Maria Labayru

Loma Larga Vineyards

Loma Larga Vineyards is a family owned and managed Chilean winery, crafting coastal wines from a single estate in the Casablanca Valley. The wine growing tradition began in the nineteenth century, when the great-grandfather of the Diaz Santelices family personally brought French strains to Chile from his trips to Paris and Bordeaux. With consultancy from French winemakers, he planted these vines in his estate in Santiago de Chile. The Diaz Family were among the first Chilean wine growers to foster the international recognition of Chilean wines. In 1889, the family even travelled to Paris to present their wines at the famous Exposition Universelle. To continue the wine-making legacy of their ancestors, the current generation founded Loma Larga Vineyards in the yet undiscovered wine region of Casablanca. The beautiful estate has a very specific topography; it is crossed by a long hill, giving the name "Loma Larga" in Spanish. It offers a great diversity of soils and sun exposure, which allows the development of very different grape varieties in a single vineyard. Loma Larga estate is located just 25 kilometers away from the Pacific Ocean. At night, the oceanic breeze cools the powerful afternoon sun, creating extreme variation of temperatures. Together with the poor soils and sunny slopes of the hill, this exceptional terroir is perfect to develop grape varieties that are very rare in Casablanca Valley, such as Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Syrah. The innovative idea of planting these non-traditional red varieties has been successful since the first harvest. It was a new profile for the wines of Casablanca, with great freshness and aromatic potential, which found the support of national and foreign critics. Loma Larga Vineyards is currently recognized as the leading winery producing cold climate red wines in Chile.