Caliterra
Named from the fusion of the Spanish for quality ‘calidad' and land
‘tierra', the philosophy of Caliterra is to make the best vinous
expression of the Colchagua terroir. Based around a 1,000ha estate,
(250ha planted to date) the winery is situated in the heart of the
valley in a self-contained site giving control over all the stages in
the winemaking progress. The Caliterra team combine new technology with
the natural environment such as the use of precision viticulture, new
hillside plantings and sustainable vineyard management, to craft
quality varietal wines.
El Huique
El Huique (pronounced Weekeh) means “valley where the birds sing”.
The property has been owned by the Echenique family since 1795 and “San
Miguel del Huique” is a unique example of a traditional colonial
“Hacienda Chilena”. The family founded the winery in 1930. During the
early 1980s the estate suffered serious earthquake damage and the
winery was completely re-built as state-of-the-art. El Huique is
located in the Colchagua Valley 200 kms south of Santiago and is
surrounded by mountains and hills, and watered by the Tinguiririca
river.
Emiliana
With prime vineyards in Casablanca, Maipo, Rapel and Bio-Bio and access
to the newest and best clones in Chile,Emiliana produces consistently
well made varietal wines, including wines under the Andes Peaks
label.As South America's largest organic producer,Emiliana's aim is to
be the world's biggest producer of organic wines. Their spectacular
vineyard and winery at Los Robles has the added benefit of being
biodynamic and features the sensory delights of roaming Alpacas, dung
heaps and dynamised biodynamic mixtures to treat the vineyards.
Errazuriz
The premier family wine estate in Chile, Viña Errázuriz was
established by Don Maximiano Errázuriz in 1870. The founder’s maxim
was ‘From the best land, the best wine’ and he recognized the potential
of the Aconcagua Valley with its Mediterranean style climate, as a
region capable of producing premium quality wines. Today, under the
guidance of Don Maximiano’s descendant, Eduardo Chadwick, the company’s
philosophy is based on the same principles. The vineyards around the
original estate have expanded, not only to new parts of the Aconcagua
valley, but also to the Casablanca Valley. Each site is chosen for its
ability to produce the best quality wines of a particular varietal or
style.
www.errazuriz.comQuinta de Viluco
Quinta de Viluco is a recently established estate of 200 hectares in
prime Chilean red wine country. The estate is managed by the esteemed
Alvaro Espinoza, who also controls the winemaking. The location is in
the most inland section of Maipo Valley, mostly on scratchy valley-side
soils rather than valley plains. As with many ambitious and
quality-conscious estates, Quinta de Viluco have gone from selling
their own highly prized fruit to making their own wine. Their first
vintage under their own name was 2004. The estate is planted to Syrah
in the main, with a smaller proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon. The
expertise in red wine-making, and Syrah especially, is seen in the
Reserva Especial Syrah, and above all in the flagship wine QV Syrah.
This is a top quality red that represents the best possible wine that
could be achieved from the terroir. Cabernet Sauvignon is also very
successful here, as shown by the ripe brambley Reserva Especial. The
legend of Quinta de Viluco would have it that a fierce snake bit the
young farmhand who originally tended the land, and where his blood fell
sprung up the vines that now make up the estate. Pretty appropriate for
a 100% red wine estate.
Quintay
Following the aim to produce wines of outstanding quality, eight local
producers from the Casablanca Valley decided to combine their efforts
and formed Viña Quintay winery. Altogether, they own 250 hectares in
different sectors of the valley, giving the possibility to select the
best fruit from each vineyard to produce Quintay Sauvignon Blanc. 2005
was the first vintage. In order to make the best wine from such quality
fruit, they work with the prestigious and talented Chilean winemaker
Alvaro Espinoza. The vineyards are in different areas within the valley
and each one of them has different expositions and densities. Soils of
granitic origin and with a very low fertility help the vines to deliver
concentrated grapes. A maritime climate ensures a very mild temperature
in summer, promoting a slow ripening of the grapes, which is a key
factor to produce expressive fruit from a grape that abhors excessive
heat. From this cool climate location, Quintay's Sauvignon Blanc is a
modern Chilean classic.
Tabali
Situated in one of the northernmost vineyard regions in Chile, Tabalí
commands a unique location in the heart of the Limarí Valley. The
region has a semi-arid Mediterranean climate, resulting in a range of
truly distinctive wines with elegance, restraint and minerality. Tabalí
has the honour of stewardship of the Limarí Valley's most significant
archaeological sites, the mystical ‘Valle del Encanto' (‘Enchanted
Valley'). A sacred site with many rock drawings and carved Tacita
stones depicting an ancient way of life. The Tabalí mask logo has been
taken from one of these rock carvings.
Ventisquero
Viña Ventisquero was founded just nine years ago, in 1998. The company
owns vineyards in some prime sites in Chile's key wine producing
regions - Casablanca, Maipo, Apalta, Lolol - and all the wines made by
Viña Ventisquero are from grapes grown in their own vineyards. Since
its creation, Viña Ventisquero has hunted out and hired a team of
professionals in viticulture and oenology: such as consultants Aurelio
Montes and Eduardo Silva, who have worked closely with the company's
resident team of viticulturalists to identify the best vineyard sites
for the different varietals. Australian winemaker John Duval - creator
of Penfold's The Grange - has also been involved as a consultant for
Ventisquero's premium wines from Apalta.Winemaker Felipe T Bruna joined
Viña Ventisquero in 2000. He worked previously for Concha Y Toro as
chief winemaker on the company's Cachapoal brand, and also has
experience in Napa, Sonoma, Argentina, France, Spain, Italy and
Australia together with some of the great Bordeaux wine estates. Since
2003, Felipe has been working closely with John Duval on the production
of Viña Ventisquero's icon wine Pangea. This is made from Syrah grapes
from vineyards in Apalta, one of Colchagua's premium valleys.
Von Siebenthal
For over two decades, Mauro von Siebenthal, a Swiss lawyer and wine
aficionado, had a desire to produce fine wine from the Aconcagua valley
in Chile. In 1998, with the financial support of four friends, Viña von
Siebenthal finally became a reality. Viña von Siebenthal's harmonious
philosophy has produced an extremely elegant range of four wines which
represent the unique quality of the valley’s terroir. The cellar is an
elegant mix of state-of-the-art technology with more than a nod to the
architectural traditions of the Chilean “casona”, the traditional
colonial style country mansion. It is designed to accommodate 400
barrels (75% French, 25% American) and an annual production of 150,000
bottles.