HISTORY

The history of Graffigna is entwined in the history of Argentina. Santiago Graffigna, a passionate explorer, was an Italian immigrant who arrived in San Juan in the 1860s. In 1870 he established Graffigna, the first operating winery in the province of San Juan. Located at the base of the Andes Mountains, the extreme climatic conditions, abundance of sunshine and minimal rainfall allowed the vineyards to flourish.

Santiago Graffigna soon established himself as a pioneer of the Argentine wine industry. He negotiated the expansion of the railway to reach San Juan and the Graffigna family created the first radio station outside Buenos Aires called the “Radio del Vino” to educate people about wine.

But it was in the vineyard and winery where Graffigna made its largest impact. The company imported over 800 varieties of grapes from Europe to study and improve its winemaking techniques, creating the largest experimental vineyard of its time.

Graffigna was also the first winery in Argentina to use the natural force of gravity in winemaking, allowing the development of a more organic process.

Then in 1944, when the winery and entire city of San Juan was destroyed by an earthquake, the Graffigna family played a vital role in helping to rebuild the town. It also turned the destruction into an opportunity, introducing a range of new winemaking techniques that helped underpin the company’s position as one of Argentina’s great wine brands.


KNOW-HOW & A UNIQUE PLACE

Graffigna wines are born in a unique place. At San Juan, the sun shines over 300 days a year, the rainfall is as low as the Sahara Desert and, at 1,400 metres above sea level, there are strong temperature variations between day and night.

These hardy conditions and healthy environment produce a grape with thicker skin, which leads to wines with a higher concentration of aromas and flavours. For this reason, San Juan is the fastest growing origin of premium Argentine wine exports, and Graffigna is the leading producer and exporter.