Dr. Laura Catena is a Harvard and Stanford trained biologist and physician and the founder of the Catena Institute of Wine in Argentina in 1995. The Institute is dedicated to preserving the Malbec variety and to elevating Argentine wine. She is currently managing director of Bodega Catena Zapata and of her own Luca winery. Bodega Catena Zapata was chosen the world’s #1 Most Admired Wine Brand by Drinks International in 2020. Laura has been called the “face” of Argentine wine and is author of Argentina’s definitive wine guide, “Vino Argentino.” She appeared in The Oprah Magazine as one of the World’s Top Women Vintners. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Food & Wine Magazine, La Nación, Decanter and The Economist 1843 Magazine. Laura's second book, "Gold in the Vineyards,” an illustrated book about the world’s most famous vineyards, was released in English in 2020. Laura has been on the Executive Board of the UC Davis School of Viticulture and Enology since 2017. She lives with her husband and three children between Mendoza, Argentina, and San Francisco.