Viña Fajardo

The winery

Viña Fajardo is the last winery surviving within the urban limits of Copiapó, in the old village of San Fernando, today a neighborhood of the city surrounded by houses and supermarkets. It was founded by Celestino Fajardo Troncoso, “Don Chelo”, a Copiapó native born in 1923 who worked in mining and as a railway engine driver: with his savings he bought the land in 1944, and by 1947 he was making his first liters, at a time when the wine arriving from the south was expensive for most people. With his wife, Milena Casas, he built a family business that his daughters and descendants have carried on since his death in 2014; the wine registry is today in the name of his estate.

It is some 4.5 hectares of pergola-trained vines in the middle of the city, a green lung where Moscatel de Alejandría (the local “Italia”), Moscatel de Austria, Moscatel Rosada, País, San Francisco, cristal and pastilla grapes grow side by side. Everything is done by hand, from selecting and cutting the bunches to pressing, and production is counted in tens of thousands of liters a year (the winery spoke of about 30,000 in 2019 and the local press of 70,000 to 80,000 in 2024). From there come the red and the white that locals simply call “vino copiapino” (Copiapó wine), a rosé, the September chicha (lightly fermented grape must) and the añejo: a sweet wine of Moscatels (70% Alejandría and 30% Austria) that rests at least four years in old vessels, deep brown in color, aromatic and generously sweet, which the winery bottles in 375 ml under the name Golden Tea. They are rustic, country wines, closer to tradition than to modern enology, and for that very reason a heritage of the city.

There is no tour or paid tasting: the experience is to arrive at the family home at Callejón El Inca 755 (from the Líder supermarket toward the hill), ring the bell at the gate and try the wines in the shop before buying. Wine is sold by the bottle or in bulk, by the liter, and many customers bring their own container. According to the local press, it is open every day of the week from 10:00 to 19:00, with no booking needed; prices are adjusted every August (in September 2024 the red, the white and the chicha cost CLP 4,500 and the añejo CLP 5,000), and it is best to bring cash, although bank transfers are also accepted. The weeks before Fiestas Patrias (the September national holidays) are the busiest, when Copiapó residents line up for the chicha. The winery publishes no phone number or social media: the official site offers only a contact form.