Sunday morning, October 2002 ... We approached Bernkastel under grey skies, chilly temperatures and intermittent drizzle. I was depressed. Everything so far on this trip had been bewildering even for a self-confessed devotee of German Riesling. Dry(-ish), medium dry, medium sweet, sweet, botrytised; commercial, mid-market, premium; modern, traditional...these are mostly understandable, but from the same producer? I felt like wailing, "My brain hurts!"

A myriad of confusing classifications

German wine has always seemed difficult to understand: hundreds of vineyards, a quality system based on natural sugar levels at harvest and, of course, the German bottle complete with runic scrawl on the label. Now, a myriad of confusing classifications has emerged.

Most recent is the system adopted in July 2001 by the VDP (Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweinguter, the Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates). This august group of 200 top estates has agreed a new framework for its members' wines. At the top of the pyramid is Grosses Gewächs (Great Growths) for super-premium wines from the best vineyard sites. Known as Erstes Gewächs (First Growths) in the Rheingau, in all regions these must be dry, but of at least Spätlese quality. Below Grosses Gewachs is Klassifizierter Landwein from a classified vineyard site, stated on the label. Unclassified sites may not be stated and no collective sites (grosslage) are permitted. The bottom level is Gutswein (or Ortswein), "house" wine labelled solely with a proprietary name and/or a village or region.

What happened to Spätlese?

There is no doubt that the Grosse Gewächse are stunning wines, exemplified by 2001 Reichsrat von Bühl Reiterpfad Ruppertsberg Riesling Grosses Gewächs: an off-dry, silky-textured wine with flavours of white peach and lemon sorbet balanced by lively acidity and a rich, smoky finish. Extremely popular in the German domestic market, this and similar wines complement, but in my opinion do not substitute for, the more traditional medium-dry to medium-sweet wines. At least, the lusciously sweet wines of Auslese quality and above retain the "traditional" Prädikats set out in the 1971 laws. In the eyes of the VDP, though, wines below Auslese level must inevitably be "dry". Crikey! What will happen to my beloved Spätlese?

At least as perplexing are the radical modifications to the wine regulations introduced by the DWI (Deutsches Weininstitut) in 2000. These attempt to classify the "modern" dry white wines. The framework against which these changes are set is the 1971 German wine law, established when over 85% of production was at least medium sweet. By the late 1990s nearly 80% were (legally) "dry" wines, but, except for trocken, there hasn't been a generally accepted term. So, last year the terminology changed with two new designations for dry wines: Classic "a dry-style, quality German wine from a particular region" and Selection "a dry style, top class German wine from a select site". "Dry", in this German context, means for Classic, "residual sugar of twice the acidity up to a maximum 15g/l" and for Selection, "9g/l residual sugar, or for Riesling up to 12 g/1." Simple, right?

Not so! According to Ulrike Bahm, Export Manager from the DWI, there are 350+ Classic producers, many so small that there isn't very much available. Selection is further behind, mostly because explicit sites haven't yet been registered with the authorities. And, the complicated testing and release programme for Selection requires the organoleptic and analytical tests after 1st May following harvest, and release not before 1st September.

Designation "S"

If this weren't confusing enough, some young producers, such as Julia and Klaus-Peter Keller and Philipp Wittmann from the Rheinhessen, use a proprietary designation "S", to signify a dry wine personally selected from old vines (35+ years), but not necessarily from a registered site. The 1999 Weingut Keller Grauer Burgunder "S" is barely off-dry, apple-scented with balancing acidity, medium weight, oily texture and mineral and earth notes. A lovely wine, but the designation meant absolutely nothing until explained!

Just to keep us completely muddled, these dynamic and skilled producers market some of their wines using the VDP system. Philipp Wittmann's gorgeous 2001 Westhofen Aulerde Riesling Grosses Gewächs is an excellent example of its type: a nearly dry, honeysuckle and lemon-infused wine with a flavourful palate of orange blossom and apricot supported by very high acidity but a soft peaches-and-spice finish. Delicious, admittedly, but it's a real struggle to understand the producer's range structure!

Traditional Mosel producers fight back

Many producers who have espoused the "Classic" indication for their mid-premium range dry wines aren't convinced about "Selection" either. Dirk Richter of Weingut Max Ferd. Richter in Mülheim believes that "Selection" may be more relevant in the domestic market at least partly because the sites themselves have little importance in export markets.

Manfred Prüm of J.J. Prüm in Wehlen goes even further. He asserts that the so-called "Classic-Selection" concept is a fashion against the traditions of the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region and the selection of top quality from ultra-ripe grapes. "Are the growers trying to compete with high alcohol wines from more southern climes?" he asks. He and others in the region aim to balance fructose sweetness and depth of flavour with lively acidity and low alcohol within the Grosslage/Einzellage system. Egon Müller of Scharzhofberg in the Saar, too, thinks that Mosel-Saar-Ruwer producers can offer different styles, whether medium sweet, halbtrocken or trocken, within existing classifications. Prüm did add that "dry" is about taste and balance, not residual sugar levels, though.

So what about the more traditional styles?

The sun broke through the clouds and larger than life itself, Ernie Loosen and his powerful personality welcomed us to his "floating tasting room", a barge on the Mosel. As we viewed the vertiginous vineyards of the Middle Mosel from the warm cocoon of the boat, Loosen led us through a stunning range of his site-designated Riesling wines: Kabinett, Spätlese and Auslese from the villages of Bernkastel, Graach, Wehlen, Urzig and Erden. These are the embodiment of all that is great about German wines. They show purity of flavour, minerality, lightness of palate and delicate balance between sweetness and fresh acidity. They are wines of place, each reflecting its particular terroir. My tasting notes are peppered with stars and ticks, and words, like "yum" An example is the "3-star" 2001 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese: medium dry, beautifully fragrant, reminiscent of orange and lemon blossoms and white peach with very fresh acidity and mineral notes, especially on the long, almost savoury finish. Light-bodied but incredibly concentrated. Full of elegance and finesse and promising an exceptionally long future. Delicious? Yes. Beguiling? Definitely. Exciting? Absolutely. Eternal? Possibly. No wines are as exhilarating!

I end with a plea to German producers: for the sake of this one lost soul on a pilgrimage to perfection, please preserve the integrity and spirituality of the traditional Mosel wines.

© Patricia Stefanowicz MW 2003.

I. Introduction

The key milestone in the modern development of our Chilean Wine Industry has been the setting of a new Vision: “The Vision to become a recognized World Class Appellation”.

However this was only possible after three conditions had been met:

1.       That we fully understood the potential of our diverse terroirs.

2.       That we mastered the modern viticulture and winemaking techniques.

3.       That we had a better understanding of and success on the international wine market. 

• Firstly, the historical challenges we have faced.

• Secondly, my vision for the future as a united Chilean Wine Industry.

II. Historical Perspective 

Chile has been growing grapes since the mid 16th century  when the Spanish conquistadores introduced the first wine-producing vines, mainly Pais grapes. But, it was not until the mid 19^th century that  quality wines were produced with the introduction of  “world class” grape varieties.

These vines were imported by Chileans that had become wealthy from the exploitation of the mineral deposits in the North and  enjoyed nothing better than spending their fortunes in producing fine wine. For this purpose they imported French grapevines and French winemakers and even architects to design and build their cellars. Not being short of cash they went for Bordeaux grape varieties and expertise, although very  little “terroir” analysis was made at the time to match the Chilean soils to the right grape varieties.

This historical inclination of spending the fortunes in the wine industry continues to be our heritage and in some cases this still runs true today as many wealthy Chilean entrepreneurs, which have  made their fortunes in other industries find the attraction of investing in wine, enticed by the romance of our industry.

Historical Perspective:  First Major Accomplishment 

The first major world accomplishment of our wine industry, (apart from winning some Gold medals in the international tasting competitions of  the 19^th century), was helping to save the European wine industry to recover from the phylloxera vine  pest. Soon after the first  French vines made it to Chile around the 1850s, phylloxera struck the European vineyards. Reportedly this small yellow aphid came to England from your North American friends contained in American rooted vines, and it was first discovered by Professor J.O.Westwood, a famous entomologist at Oxford University in 1863. Soon after, you generously shared it with your best friends ….. “The French” and it then spread across the continent devastating the European vineyards.

In 1873 the solution to phylloxera was found by grafting European varieties to American rootstocks and soon after the Chileans were re-exporting French grape varieties back to Europe to help rebuild their vineyards.

Happily, in Chile we have not been contaminated with this dreadful pest due to our country’s isolated geographical conditions, having the arid Atacama desert to the North, the tall Andes mountains to the East, separating us from Argentina, the cold Pacific Ocean to the West and the Antarctic to the South .

In addition and most importantly our agricultural authorities, the Servicio Agricola y Ganadero (SAG) have set in place very stringent controls and quarantine requirements on all imported plants to prevent any potential  infestation.

We are therefore, free of this unfriendly pest and equally free of  the many virus diseases present in the world vineyards that came associated with the widespread grafting  to virus-infected cuttings. 

This is a major accomplishment and a unique Chilean feature amidst our contaminated  competitors of the Old and New World.

Historical Perspective:  The Wine Industry Destruction 

During the late 19^th and early 20^th century  the wine industry in Chile flourished, so much so that our per-capita consumption went up to 80 liters. This was much too large, as alcoholism became a real social problem, and as a result consecutive governments imposed higher taxes on wine, prohibited new plantings, embarked on agricultural reform to give land ownership to peasants, and many other detrimental policies, which decimated our once prosperous wine industry.

By the mid nineteen eighties the wine consumption in Chile was down to 20 liters per capita, the government had done a great job! However the wine industry was in total collapse, no investment had been made for the past 80 years, the equipment was obsolete and only 30 thousand hectares of vineyards were left, mostly planted in the pergola system in flatland with vigorous soils, where flood irrigation was possible.

More dramatically, the winery’s vision was to produce volume wine at the lowest possible cost to survive. Wine was considered a mass commodity, red or white non-vintage generics, and old brands; this was, sadly, all you needed to know about the Chilean wine of those days.

Historical Perspective: The Setting of a New Export led Quality Vision 

In 1985 the first successful initiatives to export Chilean wine to Europe were made, before this time exports represented less than 2% of our total wine production and were limited to our neighboring countries in South America and a minute amount to the United States.

I remember our first international wine fair participation, Vinexpo 1985, only four Chilean wineries came to exhibit, as the majority in our industry felt there was no market in Europe for our wines. We became a curiosity for the international wine trade, few knew that Chile produced any wine at all.

However, success did not come overnight. Chilean exports development was not easy in those days and politics did not help. Ironically, the Pinochet regime, which had been instrumental in modernizing the Chilean economy and opening it to the world markets, was not our best P.R. in the  European countries of the Old World . Therefore, it was not until 1990, when Chile recovered democracy that our delicious wines were finally welcomed to enter the European Community. 

Anyhow, most importantly, a renewed vision was set, Bordeaux was a real eye-opener, and much improvement to the quality of the Chilean wine was still to be made.

Thereafter visits to different winegrowing regions of the world including Bordeaux, Burgundy, Tuscany, Napa and others, to taste quality wines, and to learn different viticultural and winemaking techniques became a routine for the Chilean wine industry.

Historical Perspective:  The Rebuilding of our Wine Industry and the Discovery of Chile by the Wine Critics of the World.

• The Rebuilding

In parallel with this learning revolution that began after 1985, came the continuous incorporation of state of the art winemaking equipment.  First, the quality of the wines was improved to fruity driven varietals. Then came the next step; to improve the quality of our grapes by the use of modern viticulture practices, the development of new high density hillside vineyards  and new valleys such as Casablanca, Leida etc, using new clonally selected grape  varieties. In summary all the required elements that have made possible the production  of  world class wines nowadays.

• The Discovery

During the nineties, Chile was discovered by the visiting world wine writers and praised for growing high quality healthy grapes under  ideal natural  conditions, a  real  “Viticulture  Paradise”. Chile became indeed a favourite new region with great potential for quality, fruit driven wines at reasonable prices, thus an attractive alternative to the more restrained European offerings .

At the same time Chileans traveled throughout the world opening new markets and diversifying exports to Europe, North America and Asia. During this Golden Decade Chilean wine shipments enjoyed a tremendous growth from around 0,3 million hl in 1990 representing US$ 44 million to 3,5 million hl in 2002 equivalent to US$ 602 million.

In a span of twelve years Chile had become the fifth largest exporter of wines worldwide. “A true success story”, but where do we go from here?

III.  Key Elements that make Chile a unique “World Class Appellation”

I learnt from my very wise partner Robert Mondavi, that a “World Class Wine” can be made when you have :    

• The right soil and climate

• Quality grape varieties

• Talented viticulturists and winemakers

• A Passion for excellence

I would also add that to obtain this recognition today, you also need success in the key world markets.   

• Chilean Soil

Historically, most vineyards were planted in the rich loamy soils in the flat valley floor, so that water was readily available through  flood irrigation producing wines with little concentration and character. Today, with the incorporation of drip irrigation techniques, soils more suitable for growing fine quality grapes have been developed  into vineyards.

Maybe the single most important  characteristic of Chilean soil is its diversity:  alluvial soils predominate in Aconcagua and the South of Maipo, with granite soils found in the foothills and some loams and clay in the valley. Casablanca is dominated by sandy soil to the coast.

In Central Maipo and Rapel you find mixtures of loam, clay and sand, whereas further South into Bio-Bio volcanic soils dominate.    

• Chilean Climate

The great majority of Chilean wine is produced between latitudes of 32 and 38 degrees South, which would equate to the warm regions between North Africa and South Spain in the Northern hemisphere. However, in Chile our temperatures are considerably mitigated by the cooling influence of the Pacific and its cold Humboldt current and the cold air drainage from the Andes mountains at night.

Two key  characteristics:

1.   Mediterranean climate with, cold rainy winters and warm dry, sunny summers, with almost no rain during the growing season.

2.   Long hang time between flowering and harvest, up to 150 days, allowing for consistency and full physiological ripeness.

Because of our ideal climate for viticulture, Chile can project the commitment to environmental viticulture, more than any other country in the world.

• Grape Varieties

Chile has been criticized by some of you for being safe and reliable but rather unexciting. As an example our wines have been referred  as “The Volvos of the Industry”  by Tim Atkin  (Observer – October 2002).

I disagree with Tim, and believe it is just a matter of discovering the new, interesting  developments happening in Chile.

In addition to the four classic varieties Cabernet, Merlot, Sauvignon and Chardonnay, Chile is developing new and exciting regional wines coming from specific valleys such as our spicy Carmenère  (ex-Merlot) that requires full ripeness to obtain its maximum potential; ripe, rich and fruity Syrah coming from Aconcagua and Rapel valleys; elegant cool climate Pinot Noir coming from Casablanca and Leyda, plus some little Viognier and Sangiovese grapes coming from Rapel and Aconcagua valleys respectively. 

However these wines, although growing in relevance, still represent a small percentage of Chilean production and find a difficult time in obtaining listings here in the UK market due to the more mainstream mentality of your key buyers ( i.e. your fault!). 

• Viticulturists and Winemakers Skills

Chile has been criticized for a lack of Chilean high profile viticulturists and winemakers, maybe with the exception of Ignacio Recabarren and Aurelio Montes, Pedro Izquierdo and a few others. 

However, there is a new generation of talented young viticulturists and winemakers including Alvaro Espinoza, Marcelo Papa, Adolfo Hurtado, Nicolas Bizarri, and many other names that probably you have never heard of, who have received international training and are passionate about quality. The future of our industry is in their talented hands .

Anyhow, to support my point about the evolution of our industry,  I will quote a “truly unbiased third party opinion”. Let me quote Jancis Robinson after returning from a visit to Chile early last year: “Chile –some interesting mid-priced wines at last” 

“Some of the wines Chile is now producing to retail at between six and twelve pounds  are  really excellent. Chile’s strength is in making succulent reds from Bordeaux grape varieties, Cabernet, Merlot and its own specialty Carmenere. Even this grape variety is capable of ripening  to glorious sumptuousness in Chile’s enviably dependable climate.

It is easy to see why so many European winemakers have flocked to this long, narrow country with, thanks to limitless melt-water from the Andes and minimal vine pests and diseases, hardly any viticultural disadvantages.

What has happened in the last few years however has been that this vine paradise has been harnessed to the human will to make even better quality wine. This has meant irrigating much more sparely to limit yields and concentrate flavours. Vines have increasingly been

planted on gentle slopes and in cooler regions rather than the fertile Central Valley floor to coax riper grapes and more interesting wines from them. An ever-widening range of grape varieties is also now being planted, with much more attention paid to matching variety to specific location. Organic wine production is increasing fast in this ideal climate, and Chile's well-trained winemakers are very much more skilled in the use of oak than they were only a few years ago.

All in all then, Chile is of increasing interest not just to bargain hunters but to serious wine fanatics."

(Jancis Robinson Financial Times  June 2002.)

However, let me now give you my personal view. I strongly believe that Chile offers far better value for money  than Australia, and I challenge you to buy a range of Chilean and Australian wines  between £5.99 and £7.99, and test my point in a blind tasting. Anyone from the AWB  prepared to take the gauntlet?  

• Chilean Success in the World Markets 

One relevant characteristic of our wine industry is its commitment to the export markets. Chile is a rather small country with 15 million inhabitants and an average per capita income of no more than five thousand dollars. Therefore our vision is that the most attractive potential is in the world markets.

Chile has 107,000 hectares of planted vineyards with a total production of 5.3 million hectoliters in 2002, our total exports to the world accounted for 3.5 million hectoliters or 66% of the total production. We have the highest rate of export versus production compared with any other wine producing country.

But how do we define success in our export strategy. I will define it as penetration or market share in the key markets of the wine world and I will review Chilean performance from 1990 until 2002.

In 1990 our global international market share was almost nonexistent, below 1% and it has increased to 6% by 2002 making Chile the fifth largest exporter by volume worldwide. Our market share as of December 2002 in the key market is as follows:

• Total world markets:   Chile: 6 % - Australia: 9%  (Estimated Dec 2002) 

It should be interesting to note that Chile has a larger market share than Australia in most world markets, except in the UK and  the USA, where they established their own agencies / distribution network. However in markets where because of their relative size or market structure we all had to compete with the best “third party” agent such as in Japan, Ireland, Denmark and many others, Chile has obtained a clear lead .

I interpret this reality as a clear consumer preference when confronted with same shelf space or, alternatively that  the Australians are very good indeed at promoting  their wines in the UK and USA markets. However, I’m afraid some financial analysts, and board of directors have recently have a rather different opinion!

It is also interesting to note that Chile has just become the #1 country by market share in the Republic of Ireland with 19.2%  over Australia and  France with 8.9% and 17.7% respectively.

This shows the potential in other European countries in the future!

IV.  Threats and Opportunities

• Global Oversupply

The global oversupply of quality wines from around the world  has changed  the  trading environment  from a sellers market in the early nineties to a buyers market.  

This will  demand  more flexibility from producers and agents to adapt to the growing requirements from the trade for which a complete understanding of the market place is essential.  

Chile in the past relied mostly on distant producer to agent relationships, hence, the classical criticism of the past - Chileans don’t understand the UK market-place  - was mostly true .

Today producers and agents have to have a united vision, and an aligned strategy. This together with a focused commitment to a plan is key to succeed. Good examples of companies that are getting nearer to the market are Concha y Toro and Errázuriz by establishing their own subsidiaries.  And it clearly works!

• Chilean Local Oversupply

In Chile the  shortage of  grapes of the mid nineties caused by the explosive growth in exports, generated a massive planting spree  of premium grape varieties during 1997, 1998 and 1999. This was led by the wineries and followed by many independent grape growers, which in total grew our vineyard base from 50 thousand hectares in the early nineties to 107 thousand hectares  by 2002, generating a local oversupply that is having both positive and negative effects:

• Negative effects for Wineries:

Downward pressure on prices. Less developed producers are mainly  using the pricing  variable  to sell  their  wines.

Bulk exports at very low prices  are growing, posing a threat to the quality image of Chilean  wines.             

• Positive effects for Wineries

   

Grape Quality Improvement Implications

The domestic oversupply has allowed the industry to reduce  the irrigation practices, in order to lower crop levels. This, together with green harvesting and better canopy management to improve the fruit sun exposure, is significantly improving  the concentration and the overall quality of grapes.

Differential Prices based on Quality

Wineries are now paying for grapes based on their quality and have introduced for the first time a pricing scheme related to the region, viticultural practices and yields, rather than the old practice only based on alcohol potential. For example today a ton of Sauvignon Blanc from Curico costs US$ 300 versus US$ 1000 from Casablanca, similar quality differentials apply for other varietals.         

Internationally Competitive Prices

Due to the excess of plantings, in excess of what the market can absorb in the short term, prices have fallen rapidly, particularly on lesser quality grapes which find no buyers, as for example a generic red selling for less than US$ 100 per ton compared to a Cabernet  or Merlot selling between US$ 150 to US$ 500 depending on quality and region from where they come from.

This fall in prices has resulted in a complete stop to new plantations, and the only new development is some limited grafting to Sauvignon grapes due to this variety’s relative shortage. With this freeze in new plantations and our continuous growth in exports, oversupply should be over during the next three to five years and the market returned to a balanced situation.

Superior Quality as Vines Grow Older

Finally, another positive aspect to consider is that most of the  new vineyards are adolescent, and as these vines grow older they will deliver  superior quality grapes.

• Globalization

Global consolidation of  the trade and suppliers around the world will put additional pressure on the rather fragmented and small scale Chilean wine industry by comparison against the Australia and California industries. I believe the Chilean route has to be to grow our brands more  than to consolidate  production operations.                                                                     

Chileans have understood this reality and if the decade of the nineties can be described as a decade in which  the industry  made the investments in Chile, in vineyards and wineries and not enough in the  market place, this next 10 years you will see us  mostly investing in marketing, building brands and strengthening our distribution networks in the key markets of the world.  

• International Treaties

In terms of international treaties, in this global world, Chile had a very successful past year, concluding important  trade agreements with the European Union and the United States. Within these agreements the rules of access into these markets are now clearly set, winemaking  practices become commonplace and the legal intellectual property has been set firm  in regards to trademarks, geographic references and traditional expressions.

•  Lack of Chilean Image

This is a clear  weakness, however it allows us to start from a blank sheet to mould consumers awareness for Chile as a Viticulture Paradise. Wines of Chile UK, on which I will talk more in a minute, will have as its main objectives to help develop our generic image, communicating the benefits and particular attributes of Chilean Wines to the UK  wine consumers.

• Chile, Center of  World Organic Viticulture  Development

Maybe, this is one of our biggest opportunities, to become a “Center of Excellence  for Organic and Environmentally Friendly Viticulture” for the world. The potential is within our ideal soil and climate conditions. We need to play with the elements we have. We haven’t made enough of it ! 

V. The Future

We have just reviewed the key elements of  quality  that Chile has, however quality, is today only the entry ticket to the party and improved  marketing and consumer understanding, alongside renewed generic activity to talk to the consumer will be the key to success.

This has only recently, been completely understood  by our industry.

Wines of Chile

With this new vision in mind Chile has now realized  how important it is to have a generic image, and has recently formed a new association “Wines of Chile”; the association of all Chilean wineries  under one umbrella  as a merge of the historic Viñas de Chile and Chilevid.

The objective of this new entity is to contribute to maximize the value  of our wine industry in the long term, and as such will be responsible for  promoting  our generic image to the world.

This association  is  funded in a pro rata base by the participant wineries and will seek additional government support to fund its generic activities.

To run this association, a new managing director was hired in June 2002. His name is Ricardo Letelier. He is a Chilean with strong  marketing background, who previously was the The Coca Cola Company Marketing Director in Chile. We are sure he will bring  fresh new ideas to our industry .

Industry  Strategic Plan 2010

Having established this unified industry vision, this body has already set the industry global growth goals for year 2010, to reach  US$ 1 billion worth of exports which means a compound average  growth of  7% on an annual basis. For this matter a strong plan to elevate the image of Chilean wines will be put in place.

UK  First Priority Market

The first priority of all world markets has been assigned to the UK market, where a new Wines of Chile UK office will be established and running  by  June  this year.

I have to say, I personally never agreed with the closing of our previous office, I am convinced it was a sad  mistake. However this time we have a solid and renewed commitment from the totality of our wine industry  for the long term.

Last September you will have read the announcement that a new WOC office would be opening in the future. Since then a huge amount of work has been done to move things forward. This has been led by the newly formed UK Steering Committee in conjunction with John Ratcliffe.

 I would personally like to take this opportunity to thank John for all his work. He put together a terrific presentation last November and this was presented to the WOC Board in Chile before Christmas and will form the basis of our strategy for  the future.  

I would also like to thank Patrick McGrath as Chairman of the Steering Committee for the  significant  time  and energy he has dedicated to coordinating and uniting the different members views  to set a  common industry vision for the future of  Chile in the  UK market.

Chilean Wine WoC  UK Vision

 “To be recognized as the New World’s preferred alternative source of Premium Wine to Australia”

The  Wines of Chile UK objectives will be :

• To establish an identity for Chile and its wines.

• To move current negative perceptions.

• To educate and influence both trade and consumer.

• To develop  loyalty with both the media and key buyers.

• To establish Chile as more than a producer of everyday drinking value for money wines, by also emphasizing the mid priced and premium wines.

The new Wines of Chile UK Trade Office will have:

• A long term approach that demonstrates our strong commitment to the UK market.

• 360 degree approach - education, tasting, PR, BTL promotions and ATL activity etc.

• Secure funding starting with 1 million pounds for this year 2003.  

• High caliber team with a high profile and well respected trade “name”, who has had both commercial and brand building experience.

Summary

• Chile, a unique “Vine Paradise”.

The Chilean Wine Industry has without any doubt the natural elements, diversity of soils,  dependable climate, quality grape varieties and minimal pest and diseases which have made it gain  the reputation of a natural friendly,  true “Vine Paradise”.

• Chile, our Talented  People.

A strong team of young and internationally trained viticulturists and winemakers, together with entrepreneurs who  have a passion for excellence, are creating wines of increased quality.

• United Vision: To become a recognized “World Class Appellation”.

For the first time a united vision to establish ourselves as a “World Class Appellation” has been realized.  “Wines of Chile” was formed during 2002, unifying the two historic wine organizations, Viñas de Chile and Chilevid  to elaborate an  Industry Long Term Strategic Plan .

• UK  First Priority Status- WoC Formation

The UK Trade is the first priority in the Chilean Wine Industry Strategic Plan, and as such, Wines of Chile UK  is  being  formed to  dynamically champion Chile on a national basis. We thank all of you  for your continuous support over the past 13 years and look forward to an even closer cooperation in the future.

• UK Strategic Plan –Emphasis on Premium Wines

Chile has gained a strong  recognition for the consistency of its wines and for offering unbeatable quality-value for money below retail of  5 pounds. Wines of Chile-UK will emphasis education of Chilean Premium wines offering regional differences and increasing diversity of  styles over five pounds .  

• Chile a Success Story, a Promising Future

Chile has enjoyed a tremendous success story, becoming the fifth largest world exporter of fine wine in a period of 12 years, at the same time as totally modernizing its industry and gaining international know how. We will continue  our quest for excellence in quality and for steady and sustainable growth .

We look forward to an even more successful future together .