Juan Pablo Murgia on bringing 20 years of lessons to Rutini Wines

In his new role at Rutini Wines, terroir-wunderkind Juan Pablo Murgia is balancing his innovation with respect for a 140-year legacy.

“I was thinking about some change after 20 years in my previous job,” says Juan Pablo Murgia, “but I hadn’t found the right place until Rutini came in.”

It is easy to understand his hesitance to change. Murgia had found renown and fame in his previous work. He was particularly recognised as a pioneer of Patagonian winemaking, discovering new terroirs at the southern extreme of Argentinian winemaking . Indeed, he had previously been named Young Winemaker of the Year by Tim Atkin MW for his efforts.

It would therefore take a very appealing proposition to make the move worthwhile. Yet, when the chance came to join Rutini Wines, he describes it as the “perfect opportunity”.

The winery certainly has the story to make the proposition. Founded in 1885 by Felipe Rutini, it has been making wine in Mendoza for 140 years. According to Murgia, its consistency is a defining trait: “It’s not usual to find a winery considered at the top in high-quality wines for so many decades, and whose reputation is still growing and consolidating year after year.”

That is in no small part thanks to Mariano di Paola, Rutini’s director of winemaking and, in Murgia’s words, “a legend”. The former professor of oenology has been at the helm since 1994, present for landmarks like the renovations of the original facilities in Coquimbito in the 1990s and the construction of the Rutini Wines plant in Tupungato in 2008.

“I have always admired him,” says Murgia, “so it is an honour working together. Nobody knows more than him what’s behind Rutini Wines in terms of winemaking; I’m sure we will make a great team.”

Murgia has joined this year as head of winemaking, giving him significant influence while still keeping di Paola firmly in the picture. Fellow newcomer Martina Galeano completes the triumvirate leading winemaking at Rutini, making 2025 a transitional year for the company.

“For now I am just focused on joining the team and being part of a very consolidated project,” says Murgia. “Of course, with time, my vision will add value to the wines and the brand, but first of all my goal is to maintain the high standards this company has.”

Terroir focus

His approach, evidently, is to complement Rutini’s ongoing success rather than rock the boat. However, his career has taught him a couple of lessons that he intends to bring to Rutini.

“Well, it’s been more than 20 years for me of making wines in Argentina and travelling around the world, visiting the best wine regions, so I’m bringing with me a little bit of every year of experience,” Murgia explains.

“But one strong lesson to me is that the most interesting wines in the world are those that can show a deep sense of place, represent a place and a landscape and, of course, tell stories about people very deeply involved in those places.”

At Rutini, that landscape is the Uco Valley. Its high-elevation vineyards have become some of Mendoza’s most sought after, attracting fine wine lovers and winemakers alike.

“Uco Valley is about high altitude, alluvial soils, sun intensity, and cool conditions,” he explains. It is also increasingly being explored and defined: “In the last few years, a very detailed subdivision of regions and Geographical Indications has been defined and that is pushing Uco Valley expressions into very precise definitions.”

Thus, even though Rutini’s leadership has been strong for decades, bringing on a young, innovative terroir lover is keeping Rutini in step with the times. Murgia even sees it as key to ensuring Rutini’s continued success.

“Wine consumption is slowly going down in Argentina and in the world, but high-quality terroir driven wines are growing and remain solid,” he says. “We must keep doing what Rutini has been doing for many decades and focus on terroir driven wines.”

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