Chakana wines
Chakana Winery was founded on May 2, 2002 in Agrelo, Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina. Juan Pelizzatti founded it. Chakana is a family-owned winery located 960 meters (3,149 feet) above sea level in the Andes Mountains' foothills. Their wines come in three different ranges: Maipe (fresh fruit forward wines for every day consumption), Maipe Reserve (complex, barrel aged varietal wines) and Chakana Estate. In 2011 Chakana won one of the three golden medal - best in class awards from the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) for its Chakana Reserve Malbec 2010. This allowed the winery to compete  for Argentinean Producer of the Year Trophy, which took place on November 16 in London. History. Chakana, the company, was founded on May 2, 2002. As of 2011, the Agrelo winery, has 2 million liter capacity. It was created with relatively small tanks in order to preserve the character of each soil parcel. Chakana began exporting in 2004, eventually growing to 1.5 million bottles in 2011 to more than 25 nations. In October 2009, a local fund took shares of the company. Location. Chakana wines are made from grapes grown on a 150 ha estate in Lujan de Cuyo, at  960 m above sea level. The winery in Agrelo has a 2 million liter capacity. Small tanks are used to maintain the identity of each soil parcel. Vineyards and Soils. Chakana vineyards are orientated 45 degrees north west to maximize fruit expression. This also is a surprising example of synchronicity, as this is the exact route that the Andean development chose. This line was named by the Andean natives as the Viracocha line, or the line of truth of the Incas. Following this line all main Inca centers can be found, from the origins on the Titicaca lake and Tiwanaku  to Cuzco. The planting direction in Chakana was chosen to avoid sunburn of the grapes during peak temperature hours, as canopy shades the bunches. Soils: Chakana prefers alluvial soils of clay loam to sandy loam texture, with round stones at the bottom between 50 and 100 cm and excellent drainage. The best parcels in Agrelo, Mayor Drummond and Altamira feature these conditions that offer round tannins, fantastic structure and full ripeness. Climate: Lujan de Cuyo and Uco Valley offer all year round dry conditions with extreme thermal amplitude that promote aromatic compounds in wines. Irrigation: Drip irrigation is used in  all of our vineyards as a way to control the growing cycle and make a rational use of water. Winery effluents are neutralized and reused in vineyard irrigation with no impact on the environment. Terroir Concept. Chakana wines uses terroir concept methodology managed by Chilean terroir expert Pedro Parra. Pedro has been involved with wineries in Chile, California, Tuscany and Argentina to help them identify terroirs of superior potential.