ABOUT US
Viña Prado is the continuous work of our family for four generations, which by a strong bond to this land, has made the passion of making wine a way of life.
Today, Soledad and Daniela, the fourth generation, supported by our father Miguel, are the continuators of this small family legacy that we want to share with you.
Through each bottle, we want to invite you on a journey through the history of this land, our family, workers, friends, and the more than 500 years of history of the legendary Itata Valley.
The origins
The La Posada estate was acquired by our paternal great-grandfather, Abraham Prado Marín in 1901. Back then, the vineyards and winery had been in operation for at least 60 years.
The road to Portezuelo passed then to the south side of the winery and La Posada, which means inn, owes its name to an old inn that existed in this place.
This inn was for many years, a landmark, known as the entrance for travelers to Portezuelo and still remains in the collective memory of the Portezolanos.
Our Tatita (Grandpa), the name by which we know our great-grandfather Abraham, was married to Eugenia Le-Fort, also known according to family history as "Ita" (shortening for abuelita). The marriage had 9 children: Abraham, Mario, Absalón, René, Alejandro, Eugenia, Raquel, Marta and Emilio, our grandfather.
El Tatita, was a founding member of the National Savings Bank (today Banco Estado) and once retired, he moved permanently to La Posada where, parallel to the winemaking work, he exercised politics, becoming elected mayor of Portezuelo, during the period 1946 -1950.
a bit of modern science in centuries-old traditions
Emilio Prado Le-Fort, our paternal grandfather, whom we affectionately always called Emilio, was a surgeon at the University of Chile. During his youth, he worked at the Bacteriological Institute of Chile.
In search of a calmer life and in contact with nature, he decided together with our grandmother, Haydeé Petermann Sancy, to change the life of the city for the tranquility of the countryside.
In 1946, together with our 3-year-old father Miguel, they settled in La Posada.
This is how Emilio succeeded Tatita in the administration of the field, continuing him with wine production. Thanks to his scientific and bacteriological knowledge, he introduced modern winemaking techniques that we continue to use to this day. These are guarantors of our correct and high quality wines.
Emilio also had an important participation in the commune of Portezuelo. He practiced ad-honors medicine for many years in the Portezuelo's hospital and within other works, he collaborated with the arrival of electricity to the urban area and the building of the current road that connects Chillán with Portezuelo. To this day, ancient people remember him as Doctor Prado.
His laboratory and his implements are still in use today, and are magical place of inspiration to us.
Lots of passion, vision and genius
Our father, Miguel Prado Petermann, took over the administration of the vineyard approximately 45 years ago.
Miguel has been a multidisciplinary man, he was a commercial pilot for the Chilean airline LADECO, president of the company Levaduras Prado SA and founder with our mother, Soledad Cornejo Navarro, of the Farmland School, located in Curacaví.
But cultivating the land has always been his great passion.
Thanks to him, the vineyard has been preserved in perfect condition. With great genius, over the years, he has it managed to improve the infrastructure and winemaking technique with such balance that it has been able to preserve the most important wine traditions of the Itata Valley.
In 1982, he fulfilled the family's wish to fill and lable the wine, under the name Vino Pipeño La Posada.
He has been the man who has taught us the love for the land and inspired us to pursue this dream of forming Viña Prado. Miguel is still in charge of the administration of the vineyard and the winemaking.
In 2018 we made our first harvest together, and we are eager to continue learning from him.
Our story, that of Soledad and Daniela Prado Cornejo, is beginning to be written. In the meantime, we are moved to carry, through each bottle, a piece of this history, which is nothing more than a history of man, wine and the deep roots of both to the land.