From the start, Felipe Rutini was guided by the motto “Labor and perseverance.” This attitude shaped the development of his wines, which became synonymous with superlative quality. Following his innovative spirit, in 1925 the winery began to plant vines in the Uco Valley.
In the 1990s, the original Bodega La Rural facilities in Coquimbito were completely renovated, incorporating cutting-edge technology into the 19th-century structure. Today that property houses the Bodega La Rural Wine Museum, where visitors can learn about Felipe Rutini’s first forays into wine production and witness the evolution of traditional techniques and machinery.
In 2008 construction began on a new Rutini Wines facility in Tupungato within the Uco Valley. It is there that our top level wines, such as Felipe Rutini, Apartado, Antología, Single Vineyard, Colección Rutini, Encuentro, and Trumpeter wines are currently produced.
Our Uco Valley vineyards comprise over 400 hectares at an altitude of between 1,050 and 1,200 meters above sea level. An additional 120 hectares of fields that are currently being planted with vines will expand the winery’s possibilities for producing unique wines that are carefully tended to and nurtured from the very beginning.
The winery currently produces 4 million liters of the 6 million Rutini expects to achieve with Rutini Wines’ new winery project. State-of-the-art technology enhances and complements the eager pursuit of excellence by our enologist and his team. Cube-shaped concrete vats have been installed that will allow for increased extraction of polyphenols.
Each one has a capacity of 15,000 liters. Rutini also has tapered fermentation tanks specially designed to efficiently separate the crushed skins from the thin layer of liquid that surrounds the pulp, intensifying the wine’s hue, flavor, and bouquet. There are currently 2,000 oak barrels in use, and they expect to expand that number to 5,000. Once the construction has been completed, the winery is also expected to produce 500,000 liters of sparkling wine per year.
Rutini Wines currently has two sorting lines. The first, which is optical, consists of a conveyor belt that carries the destemmed grapes under the lens of a camera, which takes a photo of them. The image is analyzed to determine which grapes should be discarded and which should not based on three parameters: shape, color, and size using pressurized air.
Thanks to this technology, we have achieved excellent homogeneity in our grape selection, since we are able to separate damaged, dried-out, and moldy grapes as well as plant debris (leaves and stems). It is used for our Rutini, Single Vineyard, Antología, Apartado, and Felipe Rutini wines. The second sorting line is oscillatory. It consists of two cylindrical drums that spin at high speed and ensure precise and efficient sorting.
The head enologist of Rutini Wines and the leader of the project, Mariano Di Paola, explains: “The winery is designed for making ultra-premium wines, with the grapes moving under the effects of gravity, making pumps unnecessary. This is a very special undertaking for me and the entire company, which has demonstrated enormous trust by making this significant investment. It represents many years of work, hope, and passion from people who have given their all every day to reach this goal.”
