Itata, Chile

Alice L'Estrange is an Aussie making some of the most thoughtful, land-focused natural wine in the far south of Chile’s Itata Valley. Alice shifted from importing coffee to making Chilean natural wines, quickly joining the ranks of producers to watch and sharing a dirt-floor bodega with another beloved GW producer, Ignacio Pino Román. Focusing on the TASTY heritage grapes of Itata and Bio-Bio, she works closely with her fave growers, who, thanks to her convincing, work organically and avoid tilling. Her thoughts and actions always in the service of promoting long-term health of the land, from the re-purposed/recycled glass sourced for bottles, to recyclable sugar-cane corks & the artists she supports in exchange for designing her labels. She also spearheads “Las Fermentadas”, a women’s winemaking coalition working together to share resources, create opportunity and make tasty, interesting wines of place in a culture often ruled by patriarchy. We are delighted to share her wines with Ontario, as well as some of her wisdom, “when life gives you grapes, you put that ass to work and make wine and stuff” - Alice.