Viña Männle

The winery

Viña Männle was born when a German family tradition was carried to southern Chile. Winemaker Heinrich Männle arrived in 1987 from Durbach, where his family has run the Weingut Andreas Männle winery since the early twentieth century. After studying the country's wine regions he settled in Bulnes, in the Itata Valley, and started out making fruit spirits, liqueurs and wines. The winery presents itself as a family winery since 1999, though the regional press dates its founding to 1987, the year of his arrival. Today he runs it with his son Martin Männle, a winemaking technician, and one of the two leads each visit.

The grapes come from several corners of Itata. At Maule Larqui, near Rucapequén, a 9-hectare vineyard more than 70 years old, own-rooted, head-trained and unirrigated, mixes Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, País, Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Semillón, Chasselas and unidentified varieties: from there come the Incógnito Field Blend, the Malbec Asoleado (a sweet wine from sun-dried grapes) and the Pinot Noir rosé. At Huape, in the Quinchamalí area, 3 hectares of trellised vines with drip irrigation yield the Carménère, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Petit Verdot of the Huape line. From the coastal dryland of Coelemu come the Cinsault of Huaro, with hand-worked vines 30 to 50 years old, which gives Reminiscencias, and the Moscatel de Alejandría of Magdalena Alto, the base of the Late Harvest. Next to the winery is a hectare of Merlot and Carménère planted in 2020. The house describes its farming as ecological and publishes no certification. It also sells the Frizzante Sunset, a Cinsault, fermented fruit juices and cider.

The visit takes place at the winery, at km 1 of Ruta 148, in the La Piscina area, on the outskirts of Bulnes. There are two tours, led by Heinrich or Martin, that cover the vineyard and the stages of crushing, fermentation, aging, bottling, labeling and bottle maturation, and end with five wines. The Monday-to-Saturday tour lasts about an hour and a half and costs CLP 15,000 per person, with a rate of CLP 60,000 for groups of one to four. The Saturday tour adds a board of local cheeses and hams, stretches to around two and a half hours and costs CLP 35,000. Both are booked a day ahead by WhatsApp, email or phone, and the winery also organizes private events on request. The wines are sold at the winery's shop, open all week, or through its online shop. No restaurant or accommodation is published.