Chapter 1 — The Rumor
Lomas de Llahuén
The revival of pipeño
A country wine, looked down on for decades, now travels from Portezuelo to the world.
At Lomas de Llahuén, Thati meets a family that turned persistence into a craft and pipeño into its banner. Between rural tradition, local cuisine and international markets, her search for the Spirit of Wine also begins.
The land
From country pipeño to the world
Lomas de Llahuén was founded in Portezuelo in 1986, when brothers Francisco and Gustavo Riffo decided to build a family winery rooted in the rural tradition of the Itata Valley.
Today it farms more than 20 hectares and works with varieties such as País, Cinsault, Muscat of Alexandria, Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon. Pipeño has become one of its main banners.
In 2020 it completed its first exports to the United States and Canada, a milestone ProChile highlighted as the first pipeño export from Ñuble. In 2025 it received regional awards for its wine tourism and food-and-wine experience.
At Lomas de Llahuén, pipeño stops being a wine without an official history: it once again tells where it comes from, who makes it and why a territory can travel inside a bottle.
