A LAND OF MYSTERY

Unsurprisingly, for a country of so many different people and cultures, Chile is steeped in myth and legend. These are reflected in art, folk song and an enduring enthusiasm for potions, available in any marketplace, both to cure common ailments and to ward off evil spirits.

Even the origins of the land are shrouded in mystery. When the Creator had finished making the rest of the world, so the story goes, He had many pieces left over – lakes and forests, meadows and hills, mountains and deserts. Rather than let so much beauty go to waste, He tossed them all together into the remotest corner of the earth. And so Chile was formed.

Today, it seems that every village has tales of its own brujo or witch…both male and female, friendly and not so friendly. It’s said they can transform themselves into owls, to watch over people and their homes, and wear waistcoats of fish scales, which enable them to fly from place to place.

But one of the most amusing stories concerns our own winery – Casillero del Diablo. The name, meaning the Devil’s Cellar, comes from the local rumour that the devil himself lurked in the depths of the winery. But it turns out that this was actually put about by the owner of the cellars, our founder Don Melchor de Concha y Toro, to deter would-be thieves. In fact, the word is that the wily nobleman even had a tunnel built from his mansion, so He could walk the cellars, clad in a long black cloak, keeping an eye on things and giving credence to the rumour.