Viña El Poeta

The winery

Viña El Poeta is a small family project in González Bastías, a hamlet in the municipality of Pencahue on the Maule River, in the Coastal Range and about 44 km from both Talca and Constitución. It is run by Christian Paccot, its owner, and Martine Burnens, a French-Swiss couple. She descends from François Burnens, who in the 18th century worked with François Huber on his studies of bees, and that heritage shows on the land: next to the vines are brightly painted wooden beehives, along with fruit trees and olive trees.

The vines form terraces on the slope facing the river. The winery presents its wines as natural, made by hand from País grapes, without agrochemicals or additives. Its label, El Poeta Reserva de la Casa, depicts the valley with its vines and a little train, and reads “organic by nature” and “made and bottled at the winery”, although no organic certification is on record. No online store is published: the wine is bought directly at the cellar, during the visit. The same family sells the organic honey Jardín de Martine and, in season, olives cured the old-fashioned way, and produces essential oils.

The visit is small-scale, with the owners themselves, and is arranged by phone at +56 9 8828 2695. According to what is published on Enoturismo Chile, it covers the vineyard, the cellar and the winemaking areas, includes the tasting and the chance to make your own blend and bottle a wine to your taste, and lasts about three hours, free of charge; depending on the time of year you can take part in the winemaking. The same listing mentions a beekeeping visit, kayaking, bikes, trails, private dinners and distilling classes, with no program or price, so ask about them when you call. To stay over there are three cabins and a house among the vines, with river views, booked through Airbnb. Five minutes' walk away is the González Bastías station of the historic Talca–Constitución branch line, and you can get there on that train from Talca, confirming the timetable with EFE beforehand, or by car, along a road with three kilometers of gravel. The nearest supermarkets and gas stations are in Pencahue, about 45 minutes away: come with supplies.