Viña El Sobrante

The winery

El Sobrante is a hamlet in the upper Petorca valley, about 4.5 km east of Chincolco, in the inland part of the Valparaíso Region. The cellars of the old estate of the same name still stand there, and wine has been made in them since colonial times: according to the local history gathered by the Foundation for Agricultural Innovation (FIA), these lands passed from La Quintrala to the Augustinians and the Jesuits, who planted vines to supply the town of Santa Ana de Briviesca, today's Petorca. In the years of the agrarian reform the Sociedad Agrícola y Ganadera El Sobrante was born, a society of local peasant farmers (39 members in 2016) that kept the making of wine and chicha alive. Between 2014 and 2016, with FIA's support, its members repaired the cellars, added barrels and stainless-steel tanks, set up a wine shop and launched the Campo Oculto brand.

The wines come from vineyards of traditional grapes of the Chilean countryside. Today the winery offers a red from the País grape, whites from Moscatel and Cristal, and cooked chicha (in 2016 the range also included a Torontel), and it sells pipeño and chicha in bulk to anyone who brings their own container. They are artisanal, peasant wines made in small quantities: the first vintage aged under the FIA project yielded about 1,500 liters of wine, 1,000 of chicha and 900 of blends. The harvest comes in March (in 2025 the Moscatel was crushed at the end of that month), and on Saturday, April 18, 2026, a Harvest Festival was held in front of the winery, promoted by the Municipality of Petorca, like the one the Society itself celebrated for the first time in 2016.

The wine shop, in the cellars themselves, opens every day: Monday to Thursday from 8:00 to 13:00 and from 14:00 to 17:30, Friday from 8:00 to 13:00 and from 14:00 to 16:00, Saturday from 9:00 to 14:00 and from 15:00 to 17:00, and Sunday from 10:00 to 14:00. The winery also offers guided visits of its century-old cellars which, according to those who have taken them, cover the history of the place and of how the wine and the chicha are made, a small museum, old farm machinery and a tasting; it is best to arrange them in advance by WhatsApp, and no price is published. There is no restaurant or lodging. The Society also takes its wines to fairs and traditional festivals around the province, where it sets up a stall.