Mendoza winery, Bodegas López, Maipú, Province of Mendoza, Argentina, South America
Stands out from the Argentine wine industry as an exceptional case since its creation in 1898 it is still managed by the third and fourth generation of the founding family, under the presidency of Mr. Carlos Alberto López. The founder, José López Rivas, was born in Algarrobo (Málaga), Spain, where he devoted himself and his family to vine and olive growing. Fleeing from a destroying plague affecting European vineyards, the Phylloxera, he decided to migrate to Argentina in 1886. Twelve years later (1898), he settled down definitely in Mendoza, and the strength of the familiar wine-making tradition flourished immediately. There, he began the production of wines made from own grapevines grown in the best areas, a practice which has been maintained since then, as well as the criteria of controlling every step of the wine-making process, by supervising and taking care of every detail. These first wines, commercialized in barrels, were very successful given their quality. Soon, market demands surpassed production, and in view of the need to increase it, José López Rivas acquired a property in the district of General Gutiérrez, department of Maipú, where the first winery was built. That year, not only the basis of the future familiar company was born, but also the person who would head the enterprise almost until it reached its 80 years: José Federico López, only son of the founder and eager follower of his father's spirit and ideas. By the year 1907 Mendoza was considered the richest and most important province from the Andes group. Maipú department was the main viticulture district and the place where José López Rivas and his brothers had begun their activities since the beginning of the century. Regarding José López Rivas' performance, he sostained that his thorough and permanent atention gave him the possibility to obtain wines qualified as ...the highest expression of the French kind. In this path, complex yet genuine, a new style was being forged -- the López style -- full of dedication and conviction. In the following years, the Winery's objectives were directed to increasing wines availability, due to the great acceptance the first wines that were sold in barrels and caskets acquired given their great quality. In order to fulfil the growing demand of wines, it began a sustained expansion of vineyards growing and the acquisition of estates in regions with climate and soil composition that were ideal for the growing of grapes. At the end of the 1910, José Federico López, son of the winery's Founder, started to coolaborate in the company, by doing each and every activity of the Winery. In 1922, he took over the management of the company, which resulted in a decisive growth the company underwent in the following years.
With this new position, the winery will accompany a sustained expansion of vineyards together with a constant growth in the wood aging capacity. Between 1949 and 1959, the company changed its name José López and Son to Bodegas y Viñedos López S.A. By this time, a new product appears: Jerez FL (Sherry wine), as a tribute to old Andalucia's wines. The growth in sales proved the great acceptance of fine wines in the general demand and showed that the wine aging process, started in 1928, was very profitable. It is also evident a progressive growth in exports to bordering countries and Central America. José Federico López, together with his sons, led an investment program to enlarge the capacity of the storing plant, the wine bottling plant and the olive oil factory. For this purpose, he renewed the instaled machinery by importing European technology and optimizing its use so as to satisfy the growing demand. The Winery launches new brands of table and reserve wines: Vasco Viejo in 1950, Montchenot in 1966: the third classic of the Winery and Selección López in 1973, a wine that today is called Malbec López. The same plucky spirit and dedication the Winery had with its wines, was the impulse to try out the production of sparkling wines in 1970: the brandnames Montchenot (Nature) and Mont Reims (Brut) were presented. In the 70's, the winery enlarged 200% its exports. As a result, there were new technological changes and an increase in fine wines storing capacity. But the key aspect of these hundred years was the reaffirmation of three interdependent yet basic elements in the commercial life of the company, and that show its constant craving for excellence: quality, brandname and image. In the 80th anniversary of the Winery, the company was granted a recognition to the quality of its products, in the First National Wine Contest in the UVEXPO Mendoza in 1971.