Who was Gabriel Ansiaume, the renowned 39-year-old winemaker from Mendoza who died climbing Mont Blanc

Gabriel Ansiaume had two great passions: mountaineering and wine. The 39-year-old from Mendoza died on Friday after falling while free climbing Mont Blanc, one of Europe's most imposing peaks, in the French Alps.

His cousin and climbing partner, also from Argentina, survived the fall. He remains hospitalized in Sallanches, in the Haute-Savoie region, after undergoing surgery and continuing his recovery.

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I went to get the grapes from the vineyard of an old producer from Ugarteche. We were in quarantine, and when I arrived there was absolutely no one there.

Known affectionately as “Rata” by those close to him, Ansiaume was a respected figure in Mendoza's wine industry. His latest professional project was the Contrabando wine line, developed for Bodegas Tierras Altas with his colleague and friend Federico Vargas Arizu.

Friends remembered Ansiaume for his “irreplaceable human quality,” according to the local newspaper Los Andes. The project began in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic. In a video shared on Instagram, Ansiaume recalled traveling to a vineyard in Ugarteche to collect grapes while the area was under quarantine.

“I went to get the grapes from the vineyard of an old producer from Ugarteche. We were in quarantine, and when I arrived there was absolutely no one there,” he said. He joked that he began clapping to attract the owner's attention because the man did not use a phone. The owner eventually told him the boxes were in the shed and that he should take them.

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What we have always maintained and intend to keep maintaining is continuing to have fun, continuing to enjoy friendship: this creative way in which we work and create.

Asked about Contrabando's non-negotiable principle, Ansiaume replied: “What we have always maintained and intend to keep maintaining is continuing to have fun, continuing to enjoy friendship: this creative way in which we work and create.”

Vargas Arizu mourned his friend online, writing: “My soul brother, forever and ever, light of eternal life. The embrace we will share when we meet again.” Ansiaume had traveled to Europe for work and decided to climb Mont Blanc during the trip. Los Andes reported that his cousin soon joined him. There was no official confirmation of the circumstances, but one leading hypothesis suggested the fall occurred during a free descent, when the two men had unclipped their protection points.

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My soul brother, forever and ever, light of eternal life. The embrace we will share when we meet again.