Meet Angela Mochi
Angela Mochi with her dog, Franc.
On a dry, warm summer day in January our co-founder Pedro visited Chile and accidentally came across the Attilio y Mochi estate after visiting producer and friend Charlie Villard in Casablanca Valley. It was a Monday and what better way to start the week that with some winery visits?
He arrived just before 4pm to the vineyard and small winery off the main highway that connects Santiago to Valparaiso. Stepping out the car he automatically noticed the consistent cold breeze coming from the nearby Pacific coast. Greeted by Angela Mochi and her dog Franc, they welcomed Pedro with a great smile and barks of joy!
Angela, a Brazilian engineer from Foz do Iguaçu (where three frontiers meet: Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay), spoke fluent Chilean Spanish with her Brazilian flair. She was funny, genuine and most impressively very humble and passionate about wine. What she and her husband continue to accomplish in a estate that covers no more that four American football fields is impressive.
Angela with her husband, who’s also an engineer, had a wine shop in Brazil along with a consulting engineering company. In one of their many trips to Chile, they spent a few weeks in a remote beach south of Valparaiso, and together decided… ”let’s sell everything in Brazil and move to Chile and start making wines.” Angela is in charge of many day to day duties at their estate and her husband follows her lead in the vineyards, making an amazing team. They take care of the land together and Angela leads the artistry of making the wines in addition to welcoming guests, giving tours and selling the wines.
Our co-founder spent almost two hours chatting and getting to know Angela and her philosophy. He couldn’t stop talking about her wines and passion for crafting honest terroir driven wines. Grand Cata is lucky to have her as winemaker of the year and we are super excited to share the wines with Wine Club members for the first time in the U.S. Market. Angela represents what’s one of the main goals of Grand Cata, continuously connecting Latin American frontiers, people, and communities through the life of wine.
Grand Cata congratulates Angela for her amazing achievements crafting true wines with character and terroir. South America shines brighter with your wines. Obrigada!