Juan Pablo Murgia

Overseeing production at the world's southernmost vineyards is just the latest chapter in the story of one of Argentina's most talented winemakers

- STORY INES SALPICO

Few winemakers have the opportunity to be pioneers in new regions and fewer still in regions of extreme terroirs, where textbook viticulture doesn't apply. Perhaps none see such groundbreaking efforts yield world-class wines in less than a decade.

However, all of this is true of Juan Pablo Murgia, who, as head winemaker of the Avinea group, led the inception of its limit-defying Otronia project in Argentine Patagonia (see p59). But Murgia's trajectory has been defined foremost by consistency and commitment rather than the exceptional opportunities he's had - and that he has embraced with a calm, assertive focus.

Son of Mendoza

Born in Luján de Cuyo, in the heart of Mendoza, Murgia grew up among Malbec vines. The grandson and son of grape growers, he went on to study oenology and started his career at the local research outpost of the Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria.