Viña Sierras de Bellavista

The winery

Sierras de Bellavista is a mountain village in the municipality of San Fernando, in the Claro River canyon, which began in the 1940s as a holiday retreat for families of the Italian community. In the summer of 2010, winemaker Camilo Rahmer and Jacques Ergas, whose families had spent their vacations there for generations, set out to plant the first mountain vineyard in the Colchagua Valley. Landscape architect Juan Grimm laid out the rows in concentric curves, like an amphitheater open toward the Andes. The early years were hard, with harsh winters and plagues of rabbits, until viticulturist Gianfranco Gamelli took charge of the vineyard; the first official harvest came in March 2014, and that Riesling was named the best in Chile by the Descorchados 2015 guide. Today the winery is run by Igal Ergas and Gianfranco Gamelli, who also signs the wines as winemaker.

The vineyard, of about three hectares, sits between 1,050 and 1,100 meters above sea level, on northeast-facing slopes and terraces. The soils are clay loam of volcanic origin: beneath a layer of organic matter lies granitic rock and, further down, ash from ancient eruptions of the Tinguiririca volcano. In summer the days reach 25 to 32 °C and the nights drop to 7 °C; in winter it snows on the vines. There is one hectare of Riesling, from a massal selection of the Cousiño Macul vineyards, and half a hectare of Pinot Noir, both planted in 2010, plus a hectare and a half of Chardonnay planted in 2013. The work is manual and harvest takes place between March and April. The wines are aged in steel, barrels and cocciopesto amphorae, and the Pinot Noir ferments and matures entirely in amphora, with a share of whole clusters. Each wine carries its own name: Riesling DaVid, Pinot Noir Las Lanzas and Chardonnay Tamara.

The winery does not publish visits or tours: it is a small vineyard high in the mountains, with no tourism offer. Its wines are sold in the official website's online store, where the 2024 vintages of all three are announced as coming soon, from CLP 24,380 a bottle. For orders and inquiries, the winery can be reached at ventas@sbwines.cl and contacto@sbwines.cl.