The Forgotten Hand & the Zampal Soil
Livverá is the free-expression natural wine line of Escala Humana Wines — a husband-and-wife project founded in 2015 by Germán Masera and Ayelén Bonetto in the El Zampal sub-region of Tupungato, Uco Valley. While the majority of Argentina's oldest vines are found in Luján de Cuyo and Maipú, Germán — who has worked alongside Matías Michelini at Passionate Wine since 2016 — became obsessed with the forgotten places and rare varieties of the Uco Valley. He and Ayelén fell in love with two small vineyards where fourth- and fifth-generation producers tend vines brought from Europe — including a tiny 19-row parcel of Malvasia planted in 1927 and rare plantings of Bequignol, a light-bodied red variety from Southwest France that is virtually extinct in Argentina. The wines are made at Matías Michelini's Passionate Winery in Tupungato with sustainable farming, natural fermentation, and minimal intervention — fruit-forward, smashable, lower-alcohol expressions that are the antithesis of the lush, overripe, oak-heavy style that once defined Argentine wine. The result is a portfolio that is simultaneously a rescue mission for forgotten grapes and a love letter to the Uco Valley's hidden history — wines that taste of the Zampal clay, the Tupungato wind, and the radical patience of a couple who chose to look where no one else was looking.
A Couple & the Forgotten & the Zampal Hand
The story of Livverá begins with love and a shared fascination with the overlooked. Germán Masera began making wine in 2003 while studying Enology and Viticulture in Mendoza, and after honing his craft in vineyards across Mendoza, the USA, Spain, and Patagonia, he returned to Argentina with a conviction that would define his career: the Uco Valley's forgotten places and rare varieties deserved to be heard. While the wine world's attention was fixed on the polished Malbecs of Luján de Cuyo and the high-altitude trophy wines of Gualtallary, Germán was drawn to the small, historic vineyards of El Zampal — a sub-region of Tupungato where fourth- and fifth-generation producers still tend vines their ancestors brought from Europe.
In 2015, Germán and his wife Ayelén Bonetto founded Escala Humana Wines — a personal viticultural venture that marries tradition and innovation, weaving stories into every bottle. Ayelén, whose family is also devoted to wine, had been close to the world of viticulture since childhood, but it was not until she met Germán that the enchanting realm completely captivated her. Step by step, they shaped the vision together, and with increasing resolve, they embraced viticulture as their way of life — tenderly weaving it into the fabric of their daily existence. Livverá was the first fruit of this budding venture — a quest for free expression and interpretation within the artistic universe of wine.
Since 2016, Germán has worked alongside Matías Michelini at Passionate Wine in Tupungato — one of Argentina's most celebrated experimental winemakers — by day, while dedicating his evenings and weekends to Escala Humana. This dual identity has proved essential: the technical precision learned from Michelini's avant-garde projects informs the minimal-intervention philosophy of Livverá, while the independence of Escala Humana allows Germán and Ayelén to pursue their own vision without compromise. The result is a project that is simultaneously deeply rooted in the Uco Valley's hidden history and connected to the most innovative cellar in Argentine wine.
"Livverá came to life in 2015, born from the challenge of embracing a life project. It is the first fruit of a budding venture and a quest for free expression and interpretation within the artistic universe of wine."
— Escala Humana Wines
El Zampal, Tupungato & the Forgotten Hand
El Zampal is a small, historic sub-region of Tupungato in the northern Uco Valley — a place that has largely escaped the attention of the international wine press, despite possessing some of the oldest and most characterful vineyards in Mendoza. While the majority of Argentina's centennial vines are found in Luján de Cuyo and Maipú, El Zampal harbours a handful of fourth- and fifth-generation producers who have preserved their family vineyards with a patience and devotion that the commercial wine industry has rarely rewarded. The soils are a complex fusion of clay, loam and sand — poor, well-drained, and mineral-rich — deposited by the ancient alluvial fans of the Andes.
The spiritual heart of Livverá is a tiny 19-row parcel of Malvasia planted in 1927 — vines that have survived for nearly a century on the Zampal clay, producing fruit of extraordinary concentration and aromatic complexity. This is not a high-yielding, trellised vineyard but a monumental survivor — gnarled, low-yielding, and tended by hand with the same techniques that the original planters brought from Europe. Alongside it, rare plantings of Bequignol — a light-bodied red variety from Southwest France that is virtually extinct in Argentina — thrive in the same soils, producing fruit of surprising elegance and peppery lift. Other heritage varieties in the Livverá portfolio include Sangiovese, Bonarda, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Chenin Blanc and Sémillon — each sourced from small, historic parcels that Germán and Ayelén have mapped and nurtured with obsessive care.
The farming is sustainable and natural — no herbicides, no pesticides, and a deep commitment to soil health and biodiversity. The vineyards are managed with the lightest possible touch: the vines are allowed to express their age and their place, and the fruit is hand-harvested at optimal ripeness to preserve acidity and aromatic freshness. The result is a vineyard network that functions as a living archive of Uco Valley viticultural history — a place where rare European varieties and ancient Argentine vines coexist in a harmony that has been cultivated for generations.
El Zampal is a small, historic sub-region of Tupungato in the northern Uco Valley — a place overshadowed by the fame of Gualtallary and Paraje Altamira but possessing some of the oldest and most characterful vineyards in Mendoza. The soils are a complex fusion of clay, loam and sand, with excellent drainage and mineral complexity. For Germán and Ayelén, El Zampal is not merely a location but a discovery — a place where fourth- and fifth-generation producers have preserved family vineyards for decades, tending rare varieties with techniques passed down from European ancestors. It is here, in this quiet corner of the Uco Valley, that the soul of Livverá was found.
The spiritual heart of Livverá is a tiny 19-row parcel of Malvasia planted in 1927 in El Zampal — vines that have survived for nearly a century on the Zampal clay. These gnarled, head-trained survivors produce tiny yields of extraordinarily concentrated fruit — small berries with thick skins and a depth of flavour that no young vine can replicate. The vineyard is tended by hand with the same techniques that the original planters brought from Europe, and the fruit is hand-harvested at optimal ripeness to preserve the variety's haunting aromatic complexity. It is one of the oldest Malvasia vineyards in Argentina and the source of Livverá's most iconic wine.
Beyond the 1927 Malvasia, Germán and Ayelén have mapped and nurtured a remarkable collection of rare and heritage varieties in El Zampal and surrounding Uco Valley parcels. Bequignol — a light-bodied red variety from Southwest France that is virtually extinct in Argentina — produces wines of surprising elegance, peppery lift, and sappy seduction. Sangiovese, Bonarda, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Chenin Blanc and Sémillon complete the portfolio, each sourced from small, historic vineyards managed with sustainable, natural practices. These are not commercial varieties chosen for market appeal; they are the grapes that the land and the families who farm it have chosen to preserve.
The Livverá wines are made at Matías Michelini's Passionate Winery in Tupungato — a collaborative facility that has become the epicentre of Argentina's new-wave natural wine movement. The grapes are sustainably farmed with no herbicides or pesticides, and the wines are fermented naturally with indigenous yeasts and minimal intervention. The cellar philosophy is light of touch: native fermentation, gentle extraction, minimal sulfur, and a categorical refusal of the overripe, oak-heavy style that once defined Argentine wine. The result is a portfolio that tastes of the vineyard rather than the recipe — wines that carry the microbial fingerprint of El Zampal and the climatic signature of the Uco Valley's northern reaches.
Native Yeasts, Minimal Sulfur & the Artistic Hand
The cellar philosophy of Livverá is shaped by Germán Masera's conviction that wine is an art form as much as an agricultural product — and by the technical freedom provided by Matías Michelini's Passionate Winery, where the wines are crafted. The guiding principle is free expression within the artistic universe of wine: each wine must be a faithful interpretation of its vineyard, its variety, and its vintage, rather than a homogenised product shaped by market trends. The grapes are hand-harvested from small, historic parcels, fermented with indigenous yeasts, and handled with the lightest possible touch — minimal sulfur, no heavy extraction, no new oak, and no filtration where possible.
For the Malvasia — the estate's most iconic wine — the approach is skin-contact and texture-driven: the 97-year-old vines produce fruit of such concentration that extended skin contact is used to extract phenolic complexity and aromatic depth, followed by ageing in used French oak barrels that provide gentle frame without masking the vineyard's voice. The wine is unfiltered, preserving the raw, living energy of the old vines. For the Bequignol — the rarest and most distinctive red in the portfolio — the approach is whole-bunch, light-extraction: the delicate, peppery fruit of this near-extinct variety is preserved through gentle fermentation and minimal maceration, producing a wine that is light in body but rich in aromatic detail — sappy, seductive, and unmistakably unique.
Across all wines, the thread is the same: lower alcohol, vivid fruit, natural acidity, and a smashable drinkability that sets them apart from the power-driven wines of the past. The Bonarda is sourced from 1,000 metres in the Uco Valley and fermented to produce a brooding, vivid wine of sweet black fruits and peppery green hints — the antithesis of lush, overripe Argentine reds. The Cabernet Sauvignon from El Peral is beautifully pure with lovely supple fruit and nice tannic structure. And the Malbec from Gualtallary is a pretty but robust expression of the variety — fleshy, floral, and authentic. The result is a portfolio that is simultaneously a rescue mission and a party — wines that save forgotten grapes from extinction and then invite you to drink them with joy.
Indigenous Yeasts, Used Oak & the Smashable Ethos
The guiding principle of Livverá is that the best wine is the one that makes you reach for a second glass before the first is finished. The sustainable farming provides healthy, complex grapes from living soils. The hand harvest ensures that only pristine fruit enters the cellar. The indigenous yeast fermentation captures the microbial soul of El Zampal. The skin contact on the Malvasia adds texture and phenolic depth without heaviness. The used French oak frames the fruit without masking it. The minimal sulfur preserves the living, evolving character of the wine. And the lower-alcohol, high-acidity approach ensures that every wine is food-friendly, sessionable, and true to its place. The cellar is not a factory but an artist's studio — where a husband and wife prove that the best bottle from Argentina is the one that needs no pretension, only a glass, a meal, and the patience to listen to a 97-year-old vine.
Malvasia, Bequignol & the Bonarda Hand
Livverá produces a focused, multi-variety portfolio that reflects the estate's dual commitment to heritage rescue and joyful drinkability. The line includes three whites — Malvasia, Chenin Blanc and Sémillon; a rosé of Sangiovese; and five reds — Bequignol, Sangiovese, Bonarda, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon — each sourced from small, historic parcels across the Uco Valley and handled with the same minimal-intervention philosophy. The Malvasia is the iconic flagship — a skin-contact, old-vine expression from the 1927 El Zampal vineyard that has earned international acclaim. The Bequignol is the rarest gem — a near-extinct variety from Southwest France that produces a wine of sappy, seductive elegance. The Bonarda is the vivid, brooding crowd-pleaser — a 1,000-metre Uco Valley expression that tastes distinctly Italian. And the Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec prove that even international varieties can be reimagined through the lens of minimal intervention and terroir transparency. All are united by native yeasts, sustainable farming, and the Masera-Bonetto conviction that wine should be free, expressive, and smashable.
The Free Expression & the Zampal Hand
Livverá is not merely a wine line; it is a proof that a husband and wife, looking where no one else was looking, can revive a 97-year-old Malvasia vineyard and a near-extinct French variety in a forgotten corner of the Uco Valley — and produce wines that earn 94-point scores from the world's most demanding critics. In an era when Argentine wine is dominated by the polished, oak-heavy, high-alcohol expressions of Luján de Cuyo and the trophy-chasing vineyards of Gualtallary, Germán and Ayelén have demonstrated that the forgotten places are often the most rewarding — that the same El Zampal soil that was dismissed by the commercial industry can produce Malvasia of world-class depth, that the same Bequignol that was considered extinct can produce a red wine of sappy seduction, and that a tiny 19-row vineyard can yield a wine that travels from Tupungato to Tokyo.
The legacy of Livverá is the legacy of the curious hand in viticulture. The 2015 founding is not a distant memory but a living declaration — a reminder that the best way to build a wine project is to follow your fascination rather than the market. The 1927 Malvasia is not a nostalgic monument but a living classroom — a vineyard that teaches, with every vintage, that old vines produce fruit of a concentration and complexity that no young clone can replicate. The Bequignol is not a rarity for rarity's sake but a rescue mission — a refusal to let a variety that survived the Atlantic crossing and four generations of Argentine farming disappear into the monoculture of Malbec. And the smashable, lower-alcohol ethos is not a trend but a philosophical choice — a belief that wine should be drunk with joy, not collected with pretension.
The future of the project is tied to the future of Argentina's natural and heritage wine movement — to the growing global community of drinkers who seek wines that are not only delicious but honest, not only unique but true to their place. As the 1927 Malvasia continues to earn international acclaim, as the Bequignol introduces a new generation to the possibilities of rare varieties, as the Bonarda proves that Uco Valley reds can be savoury and Italian rather than lush and overripe, and as Germán and Ayelén continue to map and nurture the forgotten vineyards of El Zampal, Livverá remains what it has always intended to be: a quest for free expression within the artistic universe of wine — structured, innovative, and deeply tied to the clay soils, ancient vines, and quiet courage of the Uco Valley's northern reaches. The story of Livverá is the story of a couple who looked at the forgotten vineyards of El Zampal and saw not abandonment but a stage — and who proved that the best bottle from Argentina is sometimes the one that comes from the place no one else thought to look.
"Livverá came to life in 2015, born from the challenge of embracing a life project. It is the first fruit of a budding venture and a quest for free expression and interpretation within the artistic universe of wine."
— Escala Humana Wines