With the America and China at loggerheads, the pound crashing amid Brexit uncertainty and generally the political situation worldwide being in a state of turmoil, we are lucky that we can count on the consistency of at least one thing: Argentinian wine. There must be gold in them, thar’ Mendoza fields because a handful of producers are making wines of such superlative quality, that the rest doesn't seem to matter.

One such producer who appears to has the Midas touch is Sebastian Zuccardi. Named as Decanter magazine No.1 winemaker in South America, Sebastian is more or less responsible for turning the family vineyard’s fortunes around since he took over from his father.

Familia Zuccardi’s story begins in 1950 when Alberto Zuccardi, a young cement pipe engineer decided to try out his product in the dry Mendoza desert. Having successfully installed an irrigation system, he planted a vineyard to show off how clever his system was. The plan was never to become a winemaker, yet Alberto began construction on a winery where he could press and bottle his own produce. Fast forward 20 or so years and Alberto’s son, José, finds himself representing his wine at Vinexpo 1991. Realising that despite being the fourth or fifth producer in the world, Argentina had no export market at all, he struck a deal with a UK importer. Today, Familia Zuccardi exports 55% of the 2,200,000 cases it produces, while Argentina generates around €350 from wine exports.

While Sebastian’s father was in part responsible for putting Argentina in the spotlight among the emerging new world wine countries, it is most definitely his son Sebastian who has put Zuccardi on the frontline. The third generation of Zuccardis to be at the helm of the estate, one of the changes that Sebastian has made is moving the winery’s focus away from the traditional methodology and heat of Mendoza, preferring instead to use the cooler Uco valley grapes. The effect was immediate; his 2002 Zeta was an instant hit, and today a bottle sells for well over €70 a bottle, a 300% rise in release price.