Vinos Don Tomás de Portezuelo

The winery

Vinos Don Tomás de Portezuelo is a family winery in the Membrillar district, on the north bank of the Itata River. According to the story on its website, in the early 1970s a farming grandfather worked his vines with horses and wooden mills and sold the wine locally; his son planted more vines and began packaging on a larger scale, and the next generation added stainless steel tanks to the wooden ones. The signs at the winery date the start of the brand to 1976. Today the business operates on the Predio La Higuera property, under the name of Rodrigo Villagra Puentes.

The heart of the house is pipeño, the short-fermented country wine used in Chile to make the terremoto (a popular drink of pipeño and pineapple ice cream). Don Tomás sells it in 1, 2 and 5-liter formats, along with dry red and white, sweet red, sweet chicha (lightly fermented grape must) and traditional-variety wine. Harvest runs from March to April and the new wine goes on sale in August, before the Fiestas Patrias national holidays. Its other line is Casa Villagra, in 750 cc bottles, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Carménère, Malbec, Cinsault, Sauvignon Blanc, a Carignan-led blend and a rosé of Cinsault and País, plus a sweet aged wine and a late harvest of Moscatel de Alejandría in 375 cc. This line evokes the 1814 battle of Membrillar: the house tells the legend that the soldiers fed on the local grapes. The winery also presents itself as the supplier of pipeño to La Piojera, the well-known Santiago bar, for more than ten years, and its wines are sold at liquor stores and distributors in Santiago, Talcahuano, Puerto Montt, Osorno and Chiloé.

The visit is simple: the wine shop is next to the cellar and is open Monday through Saturday, 9:00 to 17:00. A giant vat with a welcome sign marks the entrance, and around the shop there are old barrels, an antique crusher and head-trained vines. You buy directly there, with the shop's own price list: in the catalogs published in July 2025, from CLP 2,000 a liter for pipeño, red or white, and CLP 4,000 to 8,000 a bottle for Casa Villagra. No guided tours, tastings or restaurant are advertised, and a 2025 post asked people to call to schedule a visit, so call before you travel.