Roy Urvieta grew up in the La Consulta district of Mendoza, one of Argentina's most famous regions for high-quality wine. He began his studies in computer science, but after a summer job at Catena when he was 18 years old, Roy fell in love with winemaking. Roy continued to work as a winemaker alongside Alejandro Vigil and Fernando Buscema at the Catena Institute while he finished his Enology degree at Universidad Tecnológica Nacional (UTN).
One of Roy's first projects was to study the behavior of different Pinot Noir clones and record the quality of each parcel.
In 2016 Roy started his Ph.D. in Agronomy at the Universidad de Buenos Aires with focus in Sensory Science. His Ph.D. thesis aims to uncover the scientific basis for the flavors and aromas of Malbec across the various Mendoza wine regions. Currently, Roy is working with Laura Catena to elaborate authentic and elegant high-altitude Argentine Pinot Noir.
Belén Iácono has a degree in Agricultural Engineering from Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. She is passionate about high- altitude farming and was in charge of planting the Pinot Noir in Domaine Nico, Le Paradis. She is also the caretaker of Catena’s Adrianna Vineyard.
Dr. Laura Catena is a fourth generation Argentine vintner, physician and author. Catena was born in Mendoza and spent her childhood with her grandfather Domingo at the family's winery in the small village of La Libertad. Laura graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1988 and has a Medical Doctor degree from Stanford University. In 1995 Laura joined her father Nicolás Catena Zapata at the family winery with the vision of making Argentine wines that could stand with the best of the world. Laura founded of her own Luca Winery in Mendoza, Argentina in 1999. to explore the quality potential of small OLD VINE family owned vineyards in the Uco Valley region of Mendoza. Laura splits her time between Mendoza, Argentina and San Francisco, California. Dr. Laura Catena has been called "the face of Argentine wine" for her active role in studying and promoting the Mendoza wine region and Argentine Malbec. Laura's life obsession is to learn more about high altitude viticulture, the vineyard soil microbiome and wine ageability. In 2010 Laura Catena released her book Vino Argentino: An Insider's Guide to the Wines and Wine Country of Argentina (Chronicle Books.) Spanish and Portuguese translations followed in 2011. Laura and her book have been featured in Oprah Magazine, the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The San Francisco Chronicle, La Nación, Town and Country, Decanter Magazine, Saveur Magazine, Food & Wine Magazine, Wine Spectator, Vinous, Wine Enthusiast, Wine Advocate, Wine & Spirits and many others.
