Viña Viu Manent — Attraction in Nancagua

I’m throwing it out there..... can anyone tell me if there’s a vineyard experience that’s more complete than this one in the world?

I’ve done wine tours in Europe (gorgeous history), Australia (great innovative industry), USA (super advances) and NZ (super nice people), yet I’ve visited this place three times in 15 years and every visit is a step up. In my opinion, none compare.

Firstly, the vineyard: gorgeous, well maintained, extremely photogenic and top shelf facilities. With the expanse of vines with a backdrop of the snow capped Andes in the background... its stunning. The hacienda’s courtyard and tasting/function area is a great space with a great story.

Then we have the restaurant: Probably not the best part of the day due to it being very full. It was a busy day and the meals took too long to arrive (90 minutes). Give yourself 3+ hours to enjoy a slow paced, well delivered meal in a fantastic outdoor area which has everything. Including hammocks and sun beds for the siesta that you’ll need before the tour.

This leads us to the tour: It’s informative, tailored to their own vineyards and wines, not too long and has improved each of the three times I’ve visited. Taken on the horse drawn wagons and topped off with a good tasting session at the conclusion. It makes it easy to choose the wines that you’ll inevitably purchase at the cellar door.

The fact that the cellar was selling a special three pack of 93+ rated wines for a great price should tell you everything. They make great wine.

I will add that there’s a lot of great wine in the valley and several other vineyards are also highly recommended. There’s also a lady selling the Chilean specialty of Mote con Huesillos just near the main gate that’s as good as you...

In 1993, Viu Manent produced the first ever Malbec made from 100% Chilean grapes and it has continued to champion this variety ever since. Malbec now goes into eight different cuvées, including a rosé and the jewel in its crown, ‘Viu 1.’ Named in honour of founder Miguel Viu Garcia, who emigrated from Catalunya to establish the estate with his two sons, ‘Viu 1’ is made with grapes from a special block within the oldest of its three vineyard sites, San Carlo, where the vines are over 100 years old.The family has always sought to exhibit the nuances of the region through its wines, more recently experimenting with single vineyard Carménère and working towards a Chardonnay made from purely Colchagua fruit (a small percentage is still sourced from the neighbouring Casablanca Valley).Today, Miguel’s grandson José has lost none of the family zeal, helping to create the Colchagua Valley Wine Route and working to make Viu Manent a thoroughly modern, sustainable enterprise; this year, it became one of Chile’s first wineries to earn ‘purple’ certification, recognising its tourism practices in addition to its environmental, social and winemaking procedures. Viu Manent’s commitment to sustainability is palpable, supporting the local community, relying on solar panels for its tourist operations, encouraging native flora and fauna alongside the vines, and reducing its carbon footprint wherever possible – the e-bikes, horse-drawn carriages and walking vineyard tours aren’t just scenic, they’re...

This is an excellent vineyard to visit.

The guide, Roberto, speaks perfect English and is very friendly and knowledgeable.

The tour starts with some history of this vineyard and the other associated vineyards owned by the same family.

We then went outside and tasted the grapes on 16 different vines as they were ripe and ready. The different tastes between the videos is quite remarkable. Something that I have never experienced before.

We then travelled around a small part of the vineyard on a cart pulled by a horse. This was great but, it is more a novelty attraction than being of any informative necessity.

We then had an explanation by the vines about the grapes, the farming methods of the vineyard and more. Roberto was a superb guide at this, and every juncture.

Finally, we went into the cool of the Hacienda and experienced the tasting of several wines.

This is where it became very exciting.

The selection of wines was just right. Roberto explained how to taste wines for the first timers in our party.

The quality of the wines shines through. The quality is high, very high. The range of Carmenere is highly recommended.

We also had some nibbles and cheeses to go with the wine, which was a nice touch.

This prompted us to go to the shop and purchase some wine.

Overall, the wines are superb and Roberto is a brilliant guide.

Highly...