Siesta

HISTORY 

Founded by Ernesto Catena, a fourth-generation winemaker of Italian descent, Siesta was inspired by ancient Incan traditions. The Inca would often bury offerings to the land so that it would remain healthy and fertile. Following this ancient tradition, every year Ernesto Catena’s team buries a few bottles of their best wines in the Vistaflores vineyard, hoping that while sleeping their endless “Siesta”, these bottles will protect the vines, people, and harvest. Siesta holds organic and biodynamic certifications from Letis and Demeter respectively. Only organically-certified grapes from the best lots of the biodynamic Vistaflores vineyard that have been fermented in small tanks are used. The wine is later aged in French and American oak barrels for 14 months and then ages in bottle for another year. Intense, complex, and elegant, Siesta wines aim to express the varietal personality, which is enhanced by the unique characteristics of the Vistaflores terroir. 

PHILOSOPHY 

Having spent a part of his life working as a designer and being a fervent student of the Renaissance humanism, Ernesto sees it as his mission to transform everything in his wine world into art, from growing the grapes to making wine to selling it. Ernesto understands the winery and vineyard as a home for an artist to create and commune with nature; to be one with the poetic nature of life. To truly understand the magic, they invite you to come and visit the home of Ernesto, poeta del vino. From the beginning, Ernesto searched for people with a strong creative drive to make sure that the right values stood at the core of the company. Teamwork is at the center of everything they do, from farming to winemaking and business decisions. They want their work to be fun intense, and meaningful. They don’t fear mistakes, but rather they want to learn from them because for them that’s the only way to learn. They strive for perfection not only in their wines but also in the spirit with which they make them. To share a meal, to enjoy the fruits of their labor – these are the things that matter to them. 

CONSERVATION 

Over the years, Ernesto and his team designed their biodynamic farm and vineyard as a sculpture to be gazed upon from the sky, similar to how the Maya and the Inca designed their cities to be enjoyed by the gods. The vineyard is surrounded by natural flora and fauna that help them achieve a state of harmony and equilibrium. They pay homage to the Sun in their Rose Garden and to the Moon in their Vine Labyrinth with music and dancing.