Find out about our Decanter World Wine Awards 2014 Argentina judging panel with biographies of the Regional Chair Patricio Tapia plus Aldo Graziani, Andres Rosberg, Ernesto Lanusse, Göran Klintberg, Paz Levinson and Phil Crozier.
Regional chair: Patricio Tapia
Tapia graduated with a degree in journalism from the Universidad de Chile in Santiago, before attending Bordeaux University in France, where he gained a diploma in wine tasting and winemaking. He is critic for the wines of Argentina, Chile and Spain at Wine & Spirits magazine in the US, and regularly contributes articles on these regions. He has written several books, including The Wines of Colchagua Valley, TodoVino, Wines for Great Occasions, and his annual Descorchados, an Argentinian, Chilean and Uruguayan wine guide published in both Spanish and English. For the past nine years, he has also been a host on South America’s El Gourmet channel.
Judges
Aldo Graziani
Aldo Graziani is the sommelier, owner & manager of Aldo´s Vinoteca Restoran, the Casa Cruz Restaurante Bar and the Bebop Jazz Club. Formerly Graziani wrote regularly for Cuisine & Vins magazine, collaborated in the first edition of the Australian Spectator Wine Guide and, in 2008, published the book The Best 100 Wines of Argentina. He also had his own radio show, Marcha y Sale, for four years, and appeared on the television show, El Corte Perfecto. Graziani has taught for the Instituto Argentino de Gastronomia (IAG) and the Centro Argentino de Vinos y Espirituosas (CAVE) and is a past vice president of the Argentinian Association of Sommeliers. In addition to managing his restaurants, Graziani is a member of Sommelier for Consumers (S4C) and assists with the organisation of the annual Wines of Argentina competition.
Andres Rosberg
Andres Rosberg is one of Argentina’s first professional sommeliers and a founding member and the President of the Argentine Sommelier Association. He judges in international wine contests in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and China, and tastes for the Austral Spectator Argentine wine guide. He is a regular contributor for Placer and UVA magazines and www.layemadelgusto.com and hosts various wine-related radio and TV programs. His day job is as managing director of the Los Arbolitos Vineyard Trust, a 409ha finca in the heart of Mendoza, where he is coordinating the development of a top-end vineyard.
Ernesto Lanusse
Based in Buenos Aires, Ernesto Lanusse is the executive manager of restaurant Espacio Dolli, owned by his mother, and one of Argentina’s most famous chefs, Dolli Irigoyen. One of his recent ventures included the ‘Nomade’, a gourmet food truck known for its brightly coloured stencil work, serving ‘Min Pao’ – Momofuku-style buns filled with pork, pulled beef and mushrooms. Lanusse is also a member of A.C.E.L.G.A. (Asociación de Cocineros y Empresarios ligados a la Gastronomía Argentina), a group which works to promote the identity of Argentine cuisine, and president of the Argentina Association of Food Trucks and also La Feria MASTICAR, a fair about Argentine food and wine. Lanusse additionally consults to a number of companies on wine purchases.
Göran Klintberg
Göran Klintberg has been involved in the Swedish wine industry for 26 years, with roles including bartender, sommelier, and manager for numerous restaurants. In 2006, he was elected president of the Swedish Sommelier Association and in 2009 became a wine buyer for the Swedish off-trade monopoly, Systembolaget, where he is responsible for wines from Argentina and Portugal, and also works with the company’s CSR programme, responsible for social responsibility of its supply chain. Outside work, Klintberg enjoys a secondary career as a singer/songwriter and has released a number of CDs, and also trains extensively as an amateur triathlete.
Paz Levinson
Paz Levinson is the wine director of Food and Fun, a Paris-based consultancy. Levinson commenced her wine career in her native Argentina where she worked as head sommelier for a number of top end restaurants, including Restó and Nectarine. She also taught part-time at the Centro Argentino de Vinos y Espirituosas (CAVE) and the Instituto Argentino de Gastonomía (IAG) for five years. Levinson achieved her professional sommelier diploma from CAVE in 2006, at the same time as completing a BA in Literature. She recently became the first Argentinean to pass the Advanced Sommelier Certificate offered by the Court of Master Sommeliers in the UK. In 2010, Levinson was named Best Sommelier in Argentina by the Argentinean Association of Sommeliers and in 2013 she presented at the Best Sommelier of the World competition in Japan. Levinson has written for a number of magazines, including Argentina’s El Conocedor.
Phil Crozier
Phil Crozier is director of wine for Gaucho and is responsible for the restaurant’s wine list, including its 200 Argentine wines, as well as managing the Gaucho-owned vineyard in Lulunta, Mendoza, which is planted with 80 year-old Malbec vines and produces Viña Patricia. Working with one of Argentina’s main producers, Crozier is also currently involved with the production of the Corte G range of varietal and blended wines.
Written by John Abbott
