Against the Current: Ten Years of Pursuing a Dream in Patagonia.
- 17 hours ago
- 4 min read
Ten years ago, we arrived in Chile with a dream. Today, after everything we have built, we are taking a moment to look back on the journey, to thank those who have been part of it, and to prepare for the new chapters that lie ahead.
By Tepaluma Press
There are moments when moving forward means moving fast, and others when it means pausing for a moment, looking around, and catching our breath. In Patagonia, we understand the importance of pauses. After an intense summer, one of those summers that seems never to end, autumn arrives, followed by winter.
The rhythm changes, the days become quieter, and the forest seems to retreat, but we know that beneath that apparent stillness, life continues: roots keep growing, water keeps finding its way, and nature begins preparing, long before we can see it, for the next spring.
We also live through our own seasons. Summer at Tepaluma was intense: travelers, visitors, encounters, production, travel, projects, and many hours of work. It is a time that demands our presence and asks us to give our very best. And when that pace begins to slow, something appears that we often do not have during the busiest months: time to look back, put things in order, talk, reflect, and ask ourselves what we want to build over the coming years. It is not about stopping. It is about gaining perspective.
This year also has a very special meaning. It marks ten years since we arrived in Chile to begin a new life and give shape to a dream that, at the time, seemed enormous. We came from Belgium looking for nature, a life closer to our family, and the possibility of building something of our own.
As Andrea reminds us: “We came to create, with wild, free, and pure nature as our inspiration, the drinks that we ourselves wanted to drink.”
We were never thinking about building a large company, bringing in investors, or growing simply for the sake of growth. We were looking for a way of life, our own entrepreneurial path, and the possibility of making our dreams a reality.
We arrived in La Junta under circumstances that, looking back today, seem almost impossible. We had to start practically from scratch: a new country, a new language, no home, and all the uncertainty that comes with starting a life far from everything familiar. And yet, ten years later, we are still here. We are still living in this nature, still working on what we dreamed of, and our family has grown alongside this project.
We have had the privilege of living in Chilean Patagonia. Its dark nights, clean air, the sound of waterfalls, the animals, the tranquility, the ability to look into the distance and discover wonders every day. We have also come to know and learn from its people, its local culture, and a way of life that, for us, has been one of the great blessings of these ten years.
It has not all been easy. We underestimated the difficulties of organizing and growing a project from such a remote place. Logistics, distances, and every challenge involved in working from here have demanded far more from us than we ever imagined. We also underestimated something that ultimately became an enormous responsibility: seeing Tepaluma Gin find its place and grow. Success forced us to grow quickly and respond to those who began to put their trust in us. And we did it with all the love and responsibility we could give.
That is why, when we look back on these ten years, one of the words that comes to mind most often is gratitude. Gratitude for the life we have been able to build, for having been able to turn our dream of creating spirits into reality, for our family remaining united, for being healthy, for living surrounded by nature, and especially for all the people who have traveled all the way here to meet us. For every customer who placed their trust in us and made it possible for Tepaluma to continue.
As Andrea says: “We were prepared to fail. To fail in one year, two years, as long as we gave our dreams a chance. And here we are, against the current, literally, after 10 years.”
Perhaps that is why we do not feel this anniversary is simply a celebration. It is also a necessary pause to look at what lies ahead. Because ten years later, there are still dreams to fulfill. Our whisky dream, for example, has never been abandoned. It is still alive, it continues to develop, and it remains part of what we want to build over the coming years.
And there are also new paths beginning to take shape. Although we would love to, we cannot tell you too much just yet. We can say, however, that we are working on a project that particularly excites us, one that will allow us to take our way of understanding Patagonia into a new territory: hospitality.
After ten years, we understand that our work was never simply about distilling an exceptional gin, nor will it be solely about producing an exclusive whisky. It has always been something bigger: creating experiences that make sense in the place where they are born, building with purpose, and allowing each project to find its own rhythm. And perhaps we now understand that the next ten years are not only about growth, but also about ensuring that everything we have built can continue.
That what began as a family dream can become a legacy capable of outliving us. That is why we are also learning to value pauses, because some projects need speed, but they always need strong roots to hold on to.
We are taking a breath, closing cycles, opening others, and preparing something that has us very, very excited.
We cannot tell you everything just yet. We are taking a breath for the next impulse.
Comments