Viñedos James

The winery

Viñedos James was born in 2020 as a tribute to Christian José Abud Sittler, known as James, who died in 2019 at the age of 30. It is sustained by his family and a group of friends, with his father, Christian Abud, as founder, and it has one defining rule: 100% of the profits go to charity, especially to organizations that support children at social risk, such as the Corporación NAIM in Curicó, which the family founded in 1998 to shelter and protect vulnerable girls and boys.

The vineyard is in the Los Cristales sector, in the municipality of Curicó, in the eastern part of the valley, according to the geolocated photos the winery provided to the Ruta del Vino; the Ruta itself, however, places it beside the Camino a Pichingal, around kilometer 4.5, so confirm the location with the winery. Its area is not published. The technical sheets speak of alluvial soils, a Mediterranean climate, massal-selection vines and yields of 1 to 3 kilos per plant depending on the wine; the winery's photos show rows ending in red rose bushes, stone walls and a pond with water lilies. The house highlights Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Touriga Nacional, Tempranillo and Chardonnay, in a limited production split into two lines. Beneficus is a red blend of Malbec and Cabernet Franc, with a touch of Syrah, which spends at least three years in the cellar. Paradisus brings together a Tempranillo fermented in open French oak barrels and aged 18 months, a Touriga Nacional, a Portuguese grape, with 14 months in barrel, a Chardonnay with 10 months in French barrel and a brut sparkling Chardonnay with 24 months on its lees in bottle. The winemaker is Álvaro Reyes; in the early days Antonio Bunster accompanied the project.

The winery publishes no visits, tours or hours, and the Ruta del Vino de Curicó, where it appears among the member wineries, lists no experiences for it either; in 2024 it said it hoped to move into wine tourism. Wines are ordered directly: the buy button on the website opens a WhatsApp chat with +56 9 9222 5291, the Ruta also gives +56 9 8768 0360, and the email is ventasvjames@gmail.com. No prices are published and there is no online store. Anyone who wants to see the vineyard should ask beforehand through those same channels.