Viña Antiyal

The winery

Antiyal was born in 1996, when winemaker Álvaro Espinoza and Marina Ashton bought close to a hectare of vines and an old house in Maipo to make wine on their own, while he kept working at Viña Carmen. The first bottled vintage was 1998, and the project is often cited as Chile's first garage wine. Espinoza, who studied winemaking in Bordeaux, was also among the first to bring biodynamic farming to the country's vineyards. The business remains a family one: their sons Vicente and Clemente look after production and sales.

The heart of the winery today is the El Escorial farm, in Paine, about 500 meters above sea level at the foot of the Andes and an hour's drive from downtown Santiago. It was an almond orchard when it was planted in 2003: seven hectares, joined in 2010 and 2011 by thirteen more on the farm across the road, where a stony parcel beside the stream keeps large quisco cacti standing among the vines. The almond trees left along the lanes, the flowers between the rows, the animals and the homemade compost are all part of the biodynamic management; the farm earned Demeter certification. With estate grapes and native yeasts it makes about 50,000 bottles a year: the Pura Fe line (Carménère, Cabernet Sauvignon and Garnacha with Syrah), Kuyen, the Antiyal blend, built around Carménère, and Viñedo Escorial, a single-parcel Carménère aged in concrete eggs.

The visit is called Vive Antiyal: a guided walk through the parcels, among vines, wild flora and animals, where you learn about the minimal-intervention winemaking and taste the wines. It is for small groups and by booking, through WhatsApp at +56 9 8451 9816, by Instagram message or at marina@antiyal.com, an address that also handles events. The winery publishes neither price nor duration, so ask when you book, and confirm the meeting point too: its website gives Camino El Escorial 21-A, while its shop gives Camino Padre Hurtado 68, about 7 km to the north. The wines are sold at tienda.antiyal.com, with delivery throughout Chile.