Itata | The Cradle of Chilean Wine
The seemingly remote and beautiful Itata Valley is a great place for wine enthusiasts to spend two or three days walking among old vines and trying innovative styles from traditional grapes. Vines arrived here in the 1550s and a few hundred years down the line the area was mainly known for bulk wine production. But over the last few years, that is thankfully changing. There is now a wave of young (and some not so young), dedicated, courageous and dynamic winemakers crafting very individual wines from old, bush vines of Pais, Cinsault and Muscat of Alexandria that deserve our attention. They are also putting a new spin on the traditional “Pipeño” style, low alcohol, low intervention and traditionally low-tech.
The Itata wine region can be easily blended with that of Maule, some 2 hours drive to the north making the whole combo a dream for adventurous wine lovers. We work with small producers, boutique wineries where owners are reviving the fortunes of traditional grapes and crafting new styles. We taste from huge “Rauli” casks, French Oak barrels, stainless steel tanks and bottles with the winemakers and owners, learning what makes these people tick.
Below is an overview of what we suggest for a Maule and Itata combo, but remember that everything we do is tailor-made, we can add, subtract and modify anything you wish. The video above shows you some of the winter landscapes of vineyards in Itata, you will most likely be visiting from spring to autumn, but even when the vines are sleeping there is plenty to do. You can see that Viña TresC has a couple of quirky accommodation options to back up their farmhouse rooms (shown at the end); namely, a large dome where you can cater and a slightly bizarre VW camper van among the vines.
Day 1 – We will drive down from Santiago, breaking the 4-hour journey in Curico for a winery visit at Miguel Torres. This 150-year-old, Penedes based, family-run winery has had a Chilean operation since 1979 and we will enjoy a tour of their production and cellar areas. After a look around we will have a premium tasting and lunch in the cosy winery restaurant. After all things Torres, we will drive to our winery hotel in Bulnes near Chillan where dinner and a further tasting will await.
Day 2 – Today we will spend the day visiting some boutique-scale wineries producing a number of wines from old Pais, Muscat, Semillon and Cinsault bush vines. You can see some of these little beauties in the video above, featuring the Lomas de Llahuen winery and its owner Gustavo Riffo. We will walk the vineyards with the owners, hearing their passion for taking once undervalued vines and producing export quality premium creations. Gustavo has some wines in amphorae, which we will have to wait to try. Dry reds and whites, sweet and sparkling, plus the rustic Pipeño style, all will be enjoyed today as we take a look around the Bulnes and Llahuen areas. Our day will end in the Guarilihue Valley at a rustic winery inn or the domes surrounded by vines belonging to Miguel at Vinos TresC.
Enjoying some of the fantastic creations by winemakers in the Itata Valley
Day 3 – Today we won’t drive very far, we are staying in the valley visiting two or three wineries literally just around the corner. At one of them, Mora Reyes, we will be entertained by the owner Fabian as he shows us around and gives us a tasting from casks, barrels and bottles to gauge the evolution of the styles he is producing. In the next sub-valley, we will visit two more small scale places and see how they do what they do, plus at some point, we will need to eat and will find a local restaurant en-route. The day will be spent among old, bush vines, walking and talking with winemakers and owners, drinking great wine and discovering more about this lovely place.
Day 4 – We leave Itata today and head to Maule. We will take the back roads through Cauquenes and see large expanses of vines along the way, most of these are for bulk wine productions. After a couple of hours of lovely countryside, we will arrive in the Maule Valley. We will be staying in the heart of the valley at the Gillmore winery hotel, ideally placed for exploring the numerous wineries in the area and of course, enjoying the Gillmore wines on-site. There are so many options in Maule it is far too big a job to list them here but something that will be enjoyed at places like Gonzalez Bastias are very old vines, and at Bouchon, the wild vines that are climbing trees. For a closer look at Maule please click here.
How long we spend in Maule depends on the time you have open to you, but certainly, two nights in the area should be the minimum. Then what? Well if you can extend your trip we would take you to Colchagua on the way back to Santiago. Colchagua, along with Casablanca are the two wine regions most developed for tourism. Colchagua has so much to offer, please click here to take a look.
Anything you see can be combined, we tailor each trip to your tastes. Just let us know how long you have and which regions and wines you are interested in. If you don’t have fixed ideas already then just let us choose for you.
