A native son of Mendoza, Pablo Piccolo was virtually raised among the vineyards of Argentina, cultivating his appreciation and knowledge of the local winemaking culture from a young age. Born from a family of grape growers and bulk producers, Pablo was introduced to many world class wines by his father, an avid collector and wine historian. Together the two spent hours meticulously organizing their wine cellar, and as Pablo’s father was oft to repeat, “No good cellar is complete without the wines of Bodega Catena Zapata.”

While in school studying marketing at Universidad de Congreso in in 2006, Pablo pursued his viticultural interest by partnering with a colleague to create a wine of their own. Malbec grapes were sourced through a family friend in the Uco Valley and the pair purchased a second use French oak barrel. They collaborated on the blend and aged the wine for one year, finally bottling and labeling it under the name, Primero Malbec 2006 (‘Primero’ meaning ‘First’ in Spanish). The small venture was the perfect hands on experience to spur Pablo’s pursuit of a career in the wine industry.

Following his first position as South American Export Manager for Concha y Toro Bodega Trivento from 2008 – 2011, Pablo achieved his prime objective of working with Bodega Catena Zapata in November 2011.  His experience as the US Export Manager for this world class luxury producer has been a dream come true. From Pablo’s perspective, Argentina is one of the most exciting places to be making wine today, and no other winery does it as well as Catena. His goal is to showcase the variety of Argentina’s finest wines to the US market, demonstrating the excellence of Catena Malbec and beyond.