Gonzales Bastias
Located four hours from Santiago, González Bastías is a village and a still operating train station of the last “Ramal” train of South America. It is also the name of this ancient vineyard, located in the coastal dry land of Maule in center area of Chile, only 40km from the Pacific Ocean. The name of this town was changed from Infiernillo to González Bastías in 1955 in honor of the great local poet and uncle of José Luis Gómez Bastías, fifth generation of vintners, who, from a very young age began working on these same lands and today, together with his wife, Enologist Daniela Lorenzo, whose ancestors also come from a few stations down the river, are dedicated today to putting value to the ancient tradition of their ancestors.
Currently in the vineyard about thirty thousand bottles are produced per year, production that comes mostly from four hectares of vineyards of almost two hundred years of País and other Creole strains. These ancestral vines are “pie franco” meaning no rootstock. They are cultivated in head trellis, without irrigation and in soils of granite origin; all surrounded by the coastal mountain range and it’s Sclerophyll forest.
Animal grazing help control pastures and also acts as a fertilization method. The plowing is done with horses and pruning is done by hand looking for the longevity of the old vines. The wines are elaborated and bottled in origin, taking care that the process is all natural and sustainable. The grapes are crushed manually using a Zaranda de Coligüe. Fermentations are done in open fermenters with native yeasts. Grapes are harvested very early in the morning. NO additions or corrections to the juice are made, and fermentation is stimulated with multiple punch downs.
Once the fermentation is finished, the wines are discovered and it is only then, that they receive a minimum dose of sulphites, to protect them during the maturation process, which is made in clay amphora and refurbished Chilean Raulí fudres.
Currently, wines are marketed among vineyard visitors and friends and in exclusive restaurants and wine stores in Chile. Additionally they export to 8 countries in 4 continents. An exciting journey to go from their small vineyard to all parts of the world and promote their culture and patrimony, visit new places and establish long term relations with passionate people that love natural/artisan wines, just like they do.