Then, after a several years of several years that included a residence in Spain, Fernanda returned to the family business as part of a more ambitious project: position the winery in the Argentine marketwhere it was little known since almost the total of its production was exported to the United States.
“In 2016 I joined the winery. At that time, my dad told me that I had to apply the McDonald’s model and made me go through all the areas of the company to gain experience and learn A business that I completely ignored. I didn’t even take wine, ”recalls Fernanda Martino, in an interview with Scope.
Fernanda returned with a definite purpose: Locate the winery among the 20 most important in Argentina. And not for a purely emotional issue. There was a fact in the history of the company that allowed him, and still allows him, to sustain that flag high: The 93 Parker points that in 2003 obtained the first wine from the winery, a Malbec add 2002.
“Obtaining such a score at that time was A huge event For an Argentine wine. But the winery did not know how to take advantage of that impulse, which would have allowed him to be among the top 20 in Argentina. And it is something that Today I still encourage me to fight it And try to put the winery where I feel that I should be from that important moment, ”he explained.
The recipe to grow in Argentina to project the world
One of the first things Fernanda faced during his immersion in the company was to convince his father and the partners that It was essential to start building a strong presence in the domestic market.
“One of the areas in which I began to get more was in commercialization. From there I realized two things. First, what In a winery the main seller is always the owner. And second, that The best way to open doors abroad is being known in your own country”, He remarks.
“If an importer comes and you invite him to eat at a restaurant where your wine is not, that’s something that does not speak well of your cellar.”he added.
That was the kick to start producing for the domestic market. At the moment, 50% of production reaches Argentine consumers and the other 50% is exported.
“Our main buyer outside Argentina is still USA, Where we send Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Bonarda. We also maintain an important presence in Chinaalthough it is a complex market. It is easier to work with Brazilwhere the consumer is very open to Argentine wine. We also export to Uruguay Malbec, Pedro Ximénez and Caernet Franc. Peru Buy us a little from each of the lines. It is a market where whites are going very well. We are reviewing the strategy in Europe And we are about to enter Paraguay. We are opening markets Permanently, ”Fernanda explained.
The presence of Martino Wines (formerly called Finca Don Martino) in the local market was almost nil in the beginning, limited to wine and restaurants. “Now we are talking to some supermarket chains to be this year in Las Gondolas with our Martino line”Fernanda revealed, anticipating one of the novelties that will arrive in 2025.
The strength that distinguishes the brand is the commitment to what the executive calls “Unusual strains”. In that list includes several varietals little explored by local winemakers, who usually go to the safe with the Malbec.
“Went The first winery that in 2010 launched a Pedro Ximénez in Alta Gamawhen nobody knew that Creole strain. We enjoy exploring the desire to know other things and make high -end wines outside the Malbec, even if it is a longer path. We luxury ourselves to make limited games. We like to do it because we have fun and learn, ”he said.
And among the unusual varietals that make up the portfolio of Martino Wines, the Marselan, Sangiovese, Pedro Ximénez, Petit Verdot and Merlot. And it also includes the pink made based on a Pinot Noir and Merlot blend.
The challenges of wine tourism and industry problems
Martino Wines has a 7.5 hectares farm in Agrelo, where he began his story, which was bought in 2001 by Hugo Martino and his original partners. There he found Malbec vines planted in 1926. Until 2013 he produced his wines in third -party wineries, until he bought facilities dating from 1901 in Luján de Cuyo. Subsequently, he added another 47 -hectare farm in Altos de Barrancas, also in Mendoza.
Martino Bodega Restaurant in Lujan de Cuyo.jpeg
Shortly before the pandemic He launched another leg of the business project: The restaurant in the winery, which added attractiveness to its wine tourism proposal.
“Between the farms, the winery and the restaurant, We are about 26 people working. A small, but very efficient team, ”said Fernanda Martino at another time of the interview.
Regarding the restaurant, he recalled that “it all started as A family quincho where my father invited to eat and chat to winemakers and other people linked to the wine business. That became a restaurant in 2021, but without losing the essence of being a place where people is received as in a housewhere we give the best we have, wine and food. ”
But this business segment, such as wine activity in general, Does not cross your best moment For various reasons. One has to do with the traveled macroeconomic conditions between 2023 and 2024, which affected the entire industry.
And in the specific case of wine tourism, Fernanda mentioned: “Argentina is expensive, but The gastronomy of wine tourism is ten times more expensive. Very high prices are handled, which are not justified despite the cost of costs. What is happening today is that Many people visiting Mendoza stopped going. For example, a Brazilian tourist who has to fly 8 hours to arrive and pay more than $ 200 for a meal, prefers to go to Portugal, as far as It takes the same and can eat well for 20 euros. This is a point that the entire industry has the responsibility to review. Today, empty visitor wineries are seen, regardless of whether it is a large or small establishment. ”
In that same sense and regarding the situation that the industry is going through, Fernanda Martino commented: “We come from two very complicated years, crossing the perfect storm. The situation is critical, although we maintain the conviction that this will happen and that we will be able to position ourselves within the great Argentine wineries. But I don’t see an exit in the short term. I think the improvement will arrive from 2027. This year and the next one, things are going to rear.
And on the general panorama rounded: “We have a wide view of the market, because we also give services to third parties in the winery. There are colleagues who are not grinding. And we have been working at 70 percent of our capacity for two years. In the last quarter of 2024 the international sale raised a little, but all areas remain complicated. It is a stage in which the entire industry is working very cautiously with costs. ”
Source: Ambito
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