Montes
The first activities at our vineyard began in 1987. Two partners with great illusions, Aurelio Montes and Douglas Murray, both holding long-standing experience in the wine industry, were certain Chile could improve on the quality it was producing at the time. It seemed as if the large and medium-scale vineyards were satisfied with limiting their distribution to local supermarkets. They certainly knew how to produce premium wines, but didn’t feel up to it, they were satisfied with the niche markets they had attained, which was certainly broad, although small. In 1988, another two original partners joined in, Alfredo Vidaurre and Pedro Grand, each providing their qualified, complimentary views, and thus, Viña Montes was formally born, initially under the name Discover Wine Ltda., a saga that has made Chile internationally known in 75 countries worldwide while providing extensive recognition and acclaim.
In December 2004, we inaugurated our new winery at Apalta, in the Colchagua Valley. Our investment totalled over US$7.0 million with a storing capacity of 2.300.000 liters. A cellar that becomes a qualitative production leap for one of the most applauded Montes red wines: Montes Alpha and the Ultra Premium Montes Alpha M and Montes Folly in addition to the recently launched Purple Angel.
This cellar holds state-of-the art technology, equipment and design, and the capacity of producing the finest Chilean wines.
The slopes of Apalta in Colchagua (in the Central Valley) have a half-moon shape, with a unique micro-climate, defined by the mountains and Tinguiririca river. The best slopes in this valley, with a 45° average inclination and over 49° in the upper slopes, are found on our estate where we grow the grapes for our MONTES ALPHA "M”. Having a south-west exposure allows us to have exactly the right level of hours of sunlight (measured in degree days). The ocean breeze (only 80 kms/50 miles away) provides a cooling efect, ideal for slow maduration of the grapes. The warm days but cool winds at night with their lowering temperatures give a micro-climate particularly suited for growing red grape varieties. Add to this, the poor soils with a small organic composition , drip irrigation, and the high density of vines (over 6,667 per hectare) make growing conditions perfect.
