Susana Balbo

You can say that Susana Balbo Wines has an unusual history. The woman behind this winery actually wanted to study nuclear medicine, but her parents did not allow her to leave Mendoza. Then she surrendered to the family culture: viticulture. She was the first woman in Argentina to become an oenologist and, once a winemaker, the first Argentine woman to be hired for advice by international wineries. In 1999 she started her own winery in Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza. Her son and daughter also work in the family business. Located at the foot of the Andes mountains, the vineyards benefit from the pure meltwater that flows down in spring and summer. When making her wines, Susana combines the knowledge of the terroir with winemaking techniques. The art of blending, she says, is the way of expressing a winemaker's top talent. The play of aromas and flavors from the different terroirs resembles the color palette used by a painter.