Vines over 80 years old, ungrafted, dry-farmed and bush-trained, 200 m above sea level on west-facing slopes 26 km from the Pacific Ocean. The grapes are harvested by hand in March 2022. Fermented on skins in an open-top fermenter for 14 days in the traditional pipeña method, allowing exposure to oxygen. Free-run wine is aged for an additional 10 months in 4 used 400 liter French oak barrels. 

Mingaco

Mingaco is a small family winery in the village of Checura in Chile’s Itata Valley, run by winemakers Pablo Pedreros and Daniela De Pablo. 

Pablo was born in nearby Coelemu and grew up working alongside his father and grandfather, learning to farm with horses, oxen, and wooden plows. His connection to the countryside runs deep. After spending six difficult years living in the city, he returned home to the vineyards he had helped plant with his father more than 30 years earlier. Reconnecting with the land helped him find his footing again, and he began making wine under the name Piedra Cura. It was during this period that he met Daniela, an artist with a shared interest in natural agriculture, fermentation, and a more intentional way of living.

The two settled together in Checura in 2017, the year they began producing wine under the Mingaco name. Their vineyards sit among rolling hills roughly 25 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by small family farms and old, dry-farmed bush vines. They work primarily with Moscatel de Alejandría, País, and Cinsault, varieties with deep roots in the region's winemaking history. Some of the vines they work with are well over a century old, growing in soils rich in granite, clay, and quartz.

Today, their work goes well beyond simply avoiding synthetic chemicals. They encourage biodiversity, make their own compost and plant preparations, cultivate fruit trees, and reintroduce native vegetation to areas damaged by years of industrial agriculture. In the cellar, Pablo and Daniela work with native yeasts and without additives, allowing the grapes and the fermentation process to determine the direction of the wines.

There's also a strong sense of community behind Mingaco. The name comes from a traditional Chilean practice in which neighbors, friends, and family come together to help one another with agricultural work. It's a fitting name for a family whose approach to farming extends beyond their own vineyards. Pablo and Daniela share their knowledge with neighboring growers, helping others move away from chemical farming and restore the health of their soils. Their home has also become a gathering place for people interested in natural wine, food, and agriculture.

What makes Mingaco special is that the wines are inseparable from the lives Pablo and Daniela have built around them. They're farmers first, deeply invested in their land, their community, and the future of the Itata Valley. The wines are made with patience, conviction, and a genuine respect for the agricultural traditions that came before them, while showing what's possible when those traditions are carried forward with a commitment to regeneration.