Cono Sur
Cono Sur winery was founded in 1993 with a particular focus for Pinot Noir and aromatic single variety wines. Cono Sur has a modern, New World outlook and delivers wines of good value from mainly organic vineyards across Chile.
The Cono Sur winery is based in Chimbarongo in Colchagua (where everyone comes to work on a bike!) although their wines come from Limarí, San Antonio, Maipo, Casablanca, Cachapoal and Bío Bío too.
About Viña Cono Sur
Viña Cono Sur was founded by Viña Concha y Toro in 1993 with the vision of an independent winery with a focus on premium, sustainable wines from around Chile’s major valleys. Cono Sur prides itself on its pioneering and innovative spirit, and it was the first winery in Chile to produce and export Viognier and among the first to produce Gewürztraminer. It also made the first Riesling labelled with the Bío-Bío Valley Designation of Origin. Cono Sur has also led the way with bottle closures, being the first winery in South America to use synthetic corks back in 1995 and then, in 2002, the first Chilean winery to use screwcaps with aromatic white wines.
Viña Cono Sur has a particular focus on Pinot Noir and it is one of the world’s largest producers of Pinot Noir, with a Pinot Noir in each of its ranges today, from the everyday Bicicleta line through to the company’s iconic Ocio wine. Cono Sur’s Pinot Noir project started in 1999, when it set the goal of producing the best Pinot Noir in Chile. The concept was to make a wine that was unique, expressive and proud of its New World roots, while vinified using traditional Burgundian techniques. To this end, the Cono Sur team called on Martin Prieur, an experienced Pinot Noir winemaker from Burgundy to help them select Chilean terroirs and advise them on optimum vineyard management.
The company’s winery buildings are located on the Santa Elisa estate in Chimbarongo in the Colchagua Valley. In 1999, the company built a special annex especially for Pinot Noir, where they combine traditional Burgundian winemaking techniques with modern technology.
Sustainability at Cono Sur winery & vineyards
Cono Sur also has a focus on environment and has implemented a clean action plan, which embraces natural vineyard management with biodynamic corridors, organic production, ISO certifications and balancing the company’s CO2 emissions through CarbonNeutral® delivery status. When you visit the Cono Sur winery in Chimbarongo, you’ll immediately notice the army of geese which roam the vineyards eating burritos, a small pest weevil that eats away at the vine, destroying the bud and the grapes, if there are any. Conventional farmers might spray pesticides to kill them off, but Cono Sur takes a more environmentally friendly approach with geese and garlic: each vine has a ring of cardboard with a sticky and stinky garlic mixture to deter the burritos from climbing further up the vine, making them easier prey for the geese to gobble up from the floor.
Another trademark and symbol of the sustainable approach of Cono Sur is the bicycle, a fleet of which you’ll see parked up by the winery each morning as all of the local workers arrive from the nearby village on a bicycle.
About the Vineyards
Cono Sur winery has 1,246 hectares of vineyards of their own spread across 10 different estates in all of Chile’s major wine regions – each bringing a different character to the extensive wine profile.
ACONCAGUA VALLEY
El Encanto estate has 101 hectares planted with a wide range of red varieties: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenère, Aspirant Bouchet, Grenache, Petit Verdot, Tempranillo, Carignan, Petit Syrah, Syrah and Mouvèdre.
CASABLANCA VALLEY
El Centinela estate has 34 hectares planted with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. This site produces the grapes for Cono Sur’s top sparkling wine Centinela, as well as some of its terroir-focussed whites.
SAN ANTONIO
Campo Lindo consists of 34 hectares of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot noir and Syrah, which gives them cool climate coastal wines for the portfolio.
COLCHAGUA
Cono Sur has five vineyards in Colchagua:
- Santa Elisa is Cono Sur’s base in Chimbarongo and is home to its winery as well as 122 hectares of Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Viognier, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Aspirant Bouchet.
- Las Lomas consists of 132 hectares planted with red varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carmenere, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Syrah and Arinarnoa.
- Las Hijuelas is a 50-hectare estate with Carignan, Merlot, Carmenere and Malbec.
- Las Lomitas consists of 111 hectares of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Chardonnay, Grenache, Petit Verdot, Tempranillo and Viognier.
- San Rafael has 55 hectares of Pinot Noir and Viognier.
MAULE
La Espuela is a 131-hectare estate planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Cono Sur also has another vineyard in Maule, El Estribo, which consists of 52 hectares of Gewürztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.
BIO BIO
Cono Sur’s southernmost estate in Múlchen now has 71 hectares of Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Gewürztraminer, offering cool climate wines from this mild, southerly region.
About Cono Sur Wines
BICICLETA and ORGANIC
Everyday wines in several red and white varieties. This range offers great value and varietal typicity, which is ideal for new wine consumers trying to get to grips with the main varieties grown in Chile. Highlights include the superb-value and juicy Pinot Noir, peachy Viognier, and zesty Riesling.
RESERVA ESPECIAL and SINGLE VINEYARD
Two lines of premium wines demonstrating varieties from some of Chile’s most emblematic valleys, such as Riesling from Bio-bio, Pinot Noir from San Antonio and Chardonnay from the Casablanca Valley. This line is particularly recommended for exploring the different valleys of Chile’s wine regions and offers excellent value and varietal typicity.
20 BARRELS
A high premium line designed to showcase particular varieties from special terroirs and includes an opulent Carmenère from Cachapoal, an aromatic Syrah from Limarí and a cool-climate Sauvignon Blanc from Casablanca.
OCIO and SILENCIO
Cono Sur’s icon-level, special-occasional wines are Ocio, a smooth and concentrated Pinot Noir from the Casablanca Valley and Silencio, a complex and expressive Cabernet Sauvignon from Maipo.
SPARKLING WINE
The winery also produces three sparkling wines: Cono Sur Sparkling Brut (mainly Chardonnay) and Sparkling Rosé (Pinot Noir), both made with grapes from Bio-bio using the tank method; and Centinela Brut Nature, a traditional-method sparkling from Chardonnay with 3 years on the lees.
Cono Sur wines are widely available in the export market as well as the local market.
About the Winemaker: Matías Ríos
Matías Ríos is the long-standing winemaker of Cono Sur winery, taking charge of all the lines in winery with a special focus on the premium Pinot Noir wines. In this video he discusses the vineyard where Ocio comes from, and some of his favourite food pairings:
Visiting Cono Sur Winery
Viña Cono Sur is now open to tourism and tastings! You can book a winery tour, a tasting, and a bicycle tour through the vineyards plus a tasting of four of its wines.
The winery is open from Monday to Friday from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm and Saturday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Click here to book your visit to Viña Cono Sur!
More on Cono Sur winery
Tasting notes
Prizes and Awards
Decanter World Wine Awards 2019: Gold, 8 Grapes
Sakura Wine Awards 2020: Double Gold, Silencio
Sakura Wine Awards 2020: Gold, Single Vineyard Riesling
Sakura Wine Awards 2020: Gold, 20 Barrels Pinot Noir
Sakura Wine Awards 2020: Gold, Single Vineyard Carignan
Korea Wine Challenge 2019: Gold, Single Vineyard Carmenere
Ocio: 96 points, Descorchados
20 Barrels Chardonnay: 96 points, La Cav
20 Barrels Chardonnay: 95 points, Descorchados
20 Barrels Syrah: 95 points, Descorchados
20 Barrels Carmenere: 95 points, Descorchados
Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon: 93 points, Descorchados
Single Vineyard Syrah: 93 points, Descorchados
8 Grapes: 93 points, Descorchados
Single Vineyard Carignan: 93 points, Descorchados
