Putting down roots
For many Chilean winemakers, success is a family affair
MAULE VALLEY, Chile — We hop into a dusty pickup truck and bounce down a rutted farm road through organic vineyards. Even though we just met, we talk away like old friends. My Chilean driver doesn’t speak English and I don’t know a word of Spanish, but we have a great visit! It turns out that visiting wineries in Chile is a little like catching up with your favourite far-off relatives — who just happen to make amazing wines.
Here are some of the “folks” that I — along with some travel writing colleagues — dropped in on during a recent wine country tour with Wines and Barrels:
Maturana
Winemaking is a family affair for Sebastian Maturana, and the warm welcome to their lovely hacienda in the lush Colchagua Valley is a homey highlight of the Maturana Winery tour. Visiting with Sebastian’s family in their shady backyard, sipping world-class wines and sampling local meats and cheeses, ends with friendly hugs when it’s time to say goodbye. See maturana-wines.cl
Erasmo
Huasos — Chilean cowboys — still roam the ancient land of Caliboro, one of the oldest, most traditional wine regions of Chile. And Erasmo Winery’s Cesar Opazo is akin to a charismatic cowboy cousin. From the top of his traditional broadbrimmed huaso hat to his infectious smile, this fun-loving farmer says he shares a “spiritual connection” with his organic and biodynamic winery.
“We’re going back to our roots, interacting with the environment and making wines from what nature produces,” Opazo says.
Even the sheep that roam the vineyards after harvest, play their part, too, by adding to “nature’s production.” See erasmo.bio/en
Viña Vik
Visiting Viña Vik Winery, Hotel & Spa is like dropping in on rich relatives you hope will let you stay for awhile. Perched on a hilltop in Chile’s Millahue Valley, Viña Vik is a gleaming modern work of art, boasting 360-degree views of grapevines as far as the eye can see.
A Viña Vik visit is all about sampling outstanding wines, horseback riding and hiking through the 12 vine-covered valleys, hanging out by the infinity pool and living the lux life. Each of the hotel’s 22 bedrooms has been designed by a different artist (most of them South American).
And the food!
We join Rodrigo Acuna Bravo — the hotel’s executive chef — in his organic kitchen-garden, where he is picking produce for the night’s all-fresh, all-local menu. The 36-year-old Chilean, who lived in St. Andrews by-the-Sea, N.B., for several years, says he loves Canada. When it’s time to go, Bravo sends us on our way with a care package of local olive oil, sea salt and his own mixture of merken — a traditional Chilean smoked chili pepper. See vik.cl/en
Alchemy
Eduardo Camerati — winemaker at Alchemy artisan wines — is like an energetic and passionate young nephew who jumps into life with both feet. “My father is a farmer and I always thought I’d join him when I finished school, but I just fell in love with winemaking,” Camerati says.
And I fell in love with the boutique winery’s charming setting. About 90 kilometres southeast of Santiago, the fertile Almahue Valley is home to the country’s oldest Carmenere vines. Waterwheels are still used to nourish the world-renowned grapes, which are all handpicked, then gently pressed and fermented in small batches with native yeasts.
“Alchemy winery was the old cheese factory here many years ago. In fact, one of the cheesemakers now works here at the winery,” says the 31-year-old vintner, who is proudly putting down roots in Chile’s captivating wine country.