Viña Agua Tierra

The winery

Viña AguaTierra is in El Ciénago, a rural area of the municipality of Punitaqui some 25 km from Ovalle, in the upper part of the Limarí Valley. The project began in 1999 with the idea of producing organic wine in a place with almost no rain and plenty of solar radiation, and according to the winery itself its entire production has been certified organic since March 2004; a list of Chile's organic vineyards published by Jancis Robinson already recorded its 31.56 hectares certified by IMO in 2001. It was started by a foreign investor, James Pryor, through Sociedad Agrícola AguaTierra, which put the farm up for sale in 2012; today the official website presents it as the property of Agrícola, Forestal y Ganadera Andino Ltda.

The farm covers 120 hectares, of which about 32 are planted with vines: 23 of Syrah, 5 of Cabernet Sauvignon and 4 of Carménère, irrigated from its own wells, which draw on the Punitaqui stream. Farming is organic and biodynamic: native flowers are planted between the rows to attract and control insects, compost is made with worms and the classic biodynamic preparations, and a flock of sheep keeps the weeds down and fertilizes the soil. Picking is by hand and, according to the winery, its reds spend 14 months in French oak barrels. The wines are blends of the three grapes; the best known is Doña Ana, whose Ensamblaje Reserva 2014 won a Grand Gold Medal at the 2019 Catad'Or Wine Awards. In its early years the estate also sold organic grapes to wineries such as Cono Sur and Emiliana.

AguaTierra does not publish a wine tourism offer: its website, whose content dates from 2019, mentions no visits, hours or prices, and it has no online shop. The Destino Punitaqui 2022 guide, published on Coquimbo's regional tourism portal, lists it among the municipality's wineries that can be visited to learn how the wine is made, tour the facilities and taste, and earlier guides spoke of visits by appointment. If you want to see it, arrange in advance by phone or email with the winery's management, which also takes wine orders.