April 11, 2008

Juan A. Somavía took over as the New Managing Director of Wines of Chile in February. Mr. Somavía was most recently head of global branding for ProChile, the Trade Commission of Chile, in Santiago. Before accepting that position he was the Trade Commissioner of Chile in New York from 2002 until August 2007.

“Chilean wines have grown substantially in the U.S., which is projected to become the largest wine market in the world. Chile will be an increasingly active player in this dynamic market.  In the near future Chile’s wines will be appearing in more top restaurants and popular retail stores than ever before,” declared Juan. ”I am greatly looking forward to communicating the story of Chile’s premium quality and stylistic variety to the world.”

Juan Somavía replaces the former Managing Director of Wines of Chile, Ricardo Letelier. Under Mr. Letelier, Chilean wine imports to the US grew by 13% in 2007, with a rise of 24% in overall value. The average price-per-case of Chilean wine grew by $2.40 since the beginning of 2007. In addition, during the last year, Chile’s wines received more critical reviews in major U.S. publications than ever before.

Besides supervising the U.S. market, Juan Somavía will be overseeing programs in Asia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Mr. Somavía brings years of international trade experience, having recently stepped down as Trade Commissioner of Chile in New York. ProChile, the Trade Commission of Chile, is part of the General Directorate of International Economic Affairs of Chile’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ProChile is responsible for implementing and enhancing Chile’s trade policy. As Trade Commissioner in NY, he headed Chile’s country image promotional efforts, program which focused on a 3-pronged campaign to promote Chile’s specialty food products; Chile as a locations destination for the film, photography and advertising industries; and Chile as a destination for business outsourcing and IT services. During his tenure as Trade Commissioner in the US, Juan worked intimately with Wines of Chile to support the organization’s promotional efforts in the US. As a result, he has acquired a unique understanding of the US wine industry.

Prior to his position as Trade Commissioner, Mr. Somavía was Head of the European Economic Affairs Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, of Chile from September 1998 to March 2002. He was an active member of the team that successfully negotiated a Free Trade Agreement between Chile and the European Union concluded in April 2002.  Mr. Somavía was also an adjunct negotiator of the EU-Chile Wine Agreement and Head of Delegation to the New World Wine Producers Group.