Vinodata

Loncomilla Wine Cooperative was incorporated on January 14, 1959 and was formed by a group of winemakers in the area of San Javier and Villa Alegre. The cooperative acquired legal personality by Supreme Decree Law No. 13 dated December 10, 1959. The purpose of the cooperative is the technical development and economic improvement of the wine industry, as well as to promote the progress of its partners in the social and cultural order. Under its bylaws, its purpose is to market and process the grapes provided by its partners or third turning them into wine or other products and market them.

The cooperative is composed of 100 members mostly small producers and is supported in its work by state agencies such as CORFO and INDAP and in March 2011 was certified Fair Trade (FLO) and is constantly training and professional staff. Loncomilla delivers products and services of the highest quality, contributing to meeting the needs of our customers, establishing a relationship of trust between us. We hope and we are working to open new horizons to other cities inside and outside our region, to deliver just as excellent service.

Loncomilla is a Mapudungun word coming from the native indigenous Mapuche’s people language. Because Mapudungun is an unwritten language, i.e. did not write. There is no absolute consensus among experts regarding the most appropriate phonetic signs to transcribe oral expressions. Mapudungun (from mapu “earth, land” and dungun “speak, speech”) is a language isolate spoken in south-central Chile and west central Argentina by the Mapuche people (from mapu “earth” and che “people”). Therefore, Loncomilla (from lonco “chief” and milla “gold”) means Golden Chief.

In Chile, before the struggle for the land initiated by the Spanish conquistadores the territory was divided amongst the people who occupied the land by natural boundaries as the Biobío River. People who lived north of the Biobío River were called Picunches sharing the same language of the Mapuche people whom were living in the south. The Mapuche territory is a rainy area where the climate is still quite cold and suitable for cold wine varieties. The first vines which were introduced in to the country by the Spanish Conquerors and Catholic Missionaries, were planted in to the central area and this place was the Picunche land, this was the original location where the first wines were produced. The hand labour was done by the Picunche inhabitants.