Felipe Rutini

Don Felipe Rutini, an Italian immigrant from the winemaking region of Le Marche, founded bodegas La Rural in 1885. Don Felipe, who came to Argentina with a degree in agriculture from the Real Scuola de Ascoli Pisceno, had his eye on quality from the start. One of the first varietals he planted was Cabernet Sauvignon, in the Maipu vineyard, where La Rural grows Cabernet Sauvignon for Trumpeter today.

Don Felipe sent his six children to study in Italy. The new generation brought back to Argentina the European concept of ‘terroir’. They set out to find the best sites for vine cultivation in Mendoza. In 1925, the Rutinis planted their first vines in Tupungato. But it wasn't until the 80’s and 90’s that the Tupungato Valley would become the "Napa Valley" of Mendoza, with every Argentine and foreign winery investing in Argentina trying to buy land there for vineyards.

For decades, the wines of La Rural have been harbingers of quality in Argentina. Six years ago, Nicolás Catena, the pioneering owner of Bodegas Esmeralda, became a partner at La Rural with Don Rodolfo Reina Rutini, the grandson of Don Felipe Rutini. The winery has undergone substantial modernization and the vineyards have benefited from Catena's outstanding vineyard management team. The goal, as with every other Nicolás Catena project: to produce world-class wines that can stand with the best of the world.