Chakana wines
Encyclopedia
Chakana Winery was born on May 2, 2002 in Agrelo, Lujan de Cuyo
, Mendoza province, Argentina. Its founder was Juan Pelizzatti.
Chakana Wines come in three different ranges: Maipe (fresh fruit forward wines for every day consumption), Maipe Reserve (complex, barrel aged varietal wines) and Chakana Estate
After a beginning as a family estate in the middle of the Argentine financial crisis of those years, Chakana started its exports from cero in 2004, to become a 1,5 million bottle company in 2011 with more presence in more than 25 countries worldwide.
In October 2009, a local fund composed of high profile local investors took shares of the company. The purpose of both parties is now to bring Chakana to the next level: to become one of the main players in Argentina’s wine portfolio.
The winery, in Agrelo, has 2 million liter capacity. It has been designed with very small tanks to maintain the identity of each soil parcel. The winemaking process is based on a very careful management of grape and wine in each production stage.
This line was named by the Andean natives as the Viracocha line, or the line of truth of the Incas. Following this line all main Inca centers can be found, from the origins on the Titicaca lake and Tiwanaku to Cuzco. The planting direction in Chakana was chosen to avoid sunburn of the grapes during peak temperature hours, as canopy shades the bunches.
Soils: Chakana prefers alluvial soils of clay loam to sandy loam texture, with round stones at the bottom between 50 and 100 cm and excellent drainage. The best parcels in Agrelo, Mayor Drummond and Altamira feature these conditions that offer round tannins, fantastic structure and full ripeness.
Climate: Lujan de Cuyo and Uco Valley offer all year round dry conditions with extreme termal amplitude that promote aromatic compounds in wines.
Irrigation: Drip irrigation is used in all of our vineyards as a way to control the growing cycle and make a rational use of water. Winery effluents are neutralized and reused in vineyard irrigation with no impact on the environment.
This methodology is key to the creation of Chakana wines, as a result of our work with Chilean terroir expert Pedro Parra. Pedro has been involved with top wineries in Chile, California, Tuscany and Argentina to help them identify terroirs of superior potential.
Luján de Cuyo
Luján de Cuyo is the district capital of the Luján de Cuyo Department located in the west of the Mendoza Province of Argentina. It forms part of the Greater Mendoza metropolitan area.-Wine:...
, Mendoza province, Argentina. Its founder was Juan Pelizzatti.
Chakana Wines come in three different ranges: Maipe (fresh fruit forward wines for every day consumption), Maipe Reserve (complex, barrel aged varietal wines) and Chakana Estate
Team
- Managing Partner: Juan Pelizzatti
- Winemaking Consultant: Alberto AntoniniAlberto AntoniniAlberto Antonini is an Italian oenologist and winery consultant involved in multiple wineries in several countries including Italy, the U.S., Argentina, South Africa, Romania, Canada and Chile.- Career :...
- Winemaker: Gabriel Bloise
- Manager Américas: Gonzalo Pérez Cerini
- Manager Europe, Asia and Brazil: Francisco García Burgos
- Administration: Cristóbal Valero
- Enology: Liliana Lannizzotto
- Viticulture Consultant: Santiago Mayorga
- Production: Darío Failla
- Logistics: Eliana Martinez
Chakana Wines Origins
Chakana, the company, was founded on May 2, 2002.After a beginning as a family estate in the middle of the Argentine financial crisis of those years, Chakana started its exports from cero in 2004, to become a 1,5 million bottle company in 2011 with more presence in more than 25 countries worldwide.
In October 2009, a local fund composed of high profile local investors took shares of the company. The purpose of both parties is now to bring Chakana to the next level: to become one of the main players in Argentina’s wine portfolio.
Location
Chakana wines are made from grapes grown on a 150 ha estate in Lujan de Cuyo, at 960 mts above sea level.The winery, in Agrelo, has 2 million liter capacity. It has been designed with very small tanks to maintain the identity of each soil parcel. The winemaking process is based on a very careful management of grape and wine in each production stage.
Vineyards and Soils
Chakana vineyards are orientated 45 degrees north west to maximize fruit expression. This also is a surprising example of sincronicity, as this is the exact route that the Andean development chose.This line was named by the Andean natives as the Viracocha line, or the line of truth of the Incas. Following this line all main Inca centers can be found, from the origins on the Titicaca lake and Tiwanaku to Cuzco. The planting direction in Chakana was chosen to avoid sunburn of the grapes during peak temperature hours, as canopy shades the bunches.
Soils: Chakana prefers alluvial soils of clay loam to sandy loam texture, with round stones at the bottom between 50 and 100 cm and excellent drainage. The best parcels in Agrelo, Mayor Drummond and Altamira feature these conditions that offer round tannins, fantastic structure and full ripeness.
Climate: Lujan de Cuyo and Uco Valley offer all year round dry conditions with extreme termal amplitude that promote aromatic compounds in wines.
Irrigation: Drip irrigation is used in all of our vineyards as a way to control the growing cycle and make a rational use of water. Winery effluents are neutralized and reused in vineyard irrigation with no impact on the environment.
Terroir Concept
In the past ten years, technology has much improved terroir selection. Based on soil property measurements and leaf color spectrometry, it is possible to map vineyards in Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Then micro-terroirs of homogenous properties can be identified for separate and personalized management. In this way, average quality can be differentiated between very high and very low, allowing for the creation of extremely high quality wines and the improvement of wines of lesser quality.This methodology is key to the creation of Chakana wines, as a result of our work with Chilean terroir expert Pedro Parra. Pedro has been involved with top wineries in Chile, California, Tuscany and Argentina to help them identify terroirs of superior potential.