Get to Know Jimena Lopez, the Trailblazing Female Winemaker at Funckenhausen Vineyards

Funckenhausen Vineyards has emerged as one of the top producers in Argentina’s San Rafael region, located in south Mendoza. From Chardonnay to Malbec, 750ml to 1L bottles, Funckenhausen is fiercely committed to charting its own course. That independence results in great Argentine wine.

Great wine obviously starts in the vineyard, but it takes an extremely careful, observant winemaker to bring the best out of what nature has given. At Funckenhausen, that responsibility belongs to winemaker Jimena Lopez, who also happens to be one of a small but growing number of female winemakers in Mendoza.

Lopez found her passion for wine early in life. She began taking viticulture and winemaking courses in high school and completed her studies with a 6-month work-study program at a winery. It was there, in the midst of her first harvest, that she found her life’s passion. 

She then went on to study enology and viticulture in Mendoza. Before graduating, she developed a global winemaking sensibility, having worked in Argentina, Chile, Mexico, California, Germany, France and Australia. Since graduating, Jimena has gained invaluable experience working with wineries in California, Australia, and of course her homeland of Mendoza, Argentina. She has worked at Funckenhausen for five years.

In 2002 Lopez won her first gold medal at a wine competition, and has since gone on to win many more. Through it all, this mother of two has kept her endearing spirit of grace and humility, never losing her love for life’s simple pleasures. 

Jimena’s winemaking principles reflect her personality. “In my eyes,” she says, “good winemaking is simple winemaking. It needs to start in the vineyard. The quality and purity of the grape is essential. We can have the best technology in the winery, but what you don’t have in the vineyards you can’t have in the cellar. I believe there are three things that make the difference to great winemaking: know how, obsession for details, and above all passion.”

One sip of Funckenhausen wine is all it takes to understand how these three things play out.