Viña del Pedregal (Carta Vieja)

The winery

The story of Viña del Pedregal begins, according to the family, in 1825, when Carlos Adolfo del Pedregal arrived from Asturias in the Loncomilla Valley and started planting vines with cuttings brought from Bordeaux: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cot, as Malbec is also known. The business turned to bottled wine in 1976, and in 1978 Alberto del Pedregal Aldunate created Carta Vieja, the name by which the winery also came to be known. The first exports, to the United States, date from 1989, and today the winery claims a presence in more than 50 countries. It remains in the hands of the family, now nine generations on; winemaking is in the charge of Rosario Domínguez.

The vineyards, some 700 hectares according to its U.S. importer, are spread over four properties in the Loncomilla Valley, one of the zones of the Maule Valley. Batudahue, on the east bank of the Loncomilla River, is one of the family's oldest; Cunaco, near the Andean foothills, has a cooler climate and yields white varieties and mid-season reds; Cerrillos and Santa Teresa, in the Melozal area, are warmer, with granitic soils, and grow Cabernet Sauvignon, Carménère and Syrah, among others. The wines are organized into eight brands. Since 1825 is a blend of plots from Cerrillos, and Origen is also born in that vineyard; Boga is a traditional-method brut nature sparkling wine, with grapes from Casablanca and only 4,000 bottles; Eloísa has a Pinot Noir from the same valley. G7, Carta Vieja, Aves del Sur and Kidia spread their wines across the Estate, Reserva and Gran Reserva tiers, and have added fruit-flavored (Fruit Splash), low-calorie and, since October 2026, alcohol-free versions (Aves del Sur Zero). The winery also takes part in VIGNO, the association of old-vine Carignan producers in Maule, and publishes IFS Food, HACCP and vegan certifications.

The winery publishes no visits: neither its website nor its Instagram offers tours or tastings, and in the directory of the Ruta del Vino del Maule, of which it is a member, they appear as “to be confirmed”. The winery and plant are at Avenida Francisco Antonio Encina 231, in Villa Alegre, and anyone with questions can call +56 73 256 0500; the sales office is in Las Condes, Santiago. It has no online store of its own either. In Chile, wines from the Del Pedregal line, such as Origen, Boga, Since 1825 and the Vigno Carignan, can be bought at El Mundo del Vino; the producer does not say where its other brands can be found in the country.