Viña El Quillay

The winery

Viña El Quillay is in the Los Maquis area of the municipality of Portezuelo. Gladys Ponce Rosales and her husband founded it when they left Santiago to live in the countryside. In 2000 they planted their first Cinsault and Cabernet vines, and in the early years they made barely a few liters of wine. The project began as a family venture and, with advice from INDAP's Prodesal program, gradually focused on the traditional grape varieties of the Itata Valley. The property is surrounded by quillay trees (the native soapbark tree), and the silhouette of one identifies its labels.

Today the family grows some 1,900 Cinsault plants and 1,000 of Cabernet Sauvignon, and buys grapes of local varieties such as Moscatel de Alejandría and País to make blends. The range includes a Moscatel Dulce, a Rosé Dulce, a País and its Cinsault. The Itata Wine Guide gives 91 points to the Rosé Cinsault 2024, a sweet, fruity rosé made only from Cinsault. According to the winery's own account in that guide, its Cinsault won gold and silver medals in 2015, and took gold medals at the Catad'Or competition in 2019 and 2022. The wines are sold at the wine shop on the property and at the fairs the winery attends: in 2026 it was in Chillán, at Plaza Ñuñoa and at Parque Padre Hurtado in La Reina. It has no online store.

Visits are booked by WhatsApp or phone. The Tour Vertical goes through the cellar with tastings and a country meal, Monday through Sunday, for groups of two to ten people. The winery also advertises an educational farm with poultry and other animals, where you can collect eggs, and a swimming pool; Enoturismo Chile adds a walk out to the vineyard. There are country breakfasts, lunches and afternoon teas (onces) with a booking, and a hall that is rented out for weddings and birthdays. Throughout the year it runs open activities: in 2026 it held a family harvest in April and hosted Portezuelo's World Tourism Day celebration in September.