The grapes are hand harvested at optimum ripeness from the foothills of the Andes Mountains in the San Rafael region of Mendoza. The near-desert conditions are remedied by water from the snow-capped Andes that also guard the area from radical temperature shifts that would otherwise hurt the harvest, and instead account for better fruit flavor and maturation in the clean, pollution-free mountain air. Mendoza rests on the San Andreas Fault and experiences near weekly small earthquakes. These mini-quakes shift layers of sand, clay, and loam with gravel and limestone, providing Mendoza’s read more...vineyards with superb root nutrients and variety. (hide)