Viña Kunza

The winery

Viña Kunza is in the El Colmo district on the outskirts of Vallenar, in the Huasco Valley, at the southern edge of the Atacama Desert. The farm has been in the same family since the late nineteenth century, when the Scotsman Thomas Gray settled in the valley with his wife, Emily Martin. Generations later, Guillermo Fernando González Gray, who for decades grew potatoes, tomatoes and lettuce, looked to the vine as a way around the shortage of water, and in 2017 planted a variety garden to test which grapes would adapt to the desert. Today the winery has 15 hectares planted, eight of them in production, and management is in the hands of Matías González. The name comes from Kunza, the language of the ancient Atacameño peoples, and means something like "what is ours."

The vines grow in calcareous soils, with very little rain, irrigation from water flowing down from the Andes and the fog that drifts in from the sea in the mornings. The winery started with Syrah, Malbec, Garnacha, Petit Verdot, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and today works ten varieties, among them Merlot, Carménère, Moscatel de Alejandría and Moscatel Rosada. Each wine carries a Kunza name: Pukara is the Syrah, Puka-Umiña the Malbec, Piku-Yana the Merlot, Canichu the Petit Verdot, Akainik the Chardonnay and Muskuy the Pinot Noir, along with the blends Tinkuy, Tunkinaya and Laykay. Almost all are aged in steel, with no wood, to keep the fruit up front; Laykay and one vintage of the Chardonnay spend six months in barrel. With Moscatel de Alejandría the family also distills the pisco Thomas Gray, with the D.O. Huasco appellation, which in 2026 added two 45° versions aged 24 months in barrel. According to the winery, its Merlot and Petit Verdot were chosen as the best of their variety in Chile in the 2026 guide by Alistair Cooper MW and Catad'Or.

The tasting room, with a wooden pergola at the entrance, is open every day and also sells the wines. Visits are booked by WhatsApp a week ahead, with advance payment. The Experiencia sensorial ampliada tours the vineyard, the cellar, the aging room and the distillery and ends with three wines paired with products from the valley; the Experiencia Premium adds a welcome cocktail, a pisco tasting and a bottle to take home. You can also book a Chilean lunch served on the family's restored antique carts, with a view of the vineyard. Since 2023 the winery has hosted the Fiesta de la Vendimia del Valle del Huasco harvest festival every April, and it rents its spaces for weddings and celebrations of up to 150 people. There is no restaurant or accommodation; the wines are sold at the winery or in its online store, with shipping throughout Chile. Bring shoes for walking on dirt and sunscreen.