Andeluna Cellars

Andeluna Cellars, a perfected combination of top quality grapes, history and romance. For generations, Argentina has grown and perfected the traditional grape varieties of the Old World. But the feet of Andeluna don't rest in the soil of the Old World. Instead, they are planted firmly in the New World in a stunning series of vineyards that climb up the foothills of the Andes. The 48,000 square foot state-of-the-art winery is surrounded by vineyards planted by the descendants of one of those pioneering families of Argentina's wine industry, who emigrated from Italy.

Andeluna Cellars was founded in 2003, by H. Ward Lay from USA and Ricardo Reina Rutini from Argentina, with the vision of being recognized as one of the top producers of high-quality wines from Argentina. Its wines have already been praised worldwide by the press obtaining great awards and reviews. Since the end of 2007 Andeluna belongs only to the Lay's family.

Ward Lay was introduced to the business world by his father, Herman W. Lay, founder of Frito-Lay and former Chairman of the Board of PepsiCo. A well-known international businessman, Ward had many interests - especially in Argentina. He used to live much of the year at Estancia Alicura, his 200,000 acre cattle ranch and luxury guest ranching, fishing and hunting lodge in the Argentine Patagonia. He brought world vision and an indomitable drive for quality to Andeluna. He understood that great wines require more than just superior quality grapes; they require a combination of world-class winemaking techniques, state-of-the-art facilities and outstanding people to create a truly superb wine. Ward Lay passed away on October 2011. His family continues with his vision.

Premium quality wine starts with premium quality grapes, and this is the essence of Andeluna. Andeluna cultivates traditional varietals like Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc in its vineyards located in Tupungato, Mendoza at more than 1300 meters (4300 feet) above see level.

French grape varieties, Argentine soils, Italian ancestry, world class winemaking, American drive, the latest in technology and a team of people who all seek the same goal: to make the greatest wines in the world.

At Andeluna Cellars, we know that wine is only as good as the quality of the grapes and winemaking process by which it is created. That’s why we apply painstaking attention to detail at each step along the way.

Our wines are made from premium grapes grown in small vineyards at various elevations on the Andeluna Estate, and from other premier vineyards in the Mendoza region, all of which are selected and closely supervised by our winemaker. The wide temperature range, constant sunshine and excellent soil characteristics of this area produce grapes that enable the production of wines with exceptional intensity in color, as well as an important aromatic expression and ideal structure. Mendoza has so many sunny days each year that there is rarely unexpected rain to ruin a crop. An unlimited supply of pure Andes snowmelt allows us to carefully control a state of the art drip irrigation system. This allows us to pick our grapes at the perfect moment to ensure the highest quality wines.

By carefully controlling the canopy and irrigation of selected vineyards, we are able to produce grapes characterized by small bunches with low yields per hectare. During the growing cycle we perform a tightly controlled concentrated polyphenolic maturation process and daily testing. The grapes are harvested manually during the early morning and placed in bins for careful selection in the winery.

From the planting of the crop through the harvesting of the grapes to the bottling of the wine, every step is attended to meticulously in order to produce the finest wine.

With only seven years in the market Andeluna has achieved the most important awards and recognitions of the specialized media. Andeluna is one of the leaders producing fine wines in Argentina.