Get to Know Alejandro Leirado Heinlein, General Manager of Argentina’s Funckenhausen Vineyards

Many people outside Argentina don’t realize that the country is home to a substantial population of German immigrants whose culture is woven into many elements of Argentine life, including wine.

Alejandro Leirado Heinlein is the grandson of Kurt Heinlein, a German-Argentine businessman who in 2003 founded Funckenhausen Vineyards in south Mendoza’s San Rafael region. San Rafael’s 2700 feet of altitude and stony, deep soils proved ideal for the world-class Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay Kurt Heinlein sought to produce. GVI Wines is privileged to represent them.

Alejandro, who now runs the winery and vineyard, brings a youthful energy to the brand and its delicious wines. Famous for its 1L bottles — because “To Share You Need More Than 750ml” — GVI Wines wanted to hear from Alejandro in his own words what drives him and his Funckenhausen team.

GVI: What inspired your label design?

ALH: The Funckenhausen 1L label was born on a trip of mine to New York City and inspired mainly by Brooklyn’s colorful aesthetic. We were aware of our strong name “Funckenhausen,” wanted to highlight that, and do a somewhat colorful/catchy label for a wine that we decided to bottle in a liter with a logo that states, “To Share You Need More Than 750ml.” We try to emphasize that our proposal is not MORE volume for a cheaper price, but a great wine in a different format to be shared. We therefore put a lot of value on the fact that the name relates to the family history, that the wine is strongly related to a very special place (south Mendoza), and that a family (and not a anonymous corp.) is after it.

GVI: What wine regions/people outside of your country most inspired you? Why? 

ALH: I’ve always been keen on the concept of terroir and the soil’s influence on wines. So of course I’ve always been interested in Burgundy, but south Mendoza is far away in every sense from Burgundy’s conditions. We mainly work with segmenting our vineyards according to soil profiles, characterize the wines we obtain from each profile and seek to highlight the naturally obtained attributes from each place.

GVI: With so many wines to choose from in the American marketplace, why should American wine drinkers be excited about the wines of Argentina?

ALH: Argentina’s value proposition for mid- to high-end wines is amazing. Most planted places in Argentina are characterized by dry weather (water control), poor alluvial soils and a climate tempered with altitude. The fact that we have these variable quality soils, consistent dry weather, being able to control water, using altitude and latitude as a way to reduce temperatures and favor better natural acidity, provides us amazing conditions to obtain distinguishable wines. 

GVI: Is there anything unique you do in the vineyard or cellar that might not be considered “mainstream” or “unconventional”? How does this technique influence the style of your wines?

ALH: Our work mostly focuses on understanding our vineyard (therefore our study regarding soils and temperatures).  Our vineyard is located in an appellation that still does not have a Geographical Indication and we are trying to express its potential. 

We decided to graft Riesling in our vineyard due to our German heritage and my personal fondness of this amazing grape. There are currently only 78 hectares of Riesling in the whole country.

For the Funckenhausen 1L line of wines, we want to highlight aromatic profile and freshness. Considering the wines come in a Liter format we want the wine profile to invite to a second glass. We were the first in Argentina to produce premium wines in a Liter format.

GVI: What are some of your favorite activities when not making or selling wine?

ALH: Kitesurfing and spending time with my wife and two kids!