Viña Falernia was established in 1998 after Aldo Olivier Gramola realized the potential for producing superb wines in this semi-arid valley.
The Olivier family is originally from a small village in northern Italian region of Trentino called Dimaro, located in the Alps in the beautiful “Val di Sole”. Today is a wonderful place for skiing in winter and trekking in summer. In 1951 the Italian economy was drastically failing, so Aldo’s father decided to leave their country for Chile, taking an opportunity given by the development plan agreed between the Chilean President Gabriel Gonzalez Videla, and the Italian Prime Minister, Alcide Degasperi. In May 1951 the family arrived in the Coquimbo/La Serena region, as one of the 200 families to make the journey.
Aldo was 12 years old, the oldest of his 7 brothers and after arriving to Chile, he gained two more siblings! The Olivier’s started their life in the southern hemisphere cultivating vegetables; a few years later Aldo got married and moved from La Serena to a small village located in Elqui Valley, called El Tambo, part of Vicuña district, where he and his wife decided to start a family and had 4 children. In 1972 he started planting grape vines for Pisco production (The Chilean national spirit) and few years later, he established his own Pisco distillery that quickly became one of the largest in Chile.
Two decades later the Falernia project was born, in 1995 after he met his cousin Giorgio Flessati, an oenologist working in Trentino (region in northern Italy). Falernia began as an innovative venture, as it is Chile’s most northerly winery estate, a considerable distance from the country’s main wine-growing areas.
The driving force has been a passion for the wine and the challenge of transforming a tract of desert into a green vineyard with enormous potential. Utilizing the latest technologies, Viña Falernia has succeeded in transforming itself in a Premium wine producer.
Viña Falernia is located in the Elqui Valley between La Serena and Vicuña, 520 km (323 miles) to the North of Santiago and it is at present Chile’s northernmost winery estate. Chile is isolated geographically, with the long and high ridge of the grandiose Andes Mountain Range acting as a barrier to the East.
The soils in our vineyards are composed partly of rubble which has eroded from the Andes Mountains and deposited by glaciers and wind, and partly of alluvial sand and silt deposited by the river. While stony, gravely soils are regarded as poor for most crops, their excellent drainage qualities make them perfect for vine growing. The climate is semi-arid (average annual rainfall is 25-30 mm or one inch) making drip irrigation indispensable during the season.
Climatic factors have a crucial influence on the quality and expression of all wines. With the white-tipped picks as backdrop, the vineyards benefit from cold air currents that come from the Pacific Ocean.
These cold currents cause a dramatic contrast between day and night temperatures during the ripening season, from an average high of 27-32°C (80.6-89.6°F) to an average low of 10-12°C (50-53.6°F).
This impacts the ripening process favoring the accumulation of sugar in the grapes as well as the synthesis of polyphenols (tannins and coloring matter), and above all favors the development of aromas and flavors.
Today, Viña Falernia stands as a symbol of innovation, perseverance, and excellence in Chilean winemaking. Its pioneering efforts helped transform the Elqui Valley into one of Chile’s most distinctive wine regions, known for high-altitude, cool-climate wines of remarkable character.
Viña Falernia’s history is more than a story of wine—it is the story of vision, resilience, and the successful transformation of an extreme landscape into a source of world-class wines. Through its success, Viña Falernia became a benchmark Elqui Valley winery, instrumental in the region’s growth and global visibility.
