Catrala y Matetic
Today we visited two very interesting wineries in the Casablanca and San Antonio regions.
First up was Viña Catrala in Casablanca (www.catrala.cl). This vineyard is located deep in the forest, reachable by a 10 minute dirt road that doesn’t seem fit for a tour bus. It was started in 1994, situated next to a national park, and encompasses 70 ha of vineyards. Its proximity to the national park gives it priority attention during fire season in the area. Catrala is strictly a boutique winery, exporting 99% of their production. They market primarily to consumers who know more about wine and are genuinely interested in it. The vineyard itself is supposedly a very delicate ecosystem as it works in synergy with the surrounding forest. There are natural insect predators from the forest who keep pests in check. Rabbits keep the vegetation in check while foxes keep the rabbits in check. Because of the forest flora, there is no need for them to domesticate cows and horses. They then gather their fertilizer from natural compost in the surrounding forest. Catrala is not certified organic or biodynamic as they believe it restricts them too much. If there is a severe infection in the vineyard, he wants the option to spray if the situation absolutely requires it. Felipe Rodriguez, the owner, believes that wine should be an experience. After a trek through the forest (in sandals), we were treated to an outdoor tasting in the vineyard. There he explained his musings and philosophies of wine, which I was too distracted by the wine and cheese to write down. However, I did catch this tidbit: Releasing wine is like giving birth. You need to give it 9 months in bottle before releasing it.
Verdict: I really enjoyed the wine here; I bought two bottles of their Sauv blanc and Pinot noir.
We next checked out Matetic Winery. This is your basic, ridiculously expensive, no detail missed
$10 million dollar gravity flow winemaking facility. They are in the process of becoming certified in biodynamic practices. I find that wineries like this are more impersonal and didn’t really care too much for the story. TL:dr: Rich family built a really expensive winery. This didn’t stop me from grabbing a couple bottles though; the Sauv blanc is partiularly good. It felt like there was a tropical beach party in my mouth.
Verdict: Too much of a showroom. Something irks me about tanks and barrels that are just way too clean
