Catena Zapata Hosts Inaugural 'Wine First' Dinner in the USA at Sexy Fish Miami

Catena Zapata’s Michelin starred restaurant Angélica Cocina Maestra challenges traditional food and wine pairing norms

MIAMI, FL, UNITED STATES, December 18, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Leading Argentine winery Catena Zapata celebrated its first-ever “Wine First” dinner outside of the winery’s own restaurant, Angélica Cocina Maestra.

Hosted in collaboration with Sexy Fish Miami, the dinner followed international acclaim for Angélica Cocina Maestra, which was awarded both a Michelin Red Star and Green Star in September 2025 for its innovative “Wine First” menu and commitment to sustainability.

Dr. Laura Catena, Managing Director of Catena Zapata, led this immersive dining experience, guiding 35 guests through a progression of Catena Zapata wines selected by Head Sommelier James Fenton and paired with dishes prepared by the culinary team at Sexy Fish Miami.

The concept behind “Wine First” inverts the traditional pairing philosophy — rather than selecting wines to complement food, each dish is created to highlight the character, texture, and flavor profile of the wines through a complementary or contrasting approach. Catena Zapata’s winery restaurant pioneered the novel dining experience, in which guests choose from the wine menus first, and the cuisine is paired to match.

“Wine First is about letting the wine lead the way,” said Dr. Laura Catena. “Sexy Fish has been a partner for decades, starting with their London location, and they share our spirit of creative “rule breaking”. It was particularly exciting to pair sushi dishes in a non-traditional way with Malbec and even Malbec-Cabernet blends. One of our favorite approaches is the Roller Coaster “Wine First” menu, where we move from red to white, to red, to sparkling, and make the dining experience a lot more exciting.”

Guests at Sexy Fish were welcomed with a glass of Brunette, a non-alcoholic sparkling Chardonnay infused with botanicals, the latest release from Domaine EdeM, a creative project of the Catena Institute of Wine.

The evening’s menu showcased pairings such as:

● Catena Alta Chardonnay accompanied by salmon and avocado maki

● Nicolás Catena Zapata 2020 accompanied by chicken tempura

● Catena Adrianna Vineyard White Bones Chardonnay 2022 accompanied by chu-toro sashimi

● Catena Zapata Nicasia Malbec 2021 accompanied by vanilla cheesecake

The progression followed the Wine First “rollercoaster” philosophy– alternating between reds and whites, lighter and richer dishes– a sequence designed to redefine the sensory connection between wine and food.

“It was an honor to create the menu—both wine and food—for the first-ever Wine First dinner in the U.S.,” said James Fenton, Head Sommelier at Sexy Fish Miami. “The ‘rollercoaster’ philosophy is very unique and presented a fun creative challenge. Catena Zapata has an amazing lineup of wines that can stand on their own, but the pairings only elevated them further. The pairing I was least confident about actually turned out to be the best — everyone should try the Catena Zapata Nicasia Malbec with vanilla cheesecake.”

For a closer look at the Wine First dinner experience, take a look at this video.

About the Wine First Concept and Angélica Cocina Maestra

The Wine First approach was born at Angélica Cocina Maestra, the restaurant located on-site at Catena Zapata’s winery in Agrelo, in the department of Luján de Cuyo. Overlooking the vineyards, the restaurant was recognized by the Michelin Guide for redefining the relationship between food and wine through a sustainability-focused lens.

All dishes at Angélica Cocina Maestra are inspired by Catena Zapata’s wines and made with ingredients sourced from the winery’s one-hectare organic garden, planted with unmodified native seeds and ingredients (such as Andean potatoes), Mediterranean fruits, herbs and olive trees. The restaurant uses recycled materials for its plates and cutlery, recycles all water and organic waste, and offsets its carbon footprint. Catena Zapata’s Head Winemaker Alejandro Vigil, who has been called the “Messi of Argentine Wine,” is the food and wine director at Angélica Cocina Maestra.

According to the Michelin Guide “The dining room, which is as imposingly impressive as the rest of the building, is part of the Catena Zapata winery in Agrelo, famous both for the quality of its wines and its design in the shape of a Mayan pyramid. Here, the duo of chefs at the helm, Josefina Diana and Juan Manuel Feijoo, boldly showcase their ‘Wine First’ concept, where every aspect of their cooking revolves around wine, and not the other way round.” The restaurant is named after family matriarch Angélica Zapata, a devoted school headmistress who believed in education as a universal right.

Earlier this year, Angélica Cocina Maestra was also named among the 18 Best Vineyard Restaurants in the World by the Michelin Guide.

Bookings can be made online at: https://angelica.meitre.com/

Erica Nonni
Nonni Strategic Marketing LLC
hello@nonnimarketing.com

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