Collection: La Despensa Boutique

Colchagua, which forms part of the larger Rapel Valley, runs southeast to northwest, from the foothills of the Andes on its east to the Coastal Range on its west. It enjoys a perfect climate for viticulture; warm with cool coastal breezes, and dry but with occasional rain and rivers that bring meltwater and nutritious silt down from the Andes.

La Despensa Wines from Chile’s Colchagua Valley is owned, organically-farmed and operated by Matt Ridgway, originally from Dorset, and his Chilean wife Ana.

Matt Ridgway, The English

How I became a winemaker is one of the mysteries of the universe. Did I ever want to have a vineyard? No... Did I ever want to make wine? No... But here I am... after discovering that it is what I am most passionate about in life (sorry Anita). I love what I do. I love working in the vineyard and I love producing wines. Making wine changed my life and changed my perspective on how I see everything. If before I was impatient and got bored quickly, now I measure time in years instead of months. Wine taught me that life must be taken slowly, because good things take time. 

Ana Cattan, The Chilean

Wine? I love it... drinking it! Making it... well, that's Matt's thing. To each his own, right? I'm the organized person behind the project, and the designer of our accommodation. I'm so passionate about interior design that Matt is passionate about wine. We make a good pair, this is a team project. I'm not from the country, but I love it now. Life here gives me the time to learn new things and dedicate time to my other passion, jewelry! 

Our Vineyards

Our own organically managed farm in Santa Ana provides the grapes for our Field Blend, a wine  inspired by Côtes-du-Rhône wines, which are always blends of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, and Cinsault. These are the grape varieties we have planted. We also have some Marselan (which is now partly incorporated into the Field Blend), and some Roussanne, Marsanne, and Viognier (whites from the Rhône that will go into  production  in 2022).​

Our Cabernet Sauvignon comes from grapes from the Colchagüina foothills of the Andes,  specifically  from a friend's biodynamic vineyard, where the altitude (750m) plays an important role in producing high-quality grapes, for a fresher and more elegant wine than the typical Cabernet Sauvignon from the Central Valley.​​

Finally, our País comes from a historic vineyard in Pumanque, which is a marvel, with vines that are at least 120 years old, and probably older!  There are very few hectares  of País left in Colchagua...in fact according to the SAG, Pais does not exist in Colchagua, and that is why we cannot put 'Pais' and 'Colchagua' on the wine label! Thus, the name 'Cold Shower Wines' was born!! Say it out loud!

At La Despensa, the team is proudly Colchagüino. All the wines are produced from grapes grown in the Colchagua Valley. They say they'll never make wines from another valley!