The Vineyard

Some 200 km south of Santiago de Chile, in the Colchagua Valley – stretching from the Andes to the Pacific Ocean – Daniel Wiederkehr found the perfect place to fulfill his dream: a six hectare jewel of a vineyard, planted with 37'500 original Cabernet Sauvignon vines over 80 years of age. He was conviced that his old, knotty vines on this barren, loamy yet mineral-rich soil would yield superb wines. The warm, dry climate and the large day-to-night temperature differences were an ideal match. The name of his project: Viña Nahuel – named after the Puma of the Andes in the language of the Mapuche Indians, the country's original inhabitants.

THE REGION

The Valle de Colchagua, home of numerous, world-famous top level wineries, stretches some 120 km from the Andes – rising upto 5'000 metres above sea level – to the Pacific Ocean. The ocean's gentle evening breeze makes for a pleasant end to the hot summer days and for comfortably cool nights. Santa Cruz, some 50 km from the ocean, is an agreeable, charming town of some 30'000 inhabitants and the heart of this region, largely dedicated to the wine business.

The history

"A fresh breeze is flowing through the Colchagua Valley, whose wines are among the best Chile can offer. I have never tasted a wine like the one of the Swiss native Daniel Wiederkehr, having come to Chile in 2001. Ten years later, in his own vineyard VIÑA NAHUEL, planted in 1942, he started to produce his Cabernet Sauvignon. The old vines make for a delightful wine – with pleasant acidity and a rich variety of fragrances. (Patricio Tapia in EL MERCURIO)

OUR PHILOSOPHY

Daniel Wiederkehr resolutely follows the pinciples of biological winegrowing, works in accordance with the lunar cycle and produces his own fertilizer made of the residues of winemaking (pomace) and sheep dung. Most of the work is done by hand – all in harmony with nature, from the grape all the way to the wine in the glass. Strict biological production, by the way, is much easier than e.g. in Europe, since the borders of the Andes and the Pacific Ocean have successfully kept diseases and plagues like the much feared phyloxera from entering the country.
In Chile's largely anonymous winemarket, these honest wines are real rarities, thanks to their small scale, handcrafted and truly original poduction method.