Viña Männle

Owner: Heinrich Männle
Head Winemaker: Martin Männle
Website: vinamaennle.cl
Commercial Contact: mmaennle@vinamaennle.com



History
Viña Männle began as the personal project of German winemaker Heinrich Männle, who arrived in Chile in 1987 with the intention of continuing the family tradition started decades earlier in Durbach. After exploring several winegrowing regions of the country, he decided to settle in Bulnes, in the Itata Valley, where he founded the winery and began producing his first spirits and wines.

Today, the project remains in the hands of Heinrich and his son, Martin Männle. In 2021, they took on the challenge of leasing an old vineyard in the Larqui area of Chillán Viejo: 9 hectares divided into 6 plots, planted more than 70 years ago. Here, they began working with sustainable and regenerative practices: no pesticides, horse-drawn ploughing, hand harvesting, and vine-by-vine selection. País, Malbec, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and some white varieties are interplanted in the vineyard, allowing them to create field blend wines that reflect the character of each sector. This is where their first wine, Incógnito Field Blend, was born, marking the beginning of the Incógnito de Larqui line.

At the same time, in 2020, they planted a new one-hectare vineyard next to their winery in Bulnes: 1,500 Merlot vines and 1,500 Carménère, grown without pesticides on alluvial soils enriched with compost and managed organically. Trained on trellises and pruned to a single Guyot, the vineyard prioritises grape quality to achieve greater concentration. Though still young, it embodies their way of working from the very start.

For over a decade, they have worked with grape grower Ricardo Vásquez, who tends his vineyard in the hamlet of Linares, near the road to Huape. Nestled among rolling hills, this small vineyard has granite soils rich in quartz, is trained on trellises, and irrigated by drip. Managed according to agroecological principles, it yields exceptional grapes for the wines of the Huape line. The varieties planted are Syrah, Carménère, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, and Vermentino.

The philosophy of Viña Männle is simple: to work the land with respect, to know their vineyards in depth, and to vinify with honesty. They craft wines with identity, free from unnecessary interventions, that convey both a sense of place and the dedication behind every bottle. At the same time, they maintain a spirit of exploration, diversifying and experimenting to continue discovering and learning more about the world of wine each day.

• Published Wines 2025