Wines of Chile hosts first cool climate seminar in HK

Wines of Chile hosted its first seminar in Hong Kong exploring Chilean terroir and cool climate regions as part of a new push to promote the country’s wine quality in Asia.

The seminar looked at regions such as Casablanca, Leyda, Aconcagua, Zapallar, Colchagua, Limarí and San Antonio and their key grape varieties; Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah.

Julio Alonso Ducci, Wines of Chile’s new Asian director, said: “Reflected in soaring imports, wines of Chile are becoming increasingly popular in Hong Kong for their pleasing combination of quality and value.

“More than the origin of the land, Wines of Chile is a quality label for consistent, superior quality wine.”

Speaking to the drinks business, Ducci said the aim in Hong Kong was to cultivate a “club” of knowledgeable wine drinkers.

“We want a quality focus image in Hong Kong,” he said, “I know cool climate’s been a theme in the UK for the last few years but we want to develop it here and use our terroirs to promote our quality image because we believe we can compete with other countries.”

Viña Concha y Toro’s Asian director, Rodrigo Jackson, told db he’d been “pleasantly surprised by the turn out for the seminar.

“I think this is the first seminar where the topic is specific rather than general. The turn out was good, the interest is there.”

Chile is a rising wine country in Asia, it is now the leading category in South Korea, it recently leapfrogged Australia to become the second wine in China and it is close to overhauling French imports in Japan thanks to an economic partnership agreement dropping import taxes.