Technical Notes Catena has taken pride in the single vineyard designation of the wines they produce. The grapes for the Catena wines are sourced from several vineyard sites and then blended together in the final product. For over 20 years, Nicolas Catena and his winemaking team have planted countless numbers of varietals and clones throughout their mountainous vineyard sites. Each vineyard site enjoys its own soil variations and microclimates. Nicolas and his team have carefully studied the effects of these microclimates on the grapes from each vineyard. They descovered that the same varietal, and even the same clone, presents truly distinct aromatic and flavor characteristics when grown in different microclimates. Implementing the age-old "art of assemblage," Nicolas found that by blending different lots of the same varietal, he could create a more intense and complex wine. As great artists tap their creative spirit to mix and match colors for a final work of art, the team at Bodega Catena Zapata use their creativity in the intricate process of blending grapes in order to craft the final wine.