Manuel Perez is a man on a mission and no one can stop him. For more than a decade he has embarked on a quest that few have tried and even fewer have succeeded. His crusade has allowed him to become one of the very few vignerons in Puerto Rico. Not a small feat. Just to be clear, a vigneron is someone who cultivates a vineyard for winemaking. Most wines are made above or below 40 degrees latitude where climate is favorable for grape cultivation. Puerto Rico’s 18 degrees of latitude presents more than its share of challenges. Learn about his entire process on his winery tour at Chateau D’Amelia.
How did he get there?
Manuel, through trial and error and error and error has managed to coax a decent, drinkable light-bodied series of wines from grapes he has grown and hybridized from Chilean, Italian and Californian root stock. A tasting of the Chateau d’Amelia is surprising and the history of how he literally stumbled into his role as a vigneron is fascinating.
If you want to learn the full story and in the process learn more about winemaking and grape growing than you ever thought possible in one hour, book a tour of his Finca Vista Bella vineyard. It’s located in the central town of Utuado with an impressive view of the mountains and the 15,000 vines he tends. Here, he will share his journey to adapt traditional, colder latitude vine management knowledge to Puerto Rico’s unique climate.
The process
Currently he has 1500 bottles in his bodega and 115 barrels at different stages of aging. He uses French and American oak barrels produced in Spain for his maturing process. His production is a refreshing, ready to drink wine that goes exceptionally well with Puerto Rico’s warmer climate. He offers red, rosé and white wines based on a merlot grape variety. These are available for sale only at the bodega. There are expansion plans that may include accommodations for overnight visits and the production of a sparkling variety.
Take a tour
Finca Bella Vista offers three different experiences. A Winery Tour, The Tour + Tasting and a Wine and food tour. There’s a delightful, covered outdoor dinning area where food is served and the tasting is held.
A beautiful way to get there
The road to the vineyard is part of the adventure. If you’re coming from the metro area, take PR140. This in one of the older roads on the Island and you get to go through a couple of “canyons” that were literally blasted through the rock and then finished by pickax and shovel by prison labor many decades ago. You’ll get to see the stunning karst topology and vegetation that is unique to this area. Alternately you can see then entire area by air and arrive by helicopter. On their website there’s info for making arrangements to use their heliport.
Another great Place to go in Utuado:
