Wines of Chile

Quebec’s annual Wines of Chile Trade and Consumer Grand Tasting was held on September 26 at elegant event venue Entrepôts Dominion in Montreal.

The tasting and seminar turned out to be a hot topic on the Web, with a live Twitter feed and hashtag generating lively online discussion and interaction.

“Prior to the event, the tasting was promoted in more than 15 stories on traditional media for a total of 370,000 media impressions,” says Wines of Chile’s Montreal office.

“We also created a Twitter hashtag for the event and actively posted some comments. That generated over 41,235 media impressions.”

This broad exposure significantly enhanced the impact of the event, communicating Wines of Chile’s assets to the Canadian audience both in-person and online.

Olive oil tasting

At the event itself, wine professionals, sommeliers, journalists, and aficionados savored the opportunity to taste Chilean wines with fine olive oil and goat cheese at a special tasting station.

Sommelier Bertrand Eichel hosted a fascinating seminar on Chile’s diverse viticulture called “Chile’s wines: From Coastal to Mountain.”

Sommelier Bertrand Eichel

Among the many other highlights of the day, numerous well-known wine specialists attended, including Marc Chapleau (Cellier Magazine), Vanessa Cournoyer (Blogue Tchin Tchin), and Frédéric Fortin (Blogue Cellier).

Ève Dumas (La Presse) participated in Eichel’s seminar, while Nathalie Richard (Châtelaine.com) was said to have adored the event. Tatiana Polevoy (TVA, Salut Bonjour) also relished the experience of discovering Chile, sharing the activities with her Twitter fans.

Renowned journalist and web TV producer Isabelle Juneau remained at the tasting for several hours, building connections with Chilean winemakers and producers to further spread the Wines of Chile message via her popular media outlet.

Finally, host of Plaisirs Gourmands (CIBL) Sophie Ginoux conducted an engaging interview that morning with Alberto Eckholt regarding the Chilean wine industry.

The following wineries participated in the exceptionally successful 2012 Montreal Grand Tasting:

Twenty Chilean wineries participated

Apaltagua
Arboleda
Caliterra
Carmen
Casa Silva
Chocalán
Concha y Toro
Cousiño Macul
De Martino
Emiliana
Errazuriz
Montes
Montgras
Morandé / Vistamar
San Pedro / Tarapacá
Santa Carolina
Santa Ema
Santa Rita
Siegel
Ventisquero

Wine industry members

Goat cheese with merken (Chilean roasted red pepper spice)

Cocktail

A successful tasting

Wines of Chile Grand Tasting in Toronto

More than 150 Chilean wines were imbibed at Wines of Chile’s 8th Annual Chilean Wine Festival in Toronto, Ontario on October 2.

The Royal Ontario Museum – one of North America’s largest museums and a repository for sophisticated collections of culture and natural history – was an inspiring and elegant venue for the event.

600+ attendees enjoyed the opportunity to interact with the wine trade, meet winemakers directly, and stimulate their palates with a diverse selection of excellent Chilean wines.

“This year we achieved two important goals with our event,” says Wines of Chile’s Managing Director Claudio Cilveti.

“Firstly, we showed Canadians the quality and diversity that Chile has to offer due to the geographical wealth with which the country is blessed and which is imprinted directly on each wine.”

Bringing quality and diversity to Canada

“As well as this,” he continues, “we demonstrated that sustainability has become an extremely important issue for the Chilean wine industry, and that we are taking firm steps with the ongoing sustainability certification process.”

Sustainability was a key theme in the afternoon’s sold-out seminar, “Sustainable Chile,” which was delivered by expert agronomist James Robinson. The seminar included a tasting of nine certified sustainable wines from Chile.

Focus tables engaged sommeliers and influential industry professionals through topics such as “Top Picks for Licensees,” “Appellation Nation,” and “Elqui and Limarí.”

The trade tasting and seminar were followed by an evening dinner for a select group of 350 enthusiasts and media members, with a delicious menu prepared by Daniel Catering and Chilean Chef Andres Michel. Live Latin music complemented decadent Chilean cuisine, along with – of course – perfectly-paired Chilean wines.

Tasting delicious Chilean wine and food

“I grew up in the video arcade my mother owned,” explains Dexheimer. “And my grandmother owned a golf course, with pizza and go-carts, which gave me good tools to be a people person and do different things in the entertainment industry.”

Later, working in restaurants, Dexheimer quickly found that knowledge of wine engaged his guests and enticed them to tip well for his expertise. He climbed the industry ladder quickly, working in (and later managing) wine cellars, bars and restaurants from Nantucket to New York, and ravenously reading wine literature to learn the trade.

“The wine community is awesome!” he insists.

Working with such an awesome community inspired Dexheimer to pursue certification as a Master Sommelier, which required dedicated study and completion of a rigorous testing program.

“I took the [first level] exam in 2001,” recalls Dexheimer. “It was very different back then. It is still very difficult [today], but there was a smaller community [in 2001], and no online stuff.”

The greater challenge began with the advanced portion of the program. In 2003, Dexheimer passed the advanced exam after being given 25 minutes to taste six wines blindfolded and accurately identify the grape blends, regions of origin, climate conditions, quality levels, and vintages. This was followed by a service exam testing practical skills like decanting and food pairing, and a theory exam.

“It was pretty darn tough!” Dexheimer declares.

The final hurdle to becoming a Master was even more difficult, but Dexheimer passed the last test in 2007, earning the honor of becoming the 79th Master Sommelier in the United States.

Dexheimer is now involved in numerous professional activities, including his role as Wines of Chile Educator.  He delivers frequent seminars and travels to speaking and teaching engagements worldwide as an industry expert and a connoisseur of Chilean wine.

“There are infinite possibilities for [wine in] Chile,” Dexheimer urges, noting Chile’s “vast places to plant, with ongoing discovery of new places, and the fact that some vineyards aren’t even making wine yet.”

Dexheimer’s work as an educator supports Wines of Chile’s goal to promote third-tier wines in the 15-30 dollar range. “Those are the best wines now, varietal and New World styles,” he says. “Those wines are exciting!”

“People are really wowed once they taste Chile’s wines, so it’s important to get people tasting the wines,” continues Dexheimer.”They are blown away by one or two in every tasting.”

To ensure that Chile’s reputation for quality continues to spread with unrelenting momentum, Dexheimer is “hitting almost every part of the industry,” including forging professional relations with prominent wine makers, instructing terroir classes in six different US cities, forming a recent partnership with the Guild of Sommeliers, showcasing Chile’s “serious Pinot Noirs” and other promising varieties, and organizing Wines of Chile’s Blogger Tasting, held online with 50 bloggers and eight wine makers, including an online chat, twitter feed, and recipes for food pairing.

In his remaining time, Dexheimer also owns his own consultancy business, Juiceman Consulting.

Needless to say, he is a busy (but satisfied) Master Sommelier. However, Dexheimer still manages to relax and savor Chilean wine at his home.

“I like sushi with Sauvignon Blancs, tuna or hamachi” he says, “and Pinot Noir with burgers and lighter food. Sometimes I cook an amazing bolognaise with Carmenere, of course pairing it with the Carmenere.”

Dexheimer advises wine and food lovers that steakhouses in United States are “doing a great job of putting Chilean wines on lists; Cabernets, Carmeneres, Syrahs and blends go really well.” He also recommends “seafood with Sauvignon Blancs and Chardonnays from the coast with ceviches and seafood platters. And Latin food is great with Chilean wines.”

In the midst of such an exciting and mouthwatering career, Dexheimer is especially glad for opportunities to travel and make connections. “[The wine industry] is a great network of people from all walks of life, all different backgrounds and interests,” he says. “Getting into a room with chefs and sommeliers, you never know what books, music, films will be discussed, where they’ve traveled, what they went to school for.”

“This is an infinite learning experience,” he muses. “The more you know, the less you know, and the less you know you know. The journey never stops!”

Fred Dexheimer, Master Sommelier and Wines of Chile Educator (photo by Matt Wilson)

Wines of Chile earns an Elsie for Best Integrated Marketing Program–Wines

Wines of Chile was recognized for: Best Integrated Marketing Program–Wines, one of the 29 awards handed out this year, in tandem with Wines of Argentina for its successful LCBO “South America” thematic campaign in March 2011 that included in-store tastings, advertising, and a sold-out consumer event for over 500 consumers.

The Elsies recognize industry partners who have excelled at marketing their products and who have worked with the LCBO to help consumers discover the world of beverage alcohol. This year’s awards included recognition for suppliers/agents of the year, best new product launches, best gift items, best special event, and best integrated marketing program. Excellence in social responsibility and environmental commitment were also recognized.

Wines of Chile is represented in Ontario by Andros Communications.

This year’s judges are:

Brazil: Jorge Lucki

Canada: Shari Mogk-Edwards and François Primeau

China: Jeannie Cho Lee

Korea: Kyoungja (Corinne) Eom

Japan: Tomoko Ebisawa

Sweden: Andreas Larsson

United Kingdom: Steven Spurrier and Oz Clarke

United States: Josh Reynolds, Josh Greene, and Michael Schachner

and from Chile: Héctor Vergara

For more information see:

About the Judges

The 30^th London International Wine Fair took place at the ExCel exhibition centre in London’s docklands over three days in May amid warm spring sunshine and attracted over 13,000 visitors.

With Chilean wines doing so well in the British market it was no surprise that the Wines of Chile Pavilion area was a hive of activity and interest.

Wines of Chile Pavillion at LIWF 2010

Twenty four wineries took space on the newly designed stand, and many other Chilean wineries had their own stands nearby, which added to the ‘buzz.’

This year there was also space devoted to the Chile earthquake appeal where visitors were able to study stunning and emotive photographs of people and places affected by the terrible earthquake that shook Chile’s wine regions in February. The images, made by English professional photographer Matt Wilson who lives in the Colchagua Valley, prompted people to donate over £250 to the appeal, and their support entitled them to wear a ‘Viva Chile’ badge. (see the images by clicking on the slide show on the Levantando Chile banner at the top of the Wines of Chile home page)

Each day the Chile pavilion hosted a themed seminar and focus tasting that proved to be sell-out successes and helped to reinforce Chile’s diversity, innovation, and dynamism.

Wines of Chile Seminar at LIWF 2010

Day One: Tales of the Unexpected
Speakers: Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle (Viña Lapostolle) & Sebastian De Martino (Viña De Martino)
Chile has an extraordinarily dynamic wine culture, and the diversity of wines available today is greater than ever before. The seminar focused on innovation and regional characteristics as well as some of the lesser-known varieties and styles on offer that challenge preconceptions.

Day Two: Carmenere Karma
Speakers: Irene Paiva, one of Chile’s top consultant winemakers, & Arnaud Frennet from Viña Casa Silva

These days Carmenere, Chile’s ‘signature’ grape is more comfortable in its own skin than ever before. The seminar illustrated how Carmenere, Chile’s ‘prodigal son’ is developing into the pick of the bunch.

Day Three: Organic Growth
Speakers: Adolfo Hurtado from Viña Cono Sur & Cristian Rodríguez from Viñedos Emiliana

Superb natural grape growing conditions mean Chile continues quietly and consistently to grow its organic and biodynamic offer. The seminar enabled visitors to discover more about how the unique geography and a culture of environmental care are sustaining organic growth.

In the Masterclass theatre, Wines of Chile hosted a presentation by award-winning writer and broadcaster Peter Richards entitled ‘Take a Fresh Look at Chile.’ A full house of 75 people was able to hear Peter challenge preconceptions and highlight the substantial and remarkable progress Chile is making, with particular reference to Syrah as a grape variety showing great promise and the development of Chardonnay, notably from the cooler and coastal regions of Chile. Olly Smith, a well known wine journalist who sat in on the seminar said that it was the best and most interesting talk he had ever attended.

Also in the Masterclass theatre, the Circle of Wine Writers ran a tutored tasting and presentation to help raise money for countries that had suffered natural disasters recently, so Chile, Turkey, and Madeira were featured. Chilean journalist Eduardo Brethauer presented a range of eight Carignan wines from the Maule Valley, and talked about the fund raising work that was being done by the newly formed Carignan Club in Chile.

Wines of Chile Pavillion at LIWF 2010

In the Restaurant Magazine ‘On-trade Hub’ area-a stand devoted to helping sommeliers and restaurateurs understand how to make their wine lists work harder for them in these challenging economic times-Michael Cox, Wines of Chile’s UK Director, gave a presentation on Carmenere-Chile’s emblematic grape variety. This proved a good opportunity to launch the new Wines of Chile on-trade initiative: ‘Carmenere – Made for Curry’.

Additional reasons why Chile was the talk of the Fair surrounded the news that Cristian Lopez, who set up Concha y Toro‘s UK office ten years ago, had been made the Drinks Business Man of The Year 2010-the highest accolade in the annual Drinks Business Awards. The significant achievement for Cristian reflected the outstanding success he and his team have had with Chile’s number one winery and its range of award winning wines in the UK market.

During the Fair Naked Wines, one of the UK’s most innovative on-line wine retailers, announced that a Chilean wine had been selected from a tasting at the Fair of over 300 wines from boutique wineries seeking UK distribution. The wine, Lagar de Bezana’s Aluvion Gran Reserva, was singled out by 30 of Naked Wines consumers-called ‘archangels’-and the wine was offered on the Naked Wines website on the first day of the Fair. By the end of the second day the parcel of 250 cases (worth £30,000) had sold out!

Many reasons why the wines of Chile are becoming ‘the natural choice.’

Chilean Wine at London International Wine Fair 2010

Bill Zacharkiw off for an aerial view of Chile's wine regions

From the rooftop of Santiago’s W Hotel to all of the regions he visited during his recent trip to Chile, Canadian winewriter Bill Zacharkiw could see the Andes… Not surprising. In fact, it’s pretty hard to be anywhere in Chile where they don’t provide a gorgeous backdrop… but that’s not to overlook the vital importance of Chile’s other, less famous range, the Coastal Mountains.

And that got Bill thinking about regions and regionality in Chilean wines.

Read more in the Saturday, February 13, 2010 edition of the Montreal Gazette: Understanding regions of Chile is key to choosing right wines

Tony Aspler

Renowned Canadian wine expert Tony Aspler (The Wine Guy) was one of the judges for the 7th Annual Wines of Chile Awards held in Santiago last week. (Read about the Closing event and Winners here, and about the Judges and event preliminaries here).

It turns out that Tony is not only very thorough about his tasting notes, but about his trip notes as well. He has just published his travel diary for his Chilean adventure (tasting, judging, speaking, wining & dining, and winery visits) with photos and complete tasting notes with scores.

Click here to see  Tony Aspler’s “A Wine Lover’s Diary part 274″

Top wine speakers for the New World at PROWEIN event

Leading academics, wine educators and journalists are set to participate in a series of seminars in what marks the first collaboration of its kind, when five New World wine-producing countries join forces at Prowein 2010.

The members of the New World grouping, represented by the generic wine marketing bodies for Argentina, California, Chile, New Zealand and South Africa will jointly present a series of seminars under the banner, Down To Earth, from Sunday, March 21 to Tuesday, March 23. Amongst the issues they will cover are sustainability, climate, terroir, as well as innovation in wine-growing, winemaking and marketing.

The five countries will also be exhibiting alongside one another in a show-within-the-show for the duration of ProWein.

The Down to Earth seminar chairs will include:

• Renowned viticulturist and academic Prof Hans Reiner Schultz, who is the director of Germany’s Geisenheim Research Centre
• The leading economist, wine critic and internationally published journalist Jürgen Mathäß who publishes inWeinwelt, Gault Millau Weinguide, Weinwirtschaft and Meininger’s Wine Business International
• Felicity Carter, editor-in-chief of Meininger’s Wine Business International
• Founder of the London International Wine Challenge, international judge and critic and widely published author Robert Joseph
• Joel B Payne, a former editor-in-chief of Meininger’s Wine Business International and a regular contributor to Germany’s leading wine magazines, Vinum and Falstaff, as well as the World of Fine Wine and Steve Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar. His Gault Millau German Wine Guide has appeared annually for nearly two decades.
• Masters of Wine Dr Josef Schuller and Lynne Sherriff, the chair and vice-chair respectively of the international network of the UK-based Institute of Masters of Wine.
• Pancho Campo, MW founder of the World Conference on Climate Change and Wine.

Visitors will be able to attend the individual country exhibitions as well as collaborative presentations in a combined space dedicated to the partnership. “The configuration of the show-within-a-show is intended to give delegates an overarching sense of the common purpose linking these normally competing nations. At the same time, it has been designed to highlight what makes each one distinctive and unique,” said a spokesperson for the group.

Leading winemakers from each country will also present their national signature wine varietals to the over 35,000 delegates from 50 countries plus more than 1,000 journalists expected, that is if past experience is any indication of the likely attendance at ProWein this year. Argentina will be showcasing Malbec; California, Zinfandel; Chile, Carmenere; New Zealand, Sauvignon blanc; while South Africa will be focusing on its most widely planted grape, Chenin blanc, and its indigenous Pinotage.

The five New World Wine members have proved remarkably resilient to the ongoing global contraction in consumer spending with all currently reflecting sound export growth in key markets.

The spokesperson for the group attributed the rising exports to a capacity to respond innovatively to the recession. “Our ability to think beyond competitive national interests and to collaborate is ample demonstration of our flexibility and long-range thinking. Our view is that by working in concert we stand a better chance of attracting market interest in the highly competitive show environment. What has also been critical to the success of our group of New World wine producing nations is an ability to provide value for money across a wide range of price points, to offer attractive and easy-to-understand packaging for wine lovers and the drive to innovate at every level.”

The spokesperson urged those interested in attending Down to Earth to register well in advance by going to the seminar website, Down to Earth Seminar/Prowein Registration, where details are provided in both English and German.

For more information contact:

Wines of Argentina:
Andrew Maidment +0044 7815647429
Email: amaidment@winesofargentina.com.ar

Lis Clément Work +54 261 4235346 Int. 2.  Mobile +54 9261 6829829
Email: lclement@winesofargentina.com.ar

California Wine Institute:
Christine Berthold +49 (0) 421-217020  Mobile +49 (0) 178-2170200
Email: berthold@wineinstitute.de

Wines of Chile:
Juan Somavia (Chile) +56 9776 75086
Email: jsomavia@winesofchile.org

Michael Cox (UK) +44 (0) 7785 291503
Email: michael@winesofchile.org.uk

New Zealand Winegrowers:
David Cox +44 (0)20 7973 8079  Mobile +44 (0)7974 228986
Email: davidc@nzwine.com

Wines of South Africa:
Su Birch +27 21 825630677 or +27 21 8833860
Email: su@wosa.co.za

Winemaker Marco Puyó accepts the Best in Show Award for San Pedro's 1865 Single Vineyard Syrah 2007 from Cachapoal

Phew! It’s been a long week, especially for the judges–this time from Canada–who tasted and evaluated nearly 467 wines from 111 wineries for the 7th Annual Wines of Chile Awards, which drew to a close with a gala event last night. This is Chile’s most important wine event of the year, and some 200 people came out to be on hand when the results of the competition.

“This is Chile’s most prestigious competition and as such presents a unique opportunity for our wines to gain recognition and a more competitive edge in the highly important Canadian market,” said Juan Somavía, Managing Director of Wines of Chile. “The industry’s efforts to promote Chilean wine abroad must be in sync with the needs and preferences of the consumers, and instances such as this help us meet this objective.”

Canada is Chile’s third largest market, and Wines of Chile wanted a clearer picture of their preferences, so they invited the most influential wine writers of the country, Tony Aspler, Gurvinder Bhatia, Sid Cross, Anthony Gismondi, Nick Hamilton, David Lawrason, Rod Phillips, David Scholefield, John Szabo, and Bill Zacharkiw (see their bios) to judge this year’s competition. Eleven judges from Canada’s three major wine importing regions spent 3 days sniffing, sipping, and spitting Chilean wines in 14 varieties and 2 price categories (US$10-14.99  and $15-$25).  Each winery was allowed to submit up to 6 wines and all were required to be bottled, labeled, and ready for sale (no barrel samples were accepted).

The varietal categories allowed were:

Sparkling wines (any varietal), Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Late Harvest, Other Whites, White Blends, Rosé (any varietal), Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carmenere, Pinot Noir, Syrah/Shiraz, Other Reds (Malbec, Zinfandel, Carignan, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, etc.), and Red Blends.

Our congratulations to this year’s “Best of the Best,” which went to:

Best in Show:
San Pedro 1865 Single Vineyard Syrah Cachapoal 2007, Cachapoal Valley

Best Value White:
Viña Bravado Marina García Schwaderer 2009, Casablanca Valley

Best Value Red:
Via Wines Oveja Negra Reserva Cabernet Franc Carmenere 2008, Maule Valley

René Merino, Nicole, and Juan Somavía accompany husband & wife winemaking duo Felipe García and Constanza Schwaderer of Bravado Wines as they accept the Best Value White award for their Marina García Schwaderer Sauvignon Blanc

Nicole, Via winemaker Rafael Tirado, René Merino, Juan Somavía: Best Value Red award for his Via Wines Oveja Negra Cabernet Franc Carmenere

The 11 Best in Category Awards presented went to:

Best Sauvignon Blanc:
Viña Bravado Marina García Schwaderer 2009, Casablanca Valley

Best Chardonnay:
Cono Sur 20 Barrels Limited Edition Chardonnay 2008, Casablanca Valley

Best Other Whites:
Cono Sur Vision Viognier 2009, ColchaguaValley

White Blends:
Estampa Reserve Sauvignon Blanc/Chardonnay/Viognier  2009, Casablanca Valley

Best Pinot Noir:
Cono Sur 20 Barrels Limited Edition Pinot Noir 2008, Casablanca Valley

Best Merlot:
Ventisquero Grey Merlot 2007, Colchagua Valley

Best Carmenere:
Casa Rivas Gran Reserva Carmenere 2007, Maipo Valley

Best Syrah:
San Pedro 1865 Single Vineyard Syrah Cachapoal  2007, Cachapoal Valley

Best Cabernet Sauvignon:
Echeverria Founders Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, Maipo Valley

Best Other Reds:
Odfjell Vineyards Orzada Carignan 2006, Maule Valley

Best Red Blend:
O. Fournier Centauri Blend 2008, Maule Valley

Click here to download the complete list of the 7th Annual Wines of Chile Awards Winners.

Hosts Hugo Salvestrini and Chilean singer Nicole kept the pace rolling and juggled between the awards themselves, the food (prepared by Chilean chef Guillermo Rodriguez with stations to represent the cuisine of the north, south, and central regions), and the entertainment, which included music from both countries–Nicole getting the crowd to their feet with Chilean favorites and Canadian singer Mia Praught belting out great jazz standards.

Artist Felipe Hernández and his "Full-bodied Chile" Painted Bodies

Anyone who has ever been here knows that Chile is truly a land of diversity, and as a means of emphasizing that concept, the theme of this year’s Annual Awards was “Chile: a Full-bodied Country.”

Video images flashed the sights, sounds, faces, and places of Chile throughout the evening,
and as a special treat, Chilean artist Felipe Hernández presented work from his “Painted Bodies” project by painting live models with emblematic Chilean colors and images.

Want more pictures?  See our new Photo Gallery!