Tinajas del Malandra

The winery

Tinajas del Malandra grew up alongside Chilevitis, the shop for winemaking equipment and supplies that operates at the same address, on Avenida Ramón Freire, in the Tres Esquinas sector of Romeral. The winery itself tells that it began making wine to show its machines running and ended up smitten with the craft: destemming, punching down by hand, following every fermentation. The name joins the tinajas, the clay amphorae it works with, and the “malandra”, the lover of life that, as the house puts it, we all carry inside. It is a small family winery, with Patricia Gálvez Retamal as the contact; it uses solar power and lightweight bottles, and recycles its boxes.

Most of the fruit comes from other valleys. The Moscatel de Alejandría comes from the coastal hills of Guarilihue, in the Itata, and the Cinsault from old vines in the same valley, head-trained and unirrigated; the Carignan comes from the dry-farmed country of Cauquenes and from Loncomilla, and from Romeral, beside the Guaiquillo creek, comes a Sauvignon Blanc from vines over 50 years old that becomes a Late Harvest. Enoturismo Chile also mentions fruit from Peumo and a first-ever Albariño, just 200 liters from 2026, and on Instagram the winery shows its “first grapes” among young vines. It makes lots of 600 to 1,500 bottles: red blends of unusual grapes, such as the Mezcla Tinta 2022 (65% Carignan, 20% Tempranillo and 15% Cinsault, aged in amphora), which the house advertises with 91 points from Tim Atkin; a Cinsault Gran Reserva that passes through clay amphorae from Impruneta, in Italy; a dry Moscatel, a rosé of Moscatel and Cinsault, and a traditional-method Brut sparkling wine of Moscatel, with two years on the lees. The online shop sells 3-bottle packs or 6-bottle cases, from CLP 23,900 and CLP 39,200 respectively, with shipping paid on delivery anywhere in Chile.

The visit is called Experiencia Malandra and does not try to be solemn: the people who make the wine walk you through the winery, among brick walls, tanks and amphorae, and tell you how it is made, ending in a relaxed, conversational tasting with a board of local snacks. It lasts close to two hours, costs CLP 20,000 and is booked for two people or more at least 24 hours ahead, through the shop on the website, the BZpro ticketing site, Instagram or WhatsApp (+56 9 7809 6551). The purchase listing shows 18:00 Monday to Sunday while the wine-tourism page leaves the time to be arranged, so confirm it. The winery also promotes making your own blend, which you take home bottled with your name on it. Pets are welcome, there is a wine shop, and no restaurant or accommodation is listed. Now and then it holds special nights, such as the Hallowine of October 2026, with a night walk through the vineyard.