How Mount Antop Chilean Wineries are exploiting Earth’s energy to disrupt the global wine market

Stonevik marks a new milestone in VIK’s quest to become one of the world’s most famous wineries. This is a passion project that began in 2004 when owner, Norwegian investor, entrepreneur Alexander Vik and his wife Carrie embarked on a broad, ambitious mission.

“We bring together a science team that aims to find one of the best terroirs in the world to create the world’s best Bordeaux-style red wine,” says Alexander Vick.

That epic two-year search eventually led to the Mirahue Valley, located in the Andean hills within the Great Cachapore Valley, 100 miles south of Santiago. In 2006, Viks purchased the 11,000-acre Virgin wilderness known as the Lugar de Oro (“Golden Place”). It’s a reference to how the rosy horizon, perhaps just above the surrounding hills, glows by the indigenous Mapuche people of the area.

For over 20 years since the seeds of Viks’ ideas were first owned, this fascinating hinterland appears to be separate from the civilization where winemaking, art and architecture converge with the enthusiasm. Adding Stonevik to Vik’s award-winning lineup gives wine lovers another reason to visit.

The Vik terroir includes a pristine landscape consisting of 12 valleys. Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Merlot were planted under the guidance of experts of winemaker Chief Christian Vallejo, whom Vic hired to oversee Vic’s viticulture and vinyl culture.

“I knew this terroir was truly exceptional,” continues Alexander Vick.

The next business order was to build a winery. In 2007, Viks launched a global competition to tap the brightest heart in business. Famous Chilean architect Smirjan Laden won with avant-garde design that minimizes the impact on landscape and the sustainability of the champion. The white, stretched fabric roof resembles wings, and its clarity avoids the need for artificial light during the day. A sloping square is in front of the entrance, where water drips towards the glass-walled building beneath the river rock attachment, naturally cooling the basement below. The aisles cross-hatch the vast space and soak visitors in stunning tableaus, both organic and otherworldly.

Inside, most buildings are located underground, maximizing natural insulation and saving energy. A row of amber light barrels stacked three high sides leading to the tasting room. There, the accent walls show a melange of golden metal shards that appear to hover in the air like Grand Mobile.

The winery’s light footprint features Vik’s overall winemaking philosophy. Leading by a unshakable commitment to environmental management, VIK accepted a virtually no intervention approach from the start, using only native yeasts, with additives and no filtration. All grapes are harvested at night at the lowest temperature to maintain quality and acidity. These measures (and many others) ensure the purest representation of the terroir of VIK.

In 2014, a year before Vik’s first commercial wine, a vintage of the flagship blend of the same name from 2010 entered the market.Vik Chile Open the door and complete Vik’s pervert to a world-class escape. (Viks opened its first hotel in Uruguay in 2009. The VIK retreat portfolio includes two other Uruguay front posts and hotels in Milan. Undoubtedly, the country’s most iconic getaway, and a stunning complement to the winery.

The passion of other Viks is contemporary art, providing information to every inch of the hotel. The couple recruited a number of artists to design 22 theme suites that depict Mirahue’s jaw dropping through floor-to-ceiling windows. “Vicky Money” has a bathroom decorated with 50,000 1 Euro cent coins, and a replica of Dali’s iconic May West “lips” sofas has attracted attention with “Valenzuela,” a Mondrian-esque floor color riot. The central courtyard, where Zen gardens preside on the boundaries of vivid florals, sparks the natural world, and the general spaces showcase unique works by artists such as German painters and sculptors Anselm Kiefer and Chilean painter Roberto Matta. Puro Vik is a collection of seven standalone glass bungalows with themes ranging from holographic art to 18th century France, each featuring a distinct marble, making up the latest accommodation.

Vik’s Vintages joins advanced cuisine and strengths at Milla Milla, the hotel’s glass-walled signature restaurant. Here, dishes like duck magret in red octopus and blueberry sauce in potato foam win the rave. The outdoor eatery in the facility’s two-acre organic garden, Rafuerta creates an idyllic lunch spot thanks to a beautifully constructed plate made up of 250 fruits, vegetables, herbs and eggs topped with edible flowers. Activities such as horse riding through the vineyards and birdwatching walks along the mountain trails will feature extensive winery tours and tastings on the Vic experience, but they can be easily arranged for guests, a common heeled international mix for couples, families and wine lovers.

Since Vik’s founding, the ever-evolving relationship between wine and nature has encouraged its winemaking. In 2018, Vik became a completely circular winery. In other words, all the elements used in its production come from properties that contain barrels previously sourced from France. Winemaker Vallejo began making Vik’s own barrels with French oak stakes and toasted with 300-year-old Chilean oak. In 2023, he approached Viks with the idea of taking the concept of circulation one step further.

“Circular wine usually means growing and harvesting grapes on the land and aging the wine at the winery, but no one has yet returned to nature to close the circle,” he recalls. “We proposed to make wine and bring it to the forest with amphora. Intrigued, Viks agreed.

Vallejo felt an unidentifiable energy when it happened on a circle of oak trees, who was exploring him in search of the best place for this new venture. He summoned a geologist to investigate what was going on under the ground, if any. Geologists then decided that the fault line would intersect with the hydrovein at the center of the circle. The Nexus created a natural electromagnetic field that produced a kind of circular pulse. Vallejo says it explains the unusual growth of the tree.

After that he consulted Gurney (traditional healers from Mapuche Culture) identified the exact location of energy points that geologists have not found. Astronomers have advised the best way to place amphoras within a circle to optimally align with the sun, moon and stars. A month after a “Barroir” barrel from Vik, wine – a blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenair–Until December 21st, the summer holidays, which are located in the seven amphoras of forest enclaves, are bottled and ready for sale. Given the low capacity of its own aging process, annual production is limited to 800 cases.

Stonevik is a Vik production company that will be participating in three flagship wines: Vik (its premier blend), Milla Cala and La Piu Belle (its premier blend), Milla Cala and La Piu Belle. The 2023 and 2024 vintages each scored 98 points from wine critic James Sacking. This is a notable achievement for less than a year of wine without intervention.

As for the future, Alexander Vick is optimistic.

“We’re way ahead of the expected timeline for vineyards and winemaking,” he says. “The vintage of the grapes is better than the previous ones, as the vines are more established and more capable.”

Vallejo’s Take is worthy of an unlikely story that begins and continues to unfold in the untouched, pristine, wilderness of Oret.

“I think our wine is a book. Every glass is a chapter, every bite is a page,” he says. “They really tell the story of this terroir. When you connect with our wine, you can follow this story, and with every glass, every bite you feel you’re something different.”