El Montañista is a collaboration between husband-and-wife team Francisco "Pancho" Bugallo and Nuria Añó Gargiulo, who are both avid mountaineers and residents of Argentina’s remote Calingasta Valley. Founded in 2021, the project focuses exclusively on the historic Paraje Hilario vineyard, where the couple farms 80-year-old heritage "Criolla" varieties at a high altitude of 1,500 meters. Their winemaking approach is intentionally low-intervention, utilizing organic farming with grazing sheep for fertilization and aging wines in traditional concrete vessels to preserve the site's unique mineral character. By working with these ancient vines, they aim to produce soulful, high-altitude field blends that express the long, often overlooked viticultural history of the San Juan region.