Catalina Ugarte is a young winemaker working with tiny local growers in the Secano Interior region of the Itata Valley. Trained in Italy, Spain, and her native Chile, her focus is on the uniquely Chilean viticultural heritage that is the País grape, and the ancient vines that dot the Itata valley.
The Wines
País from centenarian vines of País in the Secano Interior region of the Itata Valley, near Ránquil. The grapes were harvested by hand, fermented with native yeasts in old French oak barrels and aged in the same vessels for 7 months.
Pet Nat from 50-year-old own-rooted vines of País and Cinsault on the hillsides around La Palma. The soils are granite with some clay. The grapes were harvested by hand then crushed and left to macerate with the skins for two hours then pressed with a wooden vertical press into plastic fermenters. When the correct sugar level was reached, the still-fermenting wine was bottled in the ancestral method. The wine continued fermenting and rested in bottle for 5 months. No sulfur was added and the wine was not disgorged.
