THE TEAM
An international team pools their expertise.
Meet the team from around the world.
ROBERTO CRISTOFORETTI
Co-Owner
Urlari’s Italian founder, Roberto Cristoforetti, is a farmer, a craftsman, and an inventor. Urlari is the fulfillment of a dream to create a premium wine.
JEAN-PHILIPPE FORT
Winemaker & Oenologist
One of the most recognized and respected names amongst the great winemakers of Bordeaux, Jean-Philippe Fort combines art and science to make exceptional, Grand Cru Classe wines.
MARY KATE BUCKLEY
Co-Owner
Mary Kate Buckley, a veteran of multi-national brands including Nike and Disney, joins the team from her base in the U.S.A. She is currently the CEO of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.
HUGO MAURSTAD
Co-Owner
Hugo Maurstad grew up in the city of Tromsø in Norway. He had snow nine months of the year, and grew a passion for skiing. Today he is the majority owner of sport apparel brands Odlo, Henri-Lloyd and Janus.
The Urlari team is powerful and understanding of the wine world from all aspects. Roberto was the designer of dominant world ski champion Alberto Tomba’s winning ski boots and he became enamored with wine while traveling with Tomba in the 1980s. Cristoforetti met Mary Kate Buckley, then Regional Vice President and General Manager for Nike’s Americas Region while skiing at Portillo, Chile. She impressed him with her business experience and marketing savvy.
In 2008 Cristoforetti teamed up with Jean-Philippe Fort, one of the most recognized and respected names amongst the great wine makers from Bordeaux. Jean-Philippe has worked with Michel Rolland’s team for more than 20 years and brings a French touch along with his personal style and vision for blending Bordeaux wines. This is Jean-Philippe's first time working beyond French borders. He was drawn to join Urlari in Tuscany and the opportunity create a wine from a blank sheet of paper, incorporating all modern thinking and theories from farming to winemaking to marketing.
Hugo Maurstaud joined the partnership in 2021. His vision for pursuing a premium wine has inspired the team to envision the next level of quality and finesse in winemaking and to invest in the processes and infrastructure to achieve this.