking?

Nowadays? Everybody says a very close-to-nature approach. We were lucky that it wasn't an uphill battle against my father and grandfather who weren't totally against any organic forms of farming. My grandfather even already wrote "nature wine," on the labels, so not natural wine, but wine from nature. In the ‘60s, the term was outlawed, but already in the ’60s, he didn't add sugar to the wine, he didn't temper it with acidity, and he tried not to work with herbicides. And so he wanted to have this on the label just to say we are not industry-made wines, since back then the technologies were increasing, the cellars were growing and more technology was being used. So back then, he already wanted to be a counterpart of this movement, but it took another couple of years until we became certified organic, which is still part of our identity.

We’ve been certified for 20 years now. So the vineyards are organic and when it comes to the cellar, we keep a low intervention approach, but still in a classic style like my grandfather started—we don't add acidity, we don't add sugar. We really want every winter and every weather condition to be reflected in every single vintage. And we ferment everything with natural lees and we don't add anything to the wine besides a little sulfur or filtration aids. So the idea is to produce wine close to nature in the classic styles and never have bacterial influx. We aim for a very clear line of aromatics, but not over-perfumed. Classic wine close to nature. 

Can you tell us about the grapes you grow and the wines you make? 

We are in Austria, so our bread and butter grape is Grüner Veltliner. It’s 50% of the estate, and it's not going to change. Grüner is just a fantastic variety to work with. It’s like Chardonnay, it can do entry-level, and it can make extremely complex, charming wines. Besides that, Riesling has always had a long tradition in Austria, but since the Germans developed a lot of self-confidence in the Rieslings, the global market share of Austrian Riesling decreased. I can only recommend people try Austrian Riesling. It has a very unique expression. It has always been here. Besides that, we've worked with a few very local grapes, foremost Roter Veltliner, which was also an achievement of my grandfather and father to keep this variety alive and with high-quality winemaking, which is a super local thing. It's one of those varieties you're probably going to hear more of from Austria in the future because it's resilient to climate change. It's an old local variety, a little bit forgotten, but now rediscovered because of the circumstances. 

I think many wine drinkers in the US are familiar with Grüner Veltliner. How would you differentiate the Grüner Veltliner from Kremstal compared to other regions, like Wachau, for example?

For Wachau, it's quite easy because Wachau always had a tradition of producing very full wines, going really into high ripeness, going into, for some wineries, a lot of botrytis, so it was always the very highly ripe maturity expression of Grüner. I think Kremstal, as I said with the terro...