Catena To Launch Its First Organic Wine Brand in U.S.

Interesting choice of words
Typically a wine would say "Made with 
Organic Grapes" in the U.S.

I was perusing the Tilia website recently (searching for brand visuals for an upcoming talk) and my ears perked up when I came across a graphic on the site that said the wine was made from a blend of organic grapes. 

Not knowing specifically what that meant (it sounded like some of the grapes were not organic?), I reached out for more details.

I've been a big fan of leading Argentinan organic and now biodynamic brands like Domaine Bousquet, for its incredible scores and quality as well as amazing price points, but I had not been aware of Tilia's new direction or that it was owned by Catena.

Victoria Capelli, Creative Office Exports Director. was kind enough to answer a few questions I sent in an email:

Is this Catena’s first organic brand? 

We don’t usually refer to Tilia as a Catena brand as it stands on its own, but to answer your question Catena has been farming the family’s vineyards organic (in part, no certification) for decades. 

We have some Catena brand certified organic wines that we sell in Europe and the Adrianna Vineyard wines have been certified organic for several years.

How many acres will be certified organic? 

The vineyards for Tilia in Mendoza have been farmed organic since 2020, and that is why the first year with an official certification will be the 2023 vintage. The 2021 and 2022 vintages do not yet have the organic certification, but 600 hectares (1,500 acres approximately) are in the process of being certified.

What is the case production of “Made with Organic Grapes” wines expected to be? 

For the US, approximately 50,000 cases.

[In comparison, Bousquet currently sells about 300,000 cases of organically grown wine in US.]

And what are the primary places it will be exported to? 

United States, Brazil, Holland, and United Kingdom.