While exploring La Consulta in Argentina’s Uco Valley on foot, we walked through the gates of Bodega Grazie Mille almost by chance. We found a very young winery with an old soul.

Founded in 2021 by Fernando Spigatin and Leandro, two friends more than 20 years apart in age, Grazie Mille is built around a relationship strengthened by trust, hardship, recovery, and creative freedom. Friendship brought them together. A life-threatening hardship tested their trust. Recovery gave them the freedom to create wines that reflect their shared ideas.

That journey became the structure of the winery itself. Its three wine lines, Amistad, Libertad, and Diseño, represent friendship, freedom, and design. Together, they move from approachable entry wines to more ambitious expressions of La Consulta’s terroir.

Grazie Mille reminds us that wine can express more than a vineyard. It can also carry gratitude for the people who helped us through the moments that changed our lives.

How Did Friendship Become the Foundation of Grazie Mille?

Fernando and Leandro felt an immediate chemistry when they met. They called that connection Amistad, the Spanish word for friendship.

Their relationship was later tested when one of them faced a life-threatening hardship. Moving through that challenge together deepened their trust and created the foundation for Libertad, or freedom.

That freedom allowed them to begin designing wines together according to their own tastes and ideas. This became Diseño, the third part of the journey.

Amistad, Libertad, and Diseño are more than names on bottles. They describe how the partnership developed: friendship created trust, trust created freedom, and freedom made creativity possible.

Artwork on the ceiling reflects visions Fernando experienced during his recovery.

What Do Grazie Mille Wines Taste Like?

The three lines move from entry-level wines toward premium design wines, but they share a recognizable character.

Grazie Mille’s wines are subtle, nuanced, and elegant, expressing the local terroir without demanding attention. They are not wines to rush through. To appreciate them, you need to sit quietly and let them whisper to you.

That quieter style offers a useful lesson for anyone choosing wine. Intensity is not the only measure of quality. A wine can be compelling because of its restraint, balance, and the details that appear slowly in the glass.

These are wines made for a table where people have time to talk, listen, and notice what unfolds.

Why Does Grazie Mille Mean “A Thousand Thanks”?

“Grazie mille” is an Italian expression meaning “a thousand thanks.”

The name connects the winery’s philosophy of gratitude to Fernando’s family history. His great-grandfather left Italy while escaping the Mussolini regime during the Second World War. He settled in La Consulta and purchased an existing Malbec vineyard.

When we visited, that vineyard was celebrating its 101st year.

The name Grazie Mille looks backward with gratitude, but it also describes the present. The winery grew from friendship, trust, perseverance, and appreciation for the people who accompanied Fernando and Leandro along the way.

The Andes embrace Grazie Mille’s century-old Malbec vineyard in La Consulta.

How Are the Vineyard, Winery, Food, and Art Connected?

The old Malbec vineyard sits at the heart of a triangle.

At one corner is the winery that was being built during our visit. At another is the restaurant, Fatto in Casa. The name means “made at home,” although we had a little fun wondering whether it meant getting fat at home. 😅

At the third corner is the art studio. The building was originally the home of the vineyard’s first keeper when the vineyard was planted.

The Andes rise behind the property, appearing to embrace the vineyard and everything being created around it.

This arrangement brings together the different parts of the Grazie Mille experience: the vineyard provides the history, the winery transforms the fruit, the restaurant creates a place to gather, and the studio connects wine with artistic expression.

Fernando and Leandro sit down with us to share the story behind Grazie Mille.

Where Should You Start With Grazie Mille?

If all three lines are available, begin with Amistad, continue to Libertad, and finish with Diseño.

Tasting them in that order follows the emotional journey behind the winery. Amistad represents the friendship that began it. Libertad reflects the freedom created through trust. Diseño shows what Fernando and Leandro chose to make once they had the freedom to follow their own vision.

The sequence turns a tasting into something more meaningful. Instead of trying three unrelated wines, you experience the stages of a friendship expressed through wine.

Explore the winery’s current wines and visitor experiences through the official Grazie Mille website.

For more context on La Consulta and the wider Uco Valley, continue through our look at how the Andes shape the region’s wines.

Grazie Mille is a place shaped by old vines, Italian heritage, the Andes, and two friends who learned how deeply trust can change what becomes possible.

As Fernando Spigatin said, “Understanding that with love, effort and perseverance everything transcends.”

Visit the Grazie Mille website: vinosgraziemille.com

Visit our Argentina page for a full overview of wine in Argentina.