who? what? when? where? why? how?
who grows the grapes? who makes the wines?
The third and fourth generations of the DeMartino Family own and operate this unique certified organic and carbon neutral farm and winery. Eighty years after its founding, the family estate comprises more than 300 acres of fruit and each member of the family remains connected to the land and the wines.
what wines do they make?
Sauvignon Blanc and Carmenere, perhaps Chile’s signature varieties, are the main focus for Nuevo Mundo. The de Martino Family prizes elegance above girth and it was recently decided that no new oak barrels would be purchased by the estate in an effort to focus on the fruit and the vineyard.
when did the winery start?
Pietro De Martino Pascualone founded the winery in 1934 upon his arrival in the Maipo Valley from Italy and it has remained in the family ever since.
where is the winery?
Halfway between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, in the heart of Chile’s Maipo Valley, the Nuevo Mundo vineyards sit on what used to be an island in the River Maipo. The river was diverted by an earthquake at the start of the 20th century and is now dry, leaving ideal soils for both Sauvignon Blanc and Carmenere grapes. The Sauvignon Blanc is planted on sandy soils while the Carmenere grows on the old river bed, among rather large alluvial stones.
The vineyard’s situtation between mountain and ocean means that cool breezes from the Pacific dry the vines in the afternoon, allowing for a high level of natural defense against molds and other problems associated with moisture in the vineyard, which are often the reason people employee chemicals. In this part of the Maipo Valley, the climate makes organic farming a real choice, and Nuevo Mundo has embraced it.
why is it a Candid Wine?
Wines in the new world, and especially in South America, often come from a dramatically different landscape than the small family farms that Candid seeks out in Europe. While the DeMartino Family is farming more land than some of our partners, they are among our “greenest”, growing as they do the only certified carbon neutral, organically grown wines from South America. Beyond their minimal environmental impact, the wines are crystal clean examples of each grape variety.
Both the Sauvignon Blanc and Carmenere are “own-rooted” meaning that they have no rootstock between the plant and the soil, leading to a different expression of the vine than can be found elsewhere. That they are such tremendous values is icing on the cake.
how is it made?
Cool breezes from the Pacific dry the vines in the afternoon, allowing for a high level of natural defense against molds and problems associated with moisture in the vineyard, the reason others often employee chemicals. In this part of the Maipo Valley, the climate makes organic farming a real choice, and Nuevo Mundo has embraced it. In the winery, native yeast spark fermentation and winemaking choices favor flavors found in the grapes, i.e. neutral oak and stainless steel carry the day.
