Viña Terramater

The winery

TerraMater was born in 1996, when sisters Gilda, Edda and Antonieta Canepa brought together the vineyards of their family, of Italian origin and devoted to wine and olive oil since the 1930s, in a new winery. Today it is run by Alfredo Schiappacasse, Antonieta's son, and the name means Mother Earth in Latin. The winery dates the beginning of its soil to 1946: a plot of sand and stones in Isla de Maipo that gained layers over time from Maipo River sediment, an irrigation system of embankments and the manure of 60,000 laying hens.

The Caperana estate borders Cerro Lonquén and, according to the winery, holds vines of 40, 50 and even 70 years, irrigated by canals and a reservoir filled with water from the Maipo. Cabernet Sauvignon is the standout grape, in the Vineyard Reserve, Magis and Altum lines, the last also made in Carménère and Merlot, and in Grafo, an edition of 7,240 bottles created with Stefano Gandolini. The most distinctive thing is the Zinfandel, which the family brought to Chile in 1984 and which gives rise to Primitivo, alongside a Sangiovese Gran Reserva; the icon wine is the Mater blend, and Paula Cifuentes is head winemaker. Some labels come from other valleys, such as the Altum Chardonnay and the Pinot Noir from Casablanca or the Late Harvest from Curicó. The olive oil is pressed at the Peteroa estate in the Curicó Valley, where the house has its other base.

Visits are at Av. Balmaceda 4900, in La Islita, and depart Tuesday to Sunday between 11:00 and 17:00, with prior booking. The simplest option is a guided tasting of wines and oils; the Tour Mediterráneo also takes in the winery, and the Tour Coloso climbs aboard a tractor-drawn cart for a ride through the vineyard. In Sé Enólogo por un día (Be a Winemaker for a Day) each visitor builds their own blend and takes the bottle home. The tours earn a discount at the Zinfandel restaurant, with an Italian-influenced menu and tables in the shade of walnut and fig trees, and on wines at the shop, open every day, which also sells oils and Italian products. In 2026 the winery held several editions of its Mercadito, a small market with local producers, the latest announced in August.