2018 Kingston Family "Bayo Oscuro" Syrah Casablanca Valley

2018 Kingston Family "Bayo Oscuro" Syrah Casablanca Valley

Kingston Family Vineyards sits in Chile’s Casablanca Valley on a family estate first established in the early 1900s, when Michigan mining engineer Carl John Kingston acquired what became a cattle and dairy ranch near the Pacific coast. Five generations later, siblings Courtney, Tim, and Michael Kingston launched the vineyard project, planting vines in 1998 and releasing their first estate wines in 2003. Owned and managed by the Kingston family, the winery helped pioneer cool-climate red varieties in a region better known for white wines. Its vineyards occupy hillside sites in western Casablanca, roughly 12 miles from the Pacific, where coastal influences moderate temperatures and extend ripening conditions. The estate farms Pinot Noir, Syrah, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc, with winemaker Amael Orrego and consulting winemaker Byron Kosuge overseeing production. Annual output remains small at roughly 5,000 cases, reflecting the winery’s focus on estate-grown, limited-production wines rather than large-scale production.