Carmelo Patti

If you're lucky enough to secure an appointment, a visit to Carmelo Patti's small, rustic winery in Lujan de Cuyo will be one of the more memorable wine tours of your life. Carmelo is one of Mendoza's great old-school winemaking personalities and runs every corner of this quirky operation himself. Brought to Argentina on a small boat from Sicily when he was one year old, Carmelo was a catalyst for the rebirth of fine wine production in Mendoza in the '80s and is one of the most respected enologists in the country. Carmelo's winemaking style is equally unique as his character. He insists on holding all wine until he deems it ""ready"" which generally means 4-5 years after harvest at the soonest for reds. All wines are made naturally, with no chemical additives and only native yeast.