Viña Aires de Menetúe

The winery

Aires de Menetúe began in 2014, when Eugenio Benavente planted the first Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines inside the Parque Termal Menetúe hot springs park, in the Trancura valley, about 30 km from Pucón. Nobody made wine in the area, and the cold mountain climate, with its frosts, cast doubt on the attempt. In 2017 the winemaker María Paz Valenzuela joined, expanded the vineyard to one hectare, added more Chardonnay and planted Pinot Meunier with sparkling wines in mind. The winery and the hot springs park belong to the same company and are part of Patagonia Andina, the group that also operates the hot springs at Coñaripe, Manzanar, Malleco and Antillanca.

The vineyard occupies a clearing in the native forest, near a lagoon and on volcanic soils. The vines live on rainfall and, on frosty nights, are protected with the same thermal water that fills the park's pools; that is why the winery calls itself a thermal vineyard. Everything is done by hand, with semi-organic management and minimal intervention. The first harvest, in 2021, yielded 300 bottles of Ilwen, an unfiltered Chardonnay whose name means dew in Mapudungun. In 2022 came two sparkling wines with second fermentation in the bottle: Rayén, a Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs with 42 months on the lees, and Newen, a Brut Nature from Pinot Meunier vinified as a white, with 36 months on the lees and some 650 bottles. They are light wines, 12 to 12.5 degrees with lively acidity, sold and uncorked at the park's Restaurant Pehuén.

Visits are arranged by WhatsApp and come in three formats with a common core: transfer from Pucón, a guided tour of the vineyard, a stop at the cellar and a tasting of the three wines with a three-course pairing in the wine bar. The Wine Tour lasts about two hours and, according to Enoturismo Chile, leaves on Thursdays and Saturdays at 12:15; request it one day ahead. The Wine & Wellness Day adds a day in the thermal pools, and the Wine & Wellness Experience adds the spa and a night in a cabin with a private thermal hot tub. The pools, spa, cabins and Restaurant Pehuén are not the winery's facilities but the hot springs park's, which belongs to the same owners, sits on the same property and is open all year; the restaurant keeps limited hours, so book it at reception.