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LAUTARO WINES: MAPUCHE BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS
April 2010 – Lautaro, Sociedad Vitivinícola Sagrada Familia S.A., Valle de Lontué, Chile.
A visit to Lautaro Wines brings you back – at least – to the 70’s, and may be earlier. Lovely people, with a wonderful feeling for hospitality, warm and open, with a mission and a story to tell.
At the beginning of the 70’s a small group of land workers took the courageous decision to start a new life, producing grapes and wines as a cooperative. Most of them had no clue how to grow grapes, or how to make wine. They started to make a front against the oligarchy – or may be better said, oligopoly – of 3 to 5 huge wine groups that actually rule the Chilean wine market. The small producers joined forces and capitals, bought their tools and equipment together for much lower price than they would have done individually. Their healthy way of financial management and their collective promotion and sales policy brought them soon the success they badly needed in a very difficult market. The quality of the vineyard management improved in the past years, the use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers has been reduced to a strict minimum, and some vineyards are now even organically managed. As part of Fair Trade Original, the cooperative has been monitored and sustained for a better business and work environment. The season workers are much better paid and respected than usually by the big companies. The financial help from Fair Trade Original is invested in health insurances, better health care, school grants and holiday money.
LAUTARO (1534-1557) was a young Mapuche warrior with extraordinary military talent, competence and courage. He was only 19 when he initiated and organized the Mapuche resistance against the Spanish conquerors. His Mapuche people named him the ‘wartime chief’: Toqui. He got killed by the Spanish soldiers on the banks of the river Mataquito, the same river that now irrigates the vineyards of Vinos Lautaro in the Lontué valley.
The 16 members of the Lautaro wines project produce grapes from their own 100 ha of vineyards, but the wines are made elsewhere, in the Curicó region. The next goal would be to sell enough wines to be able to build their own, small winery. Nowadays, not all the wines we tasted are reflecting the quality of the grapes. The wines will have to get even better and fresher, showing much more of their beautiful fruit.
Lautaro wines tell you the epic story of a unique, brilliant hero who gave his life for his Mapuche folk… During the tasting, we could – sometimes – even smell and taste his blood, sweat and tears in some wines (grin). Pure bottled Mapuche spirit!
Help this project, help those fantastic guys with a lot of good will, and buy their wines!
For the Dutch readers, rush to the closest Super de Boer / Plus supermarket, forget about the usual cheap, industrially made ‘wimpy’ wines, and buy a dozen of the LAUTARO FAIR TRADE wines, cabernet sauvignon for the red, sauvignon blanc for the white.
Buying yourself a nice story and an enjoyable glass of wine, you will help the poor people of a whole valley to get a better future!
¡Comprar vinos chilenos ayuda a las víctimas del terremoto!
Buy Chilean wines to help the victims of the earthquake!
Achetez du vin chilien pour aider les victimes du tremblement de terre !
Koop Chileense wijnen om de slachtoffers van de aardbeving te helpen!
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