Susana Balbo

José Lovaglio Balbo is a third generation winemaker from a local family with a rich tradition in winemaking and grape growing. At the age of 18, he set off for the USA to study viticulture and enology at UC Davis in California. He lived there for five years, learning from great teachers, and got his degree in 2007.

In 2008, José returned to Argentina with the goal of making wine and joined Zemlia, a small family-run winery in Mendoza. Then, in 2011, he joined the winemaking team of Susana Balbo and began to work with his mother. He now leads the R&D initiatives at the winery.
His winemaking approach embodies the will of his generation: winemakers that take the heritage of their parents to the next step and dig further into Argentina’s terroirs.

Susana Balbo studied enology in Mendoza, Argentina, and graduated cum laude in 1981, becoming the first female enologist in the country with a university degree.

With a career of more than fourty years in the industry, Susana is certainly the most recognized Argentinian female winemaker. Also known as “Queen of Torrontés” because of her work and unique bond with the variety, she served as president of Wines of Argentina for three terms, during which Argentinian wine exports increased exponentially taking the country to stand out in the world wine map.

In 2015, she was elected to the National Congress, and in 2017 Argentinian President Mauricio Macri selected her as Chair of the W20 (Women’s 20), a G20 working group dedicated to women’s empowerment on a global scale.

The British magazine The Drinks Business named her ‘Woman of the Year’ in 2015, and in 2018 included her in their top 10 list of ‘The world’s most influential women in wine’. In 2019, she was awarded the BRAVO Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of the Americas, and in 2020 she was named Winemaking Legend by the world-respected wine journalist Tim Atkin.

She is currently the owner and founder of Susana Balbo, her family-run winery, one of the most important and renowned in Argentina.

Edgardo Del Popolo is an Argentinian wine industry veteran and one of the most respected and consulted Argentinian viticulturist. He studied enology and agronomy at Universidad Nacional de Cuyo in Mendoza. Since he graduated, he has travelled the wine world visiting old and new wine regions, as well as the most important wine markets, participating in different tastings, seminars and conferences, road shows, wine clinics and tutored tastings.

In 1998, he took the position of Director of Viticulture at Doña Paula. There, he was in charge of both vineyards and winery operations. Since 2013, Edy serves as General Manager of Susana Balbo, where he works with a solid enological team headed by Susana herself. He contributes with his experienced vision from the vineyard and is responsible for all of BenMarco wines.

Due to his technical training, Edy is constantly looking after the quality of the wines from the field. His ambition is to define Argentinian terroirs’ characteristics in order to make wines that speak for themselves.

Gustavo Bertagna is a licensed enologist and horticulturalist educated at the Don Bosco University, in Mendoza. He also holds a postgraduate degree in Quality Planning and Management from the Vineyards to Wine.

During his academic studies, he traveled abroad to gain experience and learn new techniques and styles of winemaking. In those trips, he exchanged experiences with winemakers from South Africa, Australia, France and New Zealand.

In 2008, he was hired to join Susana Balbo as winemaker. Since then, he oversees every process from harvest on along with the rest of the team - determining the right time to pick the grapes, controlling temperatures and managing techniques during fermentation, bottling, and aging. He is also a part of the blending committee.

Gustavo believes that, in order to be relevant in the world of wine, one must be bold, creative, and passionate. The wine industry is constantly evolving, and winemakers must evolve to stay on the cutting edge.