VIÑA ECHEVERRÍA

Slang for “It ain’t fancy” No Es Pitukois the natural wine line for Chilean winery, Viña Echeverría.

With an agricultural heritage dating back to the 1700s, this family-run winery was first established in 1930 by Roger Piffre de Vauban, a french engineer and grandfather to current president of the winery, Roberto Echeverría Snr. While critically acclaimed and loved for their wines, the path wasn’t always an easy one. In his youth, Roberto completed a doctorate from Cornell university and pursued a career as an economist for the World Bank. It was in 1979 that Roberto, along with his wife Gloria, returned to Chile to continue the family tradition of winemaking. There they found the country’s wine industry in a great depression with many wineries closing. Not to be deterred Roberto and Gloria continued on. Renovating old plantations, modernizing the winery, finding new markets in Asia and Europe, and instituting sustainability practices. It took 20 years but the business has grown to what it is today. 

With the business firmly established, they ventured into natural wines. A delightful bottle with a fun label, No Es Pituko came about when the Echeveria family noticed that some of their tank samples had incredible aromas and flavours. “We didn’t want to lose in the fining process. Added to that, our many years of sustainable practicing made us realise that it was possible to make great wine and be loyal to the environment.”