In 1919, a 14-year-old boy arrived alone by boat at the port of Buenos Aires. He was the Italian José Eduardo Crotta, who had been born on June 1, 1905, in the region of Lombardy, in a village called "La Crotta",, in the province of Pavia.
His story is the same story of thousands of Italian immigrants who arrived in Argentina at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, many of whom wrote the history of Argentine wine.
It was in the 30’s, and as part of a project he designed with his wife, the Austrian Wilhelmina Ritz -who in Argentina was called Guillermina, -, when José Eduardo decided to set up his own winery in the capital of Argentine wine: the province of Mendoza.
Their grandchildren Claudia, Carlos y Carolina continue producing wines of the highest quality, upholding the tradition and prestige which has been achieved during long years of effort and dedication.
Today the winery remains renowned for its fortified wines such as Moscato, Oporto, Marsala, and its Mistelas. but also for its still wines, both in their varietal and bi-varietal lines. Its Late Harvest wine is a tribute to the golden autumn afternoons of Mendoza.
"Today we can assert that we who make the wines of Bodegas y Viñedos Crotta, Crotta hold in our spirit a great pride for being part of the history of our National Drink".
Carlos Eduardo Crotta
President / Bodegas y Viñedos Crotta
In Finca Ramblón, one of our estates in the locality of San Martín, a procession around the vineyards has for a long time been celebrated at the beginning of the harvest season.
Vine workers pray to the Carrodilla Virgin, Patron Saint of the vineyards and wine, and offer her the first grape bunches of every harvest.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Bajda family, a generation of coopers coming from Slovenia, settled in Mendoza and became the most important manufacturers of wooden vats, casks and barrels.
This oak barrel, the size of one the coopers, took its name from Dionizij -Dionysius in Slovenian. It was specially made for Bodegas Crotta, and it still remains as a precious piece of wine museography.
Although pizza and Moscato are traditionally Italian, in Italy they are not paired. In Argentina, however, this was made possible at the beginning of the 20th century by a visionary immigrant: Don José Eduardo Crotta.
In the 30’s, our winery’s founder thought about selling his Moscato by the glass to his main customers: the pizza shops of Buenos Aires. In this way, those who liked eating pizza after going to the cinemas or to the theatres on Corrientes Avenue, or even after going to the football fields, accompanied their traditional pizza portion with a glass of Moscato wine.
The Moscato, pizza and fainá pairing became then very popular. Today, just as it has happened with its bar culture, the City of Buenos Aires has also become worldwide known for its tours to the most remarkable pizza shops, where Crotta wines have taken on center stage.
PHOTO GALLERY
When arriving at the Province of Mendoza from the East, the winery is easily identifiable from the road due to its 33-meter tower which hosts wine pools with a storage capacity of 450,000 liters.
This state-of-the-art engineering work, designed by Carlos Leopoldo Crotta, of the second family generation, was done in the 60’s.
We have a storage capacity of 18 million liters. Both grape-growing ad wine-making are always carried out under strict quality controls for the supply of the food industry. Over 100,000 quintals of grapes are processed in our winery every year.
The original 1933 structure of the winery has two naves, one of them meant for elaboration and storage and the other one for the bottling processes.
There is also a tasting room where visitors can enjoy our wines. Bodegas Crotta wines are exported to the five continents.
One of our vineyards is located in the district of Ramblón, in San Martín. It comprises 210 hectares planted with over 80-year-old vine stocks, among which we can find the sweet pink muscatel that is used to make our emblematic Moscato wine.
The other 100-hectare vineyards are also found east of Mendoza, in the locality of Chapanay, on the banks of the Mendoza River. In this estate called Valle Verde we have Malbec, Syrah, Tempranillo and Chardonnay
PHOTO GALLERY
OUR MAIN ACHIEVEMENT
Childcare service during the vintage season
Our "Centro Educativo de Vendimia José Eduardo Crotta" (Vintage Education Center)
-an initiative of Carlos Crotta (Jr.)- has been in operation in Finca Ramblón since 2005.
The group of Child Labor we consider is that of the families who perform rural work. More specifically, seasonal workers who settle in our property to harvest the grapes.
OUR GOALS
. To promote a cultural change among grape harvesters, abolishing child labor.
. To contribute to the improvement of the educational quality of our harvesters’ children.
. To reduce the risk of work accidents among both adults and children.
. To safeguard harmony between the Company’s and the seasonal workers’ cultures.
OUR ASSESSMENT
. Better educational quality.
. Higher performance from workers.
. Adoption of hygiene habits among children under 5.
. Employee loyalty.
. No lack of labor force.
. Zero risk in accidents involving children.
. Increased profitability both for the employer and the employee.
About our sustainability over time...
. We seek to ensure equal rights and opportunities for all children.
. We see it as a long-term social investment.
. We intend much more than eradicating a practice; we want educational quality for our employees’ children.
At “Bodegas y Viñedos Crotta S.A.”, we are a company with a long history in the wine business, committed to the current challenges of the market, the environment and in accordance with the national legislations, providing to our clients, producers and partners, an experience of excellence and satisfaction. That is why values such as respect, responsibility, inclusion, transparency and security are reflected in our code of ethics and in the daily actions of each of our collaborators. Our production processes, together with a strong commitment to environment and social impact come together give us our Management System. Integrated Management that we materialize through our collaborators, recognizing them as a key factor in our operation, contributing to their training and continuous improvement of their labor conditions.
Our suppliers, fostering a relationship of trust and mutual benefit that contributes to economic growth and ensures the quality and safety of our processes and raw materials giving rise to a high quality final product.
Our clients, ensuring compliance with quality standards in accordance with the demands of the market and the consumers. Promoting responsible consumption of wine, both in the risks, inappropriate use, as well as the benefit of a use moderate of this.
Our processes and products, as the result of excellent work that assures the final consumer a safe product that complies with the expectations of safety and responsibility in its production.
Our social and environmental environment, understanding the fundamentals of contributing to the local development, respecting the environment and its daily coexistence with production processes that we carry out.
Lastly, always be an agent of change that promotes healthy coexistence between economic, social and environmental development. Through our sustainability policy, Bodegas Crotta in a continuous search of improvement projects for the standards of production that involve social values, environmental and safety that aim to generate a friendly environment that contribution from different areas to the social and economic development of our community.
Bodegas y Viñedos Crotta
Carril Chimbas y Panamericana (M5584BHU) Palmira. Mendoza. Argentina
263 - 510 4428 / 29
info@crotta.com.ar
BUENOS AIRES OFFICE:
Av. Elcano 3518/38
(C1426EJT) Buenos Aires. Argentina
54 (11) - 4551 3544 / 8742
vinos@bodegascrotta.com.ar
