{"id":2644,"date":"2025-12-10T02:03:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T02:03:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=2644"},"modified":"2025-12-13T15:57:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T15:57:19","slug":"winemaker-interview-series-zuccardi-with-martin-distefano-september-2024-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=2644","title":{"rendered":"Winemaker Interview Series \u2013 Zuccardi with Martin DiStefano &#8211; September 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Zuccardi-Martin-DiStefano-Lead-Viticulturist-Home.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-2428\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Zuccardi-Martin-DiStefano-Lead-Viticulturist-Home-239x300.gif\" alt=\"Martin DiStefano - Zuccardi\" width=\"239\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\">On Wednesday, September 24, 2025, we had the opportunity to again interview viticulturist and terroir rock-star <a href=\"https:\/\/zuccardiwines.com\/en\/bodega\/#equipo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Martin DiStefano<\/strong><\/a> from the <a href=\"https:\/\/zuccardiwines.com\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Zuccardi winery<\/strong><\/a> in Argentina. We covered a 2023 Semillon, a 2021 Chardonnay, three 2020 Malbecs, two 2021 Malbecs, and one 2022 Malbec. We last visited with Martin in September 2024. You can learn more about him and the winery <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=2427\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>in that post<\/strong><\/a>. In this post you will learn what is new with Martin, what is new at Zuccardi, and all about these terrific wines.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Before we get to the wines, I thought I would share some tidbits Martin shared.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We started with a deep dive into Argentina&#8217;s most recent vintages.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2020 was a warm vintage. Covid struck in the middle of harvest. They finished 1 week after the lockdown.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2021 like 2019 was one of the coldest vintages ever. They have higher acidity. The wines have more structure, but less concentration.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2022 was a cool vintage with a little more rain and humidity. These wines had more complexity and layers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2023 was warm at harvest. These wines show lower acidity, more concentration, and less structure.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2024 is warm similar to 2023 but better. The whites are very fresh. They were picked earlier than usual.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2025 was a crazy vintage. Started as a warm vintage and very fast ripening. Then cold in April. So, the whites reflect a warm vintage and the reds are like they are from a cool one.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I put Martin on the spot and asked him to name his favorite wine from each vintage?<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2020 &#8211; Every wine from San Pablo.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2021 &#8211; Finca Piedra Infinita.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2022 \u2013 Bot\u00e1nico.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2023 \u2013 Fosil &amp; Aluvional San Pablo.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2024 \u2013 Too new to rate.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I asked what was new at the winery?<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">They have a new vineyard of white grapes. It is a total of 60 acres.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It has Chardonnay, Semillon, Riesling, &amp; Torrontes.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">They also have a new single vineyard Malbec to be released for the 2022 vintage.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It is called Finca Agua de la Jarilla.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Other Tidbits<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Melting snow from the Andes Mountains feeds their water sources. Snowfall has been less. So, they will eventually have less water.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Stony vineyards will ripen their grapes faster than other soils.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Argentina is too dry for Merlot. The grapes raisin here.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Typical order of harvest for reds in Argentina<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">1) Malbec 2) Cabernet Franc 3) Cabernet Sauvignon 4) Bonarda<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Semillon likes warm temperatures.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Bot\u00e1nico Chardonnay comes from Gualtallary which is warmer.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Bot\u00e1nico is Fosil&#8217;s little brother. It is made in the same way.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The vineyard was named because it is close to nature. Surrounded by a forest, flowers, and butterflies. It was planted in 2016.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Malbec<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Malbec will grow in all soil types.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Malbec is sensitive to cold temperature in the early part of the growing season. It affects tonnage.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Malbec \u2013 Not really made in Bordeaux anymore. Instead, it is made in the commune of Cahors, France. Cahors has more rocky soils and less humidity.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2022 &#8220;Concreto&#8221; Malbec now says &#8220;Uco Valley.&#8221; They had to add Gualtallary to meet demand.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;Jose Zuccardi&#8221; is a serious wine in honor of his father.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It is a traditional Argentinian wine. It is riper and fruiter.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It is from less stonier vineyards and grapes are picked about a week later.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The wine is aged in barrel for 2 years.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Uco-Valley-Argentina-Map.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-2645\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Uco-Valley-Argentina-Map-300x251.gif\" alt=\"Uco Valley Argentina Map\" width=\"300\" height=\"251\" \/><\/a>Aluvional wines emphasize places. They are aged in concrete.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Paraje Altamira \u2013 Granite covered calcareous soils<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Gualtallary &#8211; Calcareous soils with clay.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Finca Wines are single vineyard wines.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Different Parcels are used each time depending on the vintage.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">12-15 different parcels are used each vintage to make the wine.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Zuccardi-Valle-de-Uco-logo-black-negro.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2429\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Zuccardi-Valle-de-Uco-logo-black-negro.gif\" alt=\"Zuccardi Logo\" width=\"300\" height=\"176\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Zuccardi-2023-Poligonos-Tupungato-Semillon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Zuccardi 2023 Semillon &#8220;Poligonos Tupungato&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> $35 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 92.5<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Zuccardi-2021-Botanico-Chardonnay\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Zuccardi 2021 Chardonnay &#8220;Bot\u00e1nico&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (Gualtallary) $80 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 95.5<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Zuccardi-2022-Concreto-Malbec\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Zuccardi 2022 Malbec &#8220;Concreto&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (Uco Valley) $42 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 93<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Zuccardi-2021-Jose-Zuccardi-Malbec\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Zuccardi 2021 Malbec &#8220;Jose Zuccardi&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (Uco Valley) $65 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 95<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Zuccardi-2020-Aluvional-Paraje-Altamira-Malbec\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Zuccardi 2020 Malbec &#8220;Aluvional Paraje Altamira&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> $93 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 96<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Zuccardi-2020-Aluvional-Gualtallary-Malbec\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Zuccardi 2020 Malbec &#8220;Aluvional Gualtallary&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> $93 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 96<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Zuccardi-2020-Finca-Piedra-Infinita-Malbec\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Zuccardi 2020 Malbec &#8220;Finca Piedra Infinita&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (Paraje Altamira) $175 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 96<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Zuccardi-2021-Finca-Piedra-Infinita-Malbec\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Zuccardi 2021 Malbec &#8220;Finca Piedra Infinita&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (Paraje Altamira) $175 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 98.5<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><u>Other Zucccardi Wines Covered In Tastings, Post Interview:<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">9) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Zuccardi-2023-Q-Malbec\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Zuccardi 2023 Malbec &#8220;Q&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (Uco Valley) $22 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 89.5<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">10) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Zuccardi-2023-Poligonos-San-Pablo-Cabernet-Franc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Zuccardi 2023 Cabernet Franc &#8220;Pol\u00edgonos San Pablo&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> $35 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 93<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">11) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Zuccardi-2024-Serie-A-Malbec\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Zuccardi 2024 Malbec &#8220;Serie A&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (Uco Valley) $17 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 91<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You can find reviews of past and future Zuccardi wines that we cover on the <span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><a style=\"color: #3366ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine.php?winery=1018\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Zuccardi KWG winery page<\/strong><\/a><\/span> on our website. We hope you enjoy these terrific wines as much as we did. Cheers! Ken<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Wednesday, September 24, 2025, we had the opportunity to again interview viticulturist and terroir rock-star Martin DiStefano from the Zuccardi winery in Argentina. We covered a 2023 Semillon, a 2021 Chardonnay, three 2020 Malbecs, two 2021 Malbecs, and one 2022 Malbec. We last visited with Martin in September 2024. You can learn more about [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2428,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3238,96,22,18,13,3239,11,95,2656,3240,3241,3242,2174,2657,90,126,8,6,1292,1288,611],"tags":[2681,2669,1059,2688,496,3232,501,625,3235,491,3231,3228,2672,3230,3233,2680,3236,2689,2679,2670,495,2658,2682,2676,2683,2685,493,2661,2678,1752,1057,3237,3234,2660,2160,2675,1058,2659,3229,494,2662],"class_list":["post-2644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aluvional","category-argentina","category-cabernet-franc","category-cabernet-sauvignon","category-chardonnay","category-gualtallary","category-kens-wine-guide-tasting-panel","category-malbec","category-martin-distefano","category-paraje-altamira","category-san-pablo","category-semillon","category-torrontes","category-uco-valley","category-white-wine","category-wine-ratings","category-wine-recommendations","category-wine-reviews","category-winemaker","category-zoom-wine-tasting","category-zuccardi","tag-aluvional","tag-andes-mountains","tag-argentina","tag-argentina-series","tag-bonarda","tag-botanico","tag-cabernet-franc","tag-cabernet-sauvignon","tag-cahors","tag-chardonnay","tag-cold-vintage","tag-concrete","tag-concreto","tag-cool-vintage","tag-finca-agua-de-la-jarilla","tag-finca-piedra-infinita","tag-finca-wines","tag-fosil","tag-gualtallary","tag-jose-zuccardi","tag-malbec","tag-martin-distefano","tag-paraje","tag-paraje-altamira","tag-poligonos","tag-q","tag-riesling","tag-rock-star","tag-san-pablo","tag-semillon","tag-serie-a","tag-single-vineyard-wines","tag-stony-vineyards","tag-terroir","tag-torrontes","tag-tupungato","tag-uco-valley","tag-viticulturist","tag-warm-vintage","tag-zuccardi","tag-zuccardi-winery"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2644"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2644\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2650,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2644\/revisions\/2650"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}