Born in 1956 in the conservative mountain town of Mendoza, Susana Balbo had no female mentors to guide her way. She decided at a young age that she wanted to work in science, and nuclear physics was her first choice. However, political unrest impeded her from studying beyond Mendoza, so instead she plumped for winemaking, which she could study locally.
As a result of that decision, she became the first female winemaker in Argentina, graduating at the top of her male-dominated class in 1981. In doing so, Balbo blazed a trail that has inspired hundreds, if not thousands, of female professionals in her wake. Her confidence and determination to swim against the tide of the time has led her to reshape the wine industry of Argentina.
In her first winemaking role (at Michel Torino, in Salta, northern Argentina), Balbo redefined the category of Torrontés. Admittedly, the bar was rather low when she first started. “The wines were terrible, with so many faults,” she recalls. “I had to redesign the whole process, but getting technology to Cafayate was difficult.” The remote region—accessible only by a long, narrow, and difficult mountain road—was several days’ drive from Mendoza. When trucks refused to deliver to Cafayate, Balbo learned how to rewire her own car so that she could make the journey herself. When the wine grape enzymes she wanted to work with were not available in Argentina, she managed to get apple enzymes from a colleague traveling from Canada. When the large stainless-steel tanks couldn’t make it up the hills, she pivoted and sourced smaller tanks.
Whatever hurdles fate threw at her, Balbo was not easily deterred—not even when her employer failed to pay her an entire year’s wages, nor when she was almost bankrupted by a fake export company. “I faced a lot of challenges,” she admits. “But I realized that you only discover your skills when you are challenged.” (See also Margaret Rand’s interview.)
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Susana Balbo, the Queen of Torrontés
During her first years in Salta, Balbo revolutionized Torrontés—taking it from a bitter, blowsy, and oxidized wine, to an aromatic, bright, and crisp white wine. Her radically different approach in winemaking redefined the white wines of Argentina and marked the direction for other producers to follow. She continues to push the boundaries of her beloved Torrontés today—now at her own winery, Susana Balbo Wines—taking the native variety to new heights in the Uco Valley and making ageworthy and elegant wines fermented in oak barrels.
Balbo is widely known as the “Queen of Torrontés,” but her achievements extend far beyond the variety—and, indeed, beyond winemaking. One of her greatest legacies has been her contribution to building the reputation of Argentine wine worldwide—through proof in the bottle, but also by organizing the industry and developing a coherent and consistent export strategy. Not only was she the first woman to cover the position of president of Wines of Argentina, but she is also one of the longest-serving presidents, voted into the role multiple times.
Her achievements have been monumental: driving greater exports, establishing offices in key countries, and opening a door through which Argentine wine can step. Susana Balbo has, indeed, broken the ceiling for Argentine men as well as women, several times over.
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