José Alberto Zuccardi is named an Argentinian wine ‘legend’

The director of Familia Zuccardi, José Alberto Zuccardi, has been named ‘Legend of the Year’ in the 2023 edition of British wine critic Tim Atkin MW’s Argentina Special Report.

The accolade, which was revealed in Atkin’s highly-anticipated annual report on Argentine viticulture, is featured alongside  ratings the best wines of the year, and highlights leaders who have had great influence on the industry’s development. 

Speaking to the drinks business, Tim Atkin said: “José Zuccardi personifies many of the most exciting things that the Argentinian wine industry has achieved over the last 20 years: its openness to new ideas, its focus on its best terroirs, its determination to make some of the best wines in the world. He and his family are talented, humble, hard working and kind. That’s why I wanted to acknowledge his contribution in my eleventh and longest ever Argentina report.”

Wines of Argentina president Alejandro Vigil told db: “José Alberto Zuccardi is a visionary who has been able to transform the viticulture of our country with innovation and passion. I am very happy for him, it’s a well-deserved tribute to his work and his family.”

Atkin explained: “The history of the modern Argentine wine industry is in many ways the history of Zuccardi. Zuccardi has been a guiding light of quality.” 

In his announcement, Atkin told Zuccardi: “The quality of the wines that you as a family are making have never been better, and they’re some of the great wines – not just of South America – but the world. A lot of that is down to you and to your vision.”

After his grandfather founded the family winery in 1963, Zuccardi began working with the winery in 1976.

Since then, he has expanded it to become a benchmark not only in his country but also internationally, producing several of the finest wines of the southern hemisphere, inspired by his son Sebastián, whose mission is to cultivate wines that express the diverse terroirs of the Uco Valley.

Together with his children Julia and Miguel, Zuccardi has successfully expanded the family winery by developing its tourism business and producing extra virgin olive oils that have gained international recognition.

Zuccardi explained: “I love that we can work long-term as a family-owned company. I’ve become part of my children´s projects and part of this new era for Argentina, where I think we are proving that Argentina is a world-class region in the world and with a lot of potential for the future. It may take one generation or two generations, but I think the best is coming.”