Winemaker

MANUEL MORAGA

Grapes

PAIS

PHILOSOPHY

ANCESTRAL

Cacique Maravilla is owned and operated by Manuel Moraga and his family. They live just outside of Yumbel in the Bio Bio region, Southern Chile. They are the seventh generation to look after their 80 hectare property, with 16 under vine. The rest of their land has been dedicated to horticulture, forest, and animals. 

Manuel took over the estate after the loss of his father in 2009, and in 2010 faced the challenge of producing great wine in a ruined winery after the devastating earthquake that hit the region. But Manuel’s persistence has been positive and promising.   

The vineyards are located in the appellation of Yumbel, characterised by its volcanic soils, dry farmed, and old bush vine. Everything is done manually in the winery, meaning no destemmer, only the ‘zaranda’ (a traditional bamboo screen placed over the receiving vessel where the bunches are rubbed firmly to destem/crush), no presses are used, and only free run juice will make the cut. No pumps, only relying on gravity to move the liquid. 

The Cacique Maravilla estate was the 33rd vineyard registered in Chile’s viticultural history, which gives us an indication of how old some of these vines actually are. The number 33 appears on all of their corks as a way of representing this and they use the traditional 1 litre bottle for the most popular wine, ‘Pipeno’.

Manuel’s wines are unique in many ways, sometimes quirky and mirky, but drink beautifully with a bright savoury edge and a sense of history.