Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
The story of the Matetic Winery begins in 1999 when the Matetic family decided to diversify their business ventures and enter the world of wine, confident in the virtues of the climate and soils in the Rosario Valley. With a firm conviction in the vital importance of maintaining a strong professional team to guide every step of the project, the family incorporated Alan York (Biodinamic Consultant), Ken Bernards (Consulting Winemaker), and Ann Kraemer (Viticultural Consultant) into the project in 2000 to ensure that Matetic wines achieve the highest quality. The EQ stands for Equilibrium... balance.
Its rolling, coastal hills encouraged great investment in the 1990s from those in search of a cooler grape growing environment compared to those found in Chile’s Central Valley. All of the vineyards of the San Antonio Valley, which runs north to south and parallel to the coast, experience the cooling effect of the ocean and are made of vine-loving clay and granitic soils. While Sauvignon Blanc put this valley on the Chilean wine map, high quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are emerging and some producers are starting to experiment with sparkling wine.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”