Chile's wine industry is unique. Now more than 450 years old, it is widely known for its excellent quality and prices in every range. The national magazine Qué Pasa recently polled nearly 150 members of the local wine, food, tourism, and economic industries to rank the Top 25 players in Chilean wine.  

What follows is a translation of a portion of the original article. The descriptions of the first three top-ranked  parties, written by Daniel Greve, are reproduced in their entirety. For the full article (in Spanish) see:

Que Pasa Article

1^st Place: Rafael Guilisasti:

What Makes Him Number 1 in Chilean Wine?

It’s not hard to pay absolute attention to the Vice President of Viña Concha y Toro, Director of Viñas de Chile, and General Manager of Viñedos Orgánicos Emiliana. Rafael Guilisasti is increasingly the one who steps up to the microphone to speak to the public.

He does it often, and he enjoys it. He has a real media presence—the kina of guy who stays until the end of the press conferences. He generates a magnetic interest. He is respected by everyone—large, medium, and small producers alike—he has played a key role in the integration of Chilean wineries, as well as in the positioning of Chile in international markets. He studied history in the Catholic University, although he never worked in that field. Perhaps that is where he became such a prolific reader. He is also an agile web surfer and familiar with all of the blogs and web sites related to the wine industry. He is creative and intelligent, described by Chilean wine writer Patricio Tapia as “free, revolutionary, and radical, within all of the conservative nature of Chilean wine.” And it’s true. Without relating his past in MAPU, his real revolution was—and still is—in taking a different, transversal approach to wine. As wine writer Ana María Barahona notes, despite his commitment to the company in which his family has control, “he is more pro-industry than pro-Concha y Toro.” And the country is grateful for that. He was behind the winery’s push to make fine wines, formulating the preliminary sketches for Don Melchor, one of the labels that put Brand Chile on the world’s wine map. And at the same time, he managed to take part in a more radical dimension, by becoming a partner in and negotiating the change from Santa Emiliana to Viñedos Orgánicos Emiliana, or VOE—a revolution in itself for an environment in which the word ‘caution’ more often comes to mind. Promoting the brand of inexpensive wines moved to a new platform for wines that were not only fine wines, but organic and biodynamic, as well as recruiting the talented Alvaro Espinoza, one of Chile’s most respected winemakers, but an outsider at the same time. The changes were violent, effective, and deliciously aggressive. First with Coyam, then G, the history of the wines aligned with the cosmos and that respect the biodiversity continue advancing toward an inevitably successful terrain. And Rafael Guilissti, for everything that he has done and for what lies ahead, continues to lead the way… with his eye on the heavens…

 2nd Place Aurelio Montes: He knew how to add a new dimension to the nation’s wines.

I first met Aurelio Montes in Marchigüe, when he was about to plant vineyards in the area. It was fascinating to see how excited he got over something as basic—tedious even—as pulling stumps from the fields. But for him it meant the beginning of a new dream, the first step of a new adventure. Where a normal person would just see old stumps to clear, Aurelio saw—with great emotion—a future vineyard producing exciting, delicious fruit.

And that’s the essence. That of a passionate man who fairly lights up in the countryside, in the winery, and anywhere else that smells of wine. As a former winemaker at Viña San Pedro, he knew how to add anew dimension to Chilean wine in the mid-1980s. He partnered with Pedro Grand, Alfredo Vidaurre and Douglas Murray to create Viña Montes, a winery that far exceeded even his own projections. Their medium-term plan was to export 50,000 cases; they reached half a million. It was the result of traveling long distances, as happens sometimes with his hobbies. Aside from making wine—work and hobby both—he enjoys sailing and flying single engine planes. Charismatic and emotional, his eyes welled with tears as his raised his fist in the air and shouted, “We are the champions!” during the inauguration of their cellars in Apalta, a wine valley that he himself discovered. He also has a great and contagious sense of humor. In the most serious of tastings he manages to be a distraction and even allows himself the time—as happened once when we could not stop laughing during a lunch—he imagines a calendar of the most beautiful women of wine, from January to December.

He is the perfect speaker, or rather, the ideal interviewee. He constructs his sentences in a perfectly clear quote-unquote; any interview can be transcribed and put between quotation marks, from beginning to end. Whether he says it or I do, the result is the same: Aurelio Montes’ contribution to Chilean winemaking is undeniable. Wines such as the elegant Montes M, the magnificent Folly Syrah, or the fascinating and complex Purple Angel—made with 92% Carmenère, highly unusual considering that Aurelio was initially skeptical of the variety—are all wines that enrich the national portfolio and that shout out—with Montes’ same teary-eyed, fist-in-the-air stance—“From Chile with Pride”… as the perfect slogan.

3rd Place: Eduardo Guilisasti: This methodical businessman not only understands the industry, but also builds it…

It is no coincidence that the general manager of Concha y Toro appears among the top three in this list—and in 14th place among the 50 most influential in Decanter, the UK’s most important wine magazine. Eduardo Guilisasti is one of those people who take the business from beginning to end, who not only understand it, but who build it with their own hands. Interviewing him is no easy task. First, because of he is reserved and keeps his distance from the mainstream, he does not exactly chase after the press. In fact, he gives very few interviews and rarely attends social events. And also because he is very busy, and finally, because from time to time—and precisely around this time of year—he is usually in the field visiting super markets. Supermarkets, you ask? Yes. The Great Sensei also does those things,” they tell me at the winery.

And these are assertive actions. There is no doubt that he is methodical, has a great nose for business, is observant, meticulous, and has an answer for everything. And, as wine writer Patricio Tapia says, “he is very organized with classic intelligence, a combination that lends a cocktail of visible results.” Visible and palpable. He was born into the world of wine, and those close to him say that he is the one who feels the family pressure to take charge, like a “leader by obligation,” says Ana María Barahona, who also adds that all of this is added to his deep religious commitment. The fact that he belongs to Opus Dei and is very austere—he drives a very modest car, for example—is juxtaposed by his bold approach to business. Concha y Toro entered the market and worked aggressively to become Chile’s leader in wine exports and among the five most important in the world (third in the Most Powerful Wine Brands ranking).

In fact, it was the same Guilisasti who, with clinical precision, was behind the joint venture with Baron Philippe de Rothschild to create Almaviva, now one of Chile’s icons. And so, from his pinnacle, from that place where great works generate, Guilisasti also manages to concerned himself with small and intimate things. For example, Barahona recalls that when her son was about to be born, Eduardo told her, “I’ll pray that everything goes well.” And it did turn out well. Very well indeed.

4 Eduardo Chadwick, sixth generation General Manager of the Errázuriz wine group, the man behind the Berlin tasting that did for Chilean wine what the 1976 Paris Tasting did for California.

5 Douglas Murray, the globetrotting partner and director of Viña Montes

6: Pablo Morandé, the winemaker who first set his eye on the Casablanca Valley

7 Alvaro Espinoza, the innovative winemaker known for ecological, organic, and biodynamic winegrowing

8 Patricio Tapia: pioneering wine writer and wine critic

9 Héctor Vergara, Latin America’s only Master Sommelier

10 René Merino, President of Vinos de Chile and General Manager of Viña Tamaya

11 Alejandro Hernández, Profesor Emeritus of Enology, the man who trained generations of Chilean winemakers

12 Agustín Huneeus, Making great “Chilean” wine in two countries: Quintessa (Napa, California) and Veramonte (Casablanca, Chile)

13 Aníbal Ariztía, Put Viña Santa Rita on Chile’s top 5 list and Director of Vinos de Chile

14 Ricardo Claro: Viña Santa Rita, General Manager. Strategic vision with a long term business plan

15 Ignacio Recabarren. Viña Concha y Toro, winemaker: putting art in his craft

16 Michael Cox, Wines of Chile, the Brit behind Brand Chile

17 Miguel Torres, Viña Miguel Torres. Chile’s first “modern” winemaker

18 Alfonso Larraín, Viña Concha y Toro, Chairman of the Board.

19 Pascual Ibáñez, Sommelier, Hotel Ritz Carlton, founding member of the Chilean Sommelier’s Association

20 Carlos Cardoen, Colchagua Valley businessman: the “great locomotive of Chilean wine tourism”

21 Felipe de Solminihac, Viña Aquitania, partner and winemaker

22 Alexandra Marnier, Viña Casa Lapostolle. The “Grand Marnier” family in Colchagua.

23 Mariano Fernández, Chilean diplomat, gourmet, and wine lover.

24 Marcelo Papa, Viña Concha y Toro, winemaker, Marqués de Casa Concha and Casillero del Diablo. Seeker of new terroir.

25 Mario Pablo Silva, Viña Casa Silva. The driving force of the family business