Chile's ?Viña Morandé seeks new coastal sites in Maule

By Gemma McKenna

Published: 17 February, 2014

Viña Morandé is looking for new coastal sites in Maule for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, as a new generation of winemakers seeks to shake up our understanding of Chilean wine.

Viña Morandé's chief winemaker Ricardo Baettig told harpers.co.uk that Chilean winemakers are throwing off the shackles of conformity and seeking out new varieties and techniques to make their wines different. At Morandé Baettig now uses concrete eggs and 1,000 litre casks or foudres to ferment wines. He has also vinified 0.5 ha of Sangiovese and has 14 other varieties he brought back from his time in Italy awaiting planting - it will be a further five years before this can happen.

Baettig said Chile was ready to break away from its common perception of making only "industrial wines". "We need winemakers to be free to make wines in different ways from different regions. A few years ago other owners were afraid. They only though of Bordeaux, but now we know about Georgia, the Jura and other areas. This knowledge contributes to the maturity in Chile. We need freedom and time for this to transition to the key players. It's very important."

He said the current crop of winemakers in Chile was the first to come on the scene after "many years of decline in Chile" with fresh ideas, confidence gained from global travel, and maturity to bring ideas to fruition. "We're in the right place at the right time," he added.

To read about Viña Morandé's plans in Chile, its experimental techniques and varieties as well as opinion on the 2014 harvest, read our Q&A with Ricardo Baettig.

Viña Morandé is distributed in the UK by Barwell & Jones.

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