Chilean producers ‘should work together’

The President of Wines of Chile, Mario Pablo Silva has said that Chilean wine producers should collaborate to show the world “the new Chile.”

Mario Pablo Silva in the cellar in Los Lingues, Colchagua

“Wine is the flagship of Chile”, Chilean winemaker, Mario Pablo Silva declared at a recent tasting of his “microterroir” wines – 100% Carménère top cuvées from Casa Silva’s estates in the Colchagua Valley.

“In China wine is what we are known for, but we are working hard to produce ‘the new Chile,’ real quality wines, from pure and sustainable vineyards with different qualities and influences that reflect our terroirs – all the way from the Andes Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.”

Silva who is the fifth generation winemaker of award-winning winery, Casa Silva and also the President of Wines of Chile, said that Chilean wine producers need to work together to promote Wines of Chile’s new strategy of exporting only premium wine to Asia and the rest of the world.

“Chile is number one in Korea for example, but only by volume. China is our most important market for our medium priced wine, around US$29 a bottle but we need to go premium – over US$30 a bottle. Asia – Hong Kong, Japan, China and Taiwan –  is key to our success.

“Chilean producers need to take the opportunity to demonstrate the quality and potential of our wines and I really believe the new Chile is now producing elegant blends with the best of old and new wines. They have great ageing potential, higher acidity and are the best at expressing the fruit.”

On behalf of the Colchagua Wine Association, Silva has also successfully lobbied the Chilean government to introduce the wine’s provenance on the labels. Chile’s divergent vineyards and their “influences” – from the Atacama Desert the north, the Andes Mountains to the west, the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Antarctic to the south will now be displayed with “Colchagua, Andes” for example.

Since Silva’s ancestors arrived in Colchagua in 1892 from Saint-Émilion, the Silva family has always strived to produce the best possible wine from Chile’s unforgiving terrain. It has two vineyards in Colchagua near the Andes in Angostura and Los Lingues, and two sites near the Pacific Ocean side, in Lolol and Paredones. Casa Silva also established the first winery in the Patagonia region and since 2006, the 10 hectare site in Lago Ranco has produced Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

“We are the new generation: the innovators and pioneers,” said Silva. “If the producers come together as part of the Wines of Chile umbrella, I have only high hopes for their potential and what can be achieved in the coming years.”