About us

Familia Vicente Pearce (FVP Wines) is a small production, family run winery making very high quality single vineyard wines from our Azcuénaga Vineyard in Lunlunta, Mendoza. It is run by Juan Pablo Vicente in Mendoza, Argentina and Shawn Pearce (holds a UC Davis Winemaking Certification) based in Buffalo, NY.  We specialize in Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and our Bordeaux-inspired "Corte", a single vineyard red blend. In 2021 we launched our now coveted single row production of Gamay Rosé.

The Vicente and Pearce families came together when a girl from Mendoza, Argentina met a guy from Buffalo, New York. Wine, farming, and snowcapped mountain views are shared loves (of course!). We started grape farming in 2011 with the purchase of the Azcuénaga Vineyard.

History

The seed planted in 2003 when Celia Vicente and Shawn Pearce met sprouted into a vineyard when Familia Vicente Pearce bought the Azcuénaga Vineyard in 2011.  The vineyard's history is intertwined with Bodegas y Cavas de Weinert, established by Don Bernardo Weinert in 1975, he originally planted Sauvignon Blanc on the vineyard site in 1988. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc followed in 1990. The famed winemaker Don Raúl de la Mota made Bodega Weinert's wines until 1997; he is credited with making the first varietal wines in Argentina in the 1960s and the first 100% Malbec in 1977 (Malbec Estrella). Familia Vicente Pearce purchased the Azcuénaga Vineyard in 2011.

Vineyard & Terroir

The Azcuénaga Vineyard - Lunlunta District - planted 1990

We farm grapes and make our small production wines from this single source. This means the vineyard's soil, sun, large diurnal temperature variation (~16.5°C/30°F daily), rain (or drought), hail, Zonda winds, altitude (2,980 ft), Andean snowmelt running through irrigation ditches, birds, bugs, heat and mountain cold produce unique wines each year.

We grow the classic Bordeaux varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon (north and south parcels, 6.6 hectares/16.3 acres), Malbec (two parcels: 5 ha/12.4 ac), Merlot (1.5 ha/3.7 ac), Cabernet Franc (two parcels: 1.4 ha/3.5 ac), and Petit Verdot (1 ha/2.5a). We also have one row of Gamay whose original cuttings are rumored to have been smuggled through customs in a suitcase from France in 1990.

Winemaking & Aging

Our focus is on high quality single-vineyard red and rosé wines that we love to drink and that reflect their origin here in Lunlunta. We specialize in Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and our Bordeaux-inspired "Corte", a single vineyard red blend. In 2021 we launched our now coveted single row production of Gamay Rosé.

WINEMAKING

All reds are hand harvested, hand sorted, destemmed, undergo a 3 to 5 day cold maceration, then alcoholic fermentation in stainless steel tanks with peak fermentation temperature managed, daily punchdown, native malolactic fermentation in barrel, racked every 6 months, unfined, and all varietals vinified separately.  We bottle in 330 gram recycled glass and include minimum free SO2 for stability (~30 ppm at bottling).

AGEING

Our red wines spend a minimum of 12 months in real oak barrels.  We utilized a minimum of 90% French oak for our barrel agin and prefer using both 225 liter barrels and 500 liter "pipones".  Depending on the wine, our red wine barrel aging has ranged from 12 to 30 months and from 0% to 50% new French oak.

Our Wine Club

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Press & Awards

Check out FVP press here.