Viviana Navarrete is the Chief Winemaker at Viña Leyda in Leyda Valley, a small coastal subregion of the San Antonio Valley in central Chile. She is an Agricultural Engineer from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, specializing in winemaking. Early in her career, she was drawn to the Leyda Valley for its exceptional cool-climate potential, and in 2007 she became Chief Winemaker at Leyda Winery, working alongside renowned consultant Alberto Antonini.
Her mission is to craft wines that express the purity and identity of Leyda’s coastal terroir. Focused on cool-climate varieties, she produces elegant, fresh, and complex wines and is recognized for her innovative work with Sauvignon Gris, Riesling, sparkling wines, and microterroir Pinot Noir.
Viviana has received numerous accolades, including Winemaker of the Year by Tim Atkin (2020), and recognition from Wine Enthusiast, Wine Spectator, and The Drinks Business as one of Chile’s leading and most influential winemakers. Her work has helped establish Leyda as one of Chile’s top coastal wine producers.
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What’s the ONE THING most unique & memorable about your winery brand?
Viña Leyda’s greatest strength lies in its pioneering role in the Leyda Valley, helping establish one of Chile’s most distinctive wine regions. As one of the country’s closest vineyards to the Pacific Ocean, its gently rolling hills are shaped by a strong maritime influence, creating a truly unique terroir.
Morning fog, cool temperatures throughout the growing season, persistent ocean breezes and granite soils provide ideal conditions for producing world-class Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. From the outset, our ambition was to explore varieties not traditionally associated with Chile and craft wines that express both authenticity and a genuine sense of place.
After 28 years dedicated exclusively to the Leyda Valley, we remain as committed as ever to producing some of the finest Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc in the New World.
Describe how and what you’d do with your winemaking career or winery business if you were not constrained. Sky’s the limit!
If there were no constraints, I would pursue the ultimate expression of my favourite varieties by creating a truly great Pinot Noir and a truly great Sauvignon Blanc, wines that bring together the very best of two worlds: the centuries of knowledge and tradition found in iconic regions such as Burgundy and Sancerre, combined with the energy, freshness and untapped potential of Chile’s Leyda Valley.
For Sauvignon Blanc, my ambition would be to marry the texture, depth and structure that define the great wines of Sancerre with the vibrant acidity, tension and unmistakable coastal character that make Leyda so distinctive.
For Pinot Noir, the challenge would be to combine Leyda’s fresh red fruit, herbal complexity and vibrant natural acidity with the depth, elegance and structure that have made Burgundy the global benchmark for the variety. The goal would not be to imitate these iconic regions, but to create wines that are unmistakably Chilean while standing alongside the world’s finest examples.
What is the One Wine most emblematic of your brand and winemaking style? Tell us its story.
Viña Leyda’s most emblematic wine, Origin Pinot Noir, is the result of more than 20 years of work in the Leyda Valley—years of research, observation, and close collaboration with soil specialists and geologists. The goal was to craft a pure, honest Pinot Noir that expresses the valley’s marine limestone soils and cool coastal climate.
The wine shows remarkable aromatic purity, with fresh red fruit, subtle thiol notes, and earthy, herbal nuances. On the palate, it reflects the tension, precision, and energy characteristic of limestone soils. Produced in just 2,000 bottles, Origin comes from a single vineyard block, aged in one foudre, and bottled without blending across clones or vessels—making it a true expression of place.
With only three vintages released, Origin represents our ongoing commitment to Pinot Noir and to capturing the essence of the Leyda Valley. Stay tuned, this wine review is coming soon!
Bonus Question: If you could create your own superpower, what would it be?
If I could have one superpower, it would be the ability to be in two places at once—fully present in my daily work while also traveling the world’s wine regions to keep learning, exploring new ideas, and challenging myself as a winemaker.
I’d also use that time to share what we’re doing in Chile. I want more people to discover the passion and dedication behind our wines, and to experience our vineyards firsthand. Sometimes it feels like we’re creating something special on the other side of the world, and I wish more people could connect with it.
That desire is also tied to my concern for the challenges facing the wine industry today. I’d like to do more to help wine regain its place at the table and reconnect with consumers.
Because wine is more than a product—it’s culture, history, landscape, and people. The better we tell those stories, the more meaningful every bottle becomes.