Chile in the process of setting up an “Organic Wine Growers’ Association”

A group of Chilean wineries are forming an association to promote organic wine due to the post-pandemic upsurge.

News of the impending organization came during an interview with Jaime Valderrama, who is the managing director of Viña Miguel Torres Chile.

The group of six wineries will be collaborating to promote organic wine from Chile, and that the new association would also have the support of Wines of Chile, which unites much of the country’s wine industry primarily for marketing purposes.

Among the founder members of the organic association will be Viña Emiliana, Odfell, and Koyle, according to Valderrama, as well as Viña Miguel Torres Chile.

Taking inspiration from Organic Winegrowers New Zealand (OWNZ), which is a dedicated to supporting organic winegrowing, he said that the group of Chilean wineries have been speaking to the founders of the New Zealand organization for advice.

Valderrama said, “..this year is very good, especially for organic wines, and our Las Mulas range of organic wines is doing very well; natural and organic wine is facing more demand, and that’s where the growth is across the US, Europe, UK and Korea as well.”

He added, “It seems that the consumer is more conscious about organics and the environment, and that’s why we are creating an organic grower’s association in Chile: the future for us is organic and natural wines.”

Currently, 98% of grape production across the 314 hectares owned by Torres in Chile is grown organically, with certification.

Sources  Drinks Business

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Women in Wine Talks with Chile and Argentina – October 20, 2020 1:00 PM EDT

It is our great pleasure to invite you to be part of an exclusive “live talk” with five trailblazing women leading the Chilean and Argentine wine Industry into the future.

Join us as the panelists discuss their regions, share an intimate look at their wineries and discuss their commitment to crafting exceptional wines while preserving the natural environment.

Panelists:

Wines of Chile – Viviana Navarrete of Viña Leyda; and Emily Faulconer of Viña Carmen

and

Wines of Argentina – Susana Balbo of Susana Balbo Winery; and Andrea Ferreyra of Finca La Celia

October 20, 2020 – 1:00 pm (EDT) Zoom

Zoom link to join the Women in Wine Talks October 20 1:00 pm EDT
[complimentary ticket] https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/women-in-wine-talks-with-chile-and-argentina-tickets-123908055329?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch&keep_tld=1#

We look forward to seeing you!

Argentina joins New Zealand, South Africa, Chile, Canada and the US/California in forming a New World Wine Alliance to boost performance in the Chinese market

Industry body Wines of Argentina has signed an agreement with Shanghai’s Grapea & Co to be part of the alliance aimed at furthering the perception of New World wine in China.

The project, which began in June and will run until October this year, will take the form of a marketing and educational campaign supported by Grapea & Co’s Yang Lu, China’s first Master Sommelier.

The campaign will focus on both online content, transmitted through social media and blogging platforms, as well as wine and sommelier competitions.

The free content will be available on the New World Wine WeChat account and will consist of 18 virtual masterclasses on New World wine regions and 42 videos on topics such as the wine history, viticulture, winemaking, news, cultural traditions and food and wine matching.

These will also be made available on other platforms including Tik Tok, Dianping, and T-Mall.

In addition, the initiative will also feature 22 live broadcasts from key industry figures and popular wine bloggers.

According to the latest data, the scheme has already proved successful. In the first 15 days after the launch in June, the content platforms recorded a total of 68,000 visits and more than 8,000 views of video content.

Commenting on Argentina’s involvement in the project, Maximiliano Hernández Toso, who took over as president of Wines of Argentina earlier this year, said: “Being part of a project of this magnitude reflects the recognition that Argentine wine has gained internationally and the development of its industry.

“I believe that this is a great opportunity for our flagship product to expose its full potential, supporting and accompanying the drive of the collective strength of regions and countries that scale the world stage. We are confident of the impact of continued education and in working with international opinion leaders, such as, in this case, Yang Lu, the only Chinese Master Sommelier in the world.”

It follows news that Argentina was the only country to record an increase in both import volume and value of wine sent to China between January and May this year.

Osorno Chile has ‘Tremendous Potential’ for high-quality sparkling wine

One of Chile’s principal producers of sparkling wine, Miguel Torres Chile, is hoping to exploit the Osorno Valley’s “tremendous potential” for high-quality sparkling wine, according to winemaker Eduardo Jordan.

Jordan said he believed the area in the Los Lagos region of Chile was ideally suited to the production of premium sparkling wine.

Jordan said: “The south is the future for sparkling wine. I think that the Osorno area has tremendous potential to produce high-quality sparkling wines since the cold weather and the mixture of volcanic and alluvial soils present the ideal environment for this type of wine.”

He recalled how the producer has been experimenting with sparkling wines made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the region since 2017 and the results “are well on track to-date”.

To make the wines, Miguel Torres Chile is working with a grower with which it has had a long-term contract. It has already released a wine from the area – a Sauvignon Blanc – which is part of its Cordillera range.

“It’s a vertical Sauvignon with a citric acid mouthfeel typical of this area and that which is difficult to find in other areas of Chile”, said Jordon.

Osorno, located at a latitude of 40 degrees – roughly the same as the North Island of New Zealand – it is one of the emerging wine regions in the far south of Chile, giving its name to a city, province and volcano in the region. With as much as 1,500mm of rainfall a year, it can be a challenging area to grow grapes, according to Jordan. It is mainly planted with Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with a smattering of Riesling.

“Due mainly to climate change in Chile, today it is possible to plant vineyards in places that were unthinkable eight to 10 years ago, due to rising temperatures and lower rainfall in the summer months. Osorno is one of those places in Chile where today there are a small number of producers or wineries who have dared to plant vineyards”, Jordan added.

Miguel Torres Chile was founded in Curicó in 1979. Jordan said that temperatures are noticeably warmer now, with the producer, which sources grapes from many regions in Chile, noticing big differences in picking times.

“In 2007 we really started noticing that temperatures were changing. The sea temperatures were warmer and summer temperatures are now 1-2 degrees higher”, he said.

“When we were founded, Curicó was considered south, now it’s central. Itata and beyond is now referred to as the south.”

Source: Drinks Business

Wines of Chile to increase small producer participation

Aurelio Montes Sr., president of Wines of Chile, recently outlined his objectives in getting smaller producers involved in the trade group “Wines of Chile”.

Montes took over as president last month has stated that one of his objectives is to offer reduced or free-entry for smaller producers to join the organization.

“My role is to make Chile better known and more respected,” he said. “I think small producers are weaker as they don’t have the resources to travel and put their wines out into the market, in the same way that a larger producer does.”

Speaking more generally about his plans for his two years in office, Montes echoed the trade organization’s goal to raise the profile of Chilean wine.

“I aim to make Chile better known, although we are pretty successful already. In terms of wine production, we are number one among the new world countries and we are fourth in the world as a whole. So that puts Chile in a very privileged position and we’re really happy about that.

“Chile is perceived as a country with good value for money, inexpensive wines – unbeatable value for money I would say. One of my targets is to put Chile where it deserves, although it is already a well-renowned country, it deserves to be a couple of steps higher and in a better position.”

Montes also revealed that the organization was focusing its attention on its top three markets – China, the US and Brazil – with the aim of doubling its activities in each of the markets. In particular, he spoke of a desire to “recover the American market” after losing ground since the financial crisis in 2008.

Montes will be president of Wines of Chile until 2021, and he is a well-respected figure in the industry and a founding member of Viña Montes.

Source: Drinks Business