Chile boosts image of bulk wine grape

An association of Chilean wineries has proved the power of grassroots movements, but its real aim to is to repair the reputation of a bulk wine grape.

Vignadores de Carignan, more commonly referred to as Vigno, is a collaborative project that began in 2010 with 12 wineries to promote Carignan, but now totals 28 producers, and includes Chile’s biggest operator and one of the world’s largest wine businesses: Concha y Toro.

Its rise has brought global press attention to some of the more niche vinous assets of Chile – along with another organisation established in 2009 called MOVI (the Movement of Independent Vintners).

Brett Jackson, chief winemaker at Chilean producer Viña Valdivieso, and founder member of Vigno tells db, “Vigno has punched way above its weight… and along with MOVI, these are small projects that have made people sit up and take notice.”

However, he says that the primary motivation for all those involved in Vigno is to raise the profile of Carignan, not the member wineries’ brands. “The wines in Vigno are there because the winemakers are passionate about Carignan.”

Indeed, he adds, “More than Vigno, we want to promote Carignan, because if people start to talk about Carignan, then they will talk about Vigno as a reference.”

To join Vigno, wineries must conform to strict criteria, such as using a minimum 65% Carignan from 60 year-old, non-irrigated vines in Chile’s Maule region, while labels must feature Vigno prominently, and use a font size larger than any other information on the bottle (as you can see on the De Martino label above).

The organisation has already had a significant impact on the Carignan planted in Chile, helping to secure a future for old vineyards that were once producing grapes that attracted such a low market price, it was cheaper not to harvest them.

Nevertheless, fewer than 900 hectares of Carignan are left in the country, over 90% of which are found in Maule, having survived due to their resistance to disease and the grape’s certain desirable traits in blends: “It brings colour and acidity to cheap, bulk wines,” admits Jackson.

But in the mid to late 90s, Chilean wine producers Gilmore and De Martino started bottling varietal Carignan from old vines in Maule, although it wasn’t until 2003 that the grape could actually appear on a wine destined for export: it had to be a “noble variety” for markets outside Chile explains Jackson.

Then, in 2010, 12 wineries joined forces to create Vigno, and over the last five years these producers have together made Carignan cool, while improving incomes for those who grow the grape.

“I kilo of Carignan now costs between US$1.3-1.5, but before the project started, it cost around 20 cents, and was used mainly for bulk wine,” says Jackson, noting, “and at that price it doesn’t even cover the costs of running the vineyard.”

As for land prices, a hectare in Cauquenes, the heartland for old vine Carignan in Maule, is now worth around US$15,000 per hectare, up from $2,000 20 years ago.

Nevertheless, Jackson comments, “I still think that today it is more profitable to grow pine trees in the region” – a point previously identified by db, and a trend exacerbated by subsidies for forestry in Chile.

Vigno is also hoping to achieve recognition by the government in Chile and become an officially classified wine region for old vine Maule Carignan.

Jackson records that today there are three DOCs (Denominación de Origen Calificada) in Chile: Pisco; Pajarete – a sweet fortified wine made from Muscat grapes – and Viño Asoleado, which is a barrel aged Muscat from Maule.

“We are not yet officially recognised by the government, but we want to become the first DOC for wine in Chile… Maule is a political division; we want to be a DOC controlled by this group [Vigno],” states Jackson.

Perhaps surprisingly, no other parts of Chile appear to be following Vigno and registering their region in association with a particular grape.

“I would love the idea that people would copy the Vigno concept but no-one else is doing this. You could have for example, Chardonnay from Limari; Muscat from Itata; Carmenere from Peumo, or sparkling wine from Casablanca,” says Jackson.

As for international recognition for Vigno, this has been achieved swiftly, according to Jackson.

“People around the world have sat up and taken notice of Vigno, they are looking at Vigno as a serious area, and one of the biggest signs of this was last year when Norway opened a tender for Vigno,” records Jackson.

As a final point, Jackson also notes that the quality of Vigno Carignan has been achieved through a sort of natural selection, in contrast to Chile’s flagship grape: Cabernet Sauvignon.

“The Carignan in Chile is Darwinian, because what’s left are only the good vineyards – you are seeing wood diseases like dead arm rampant throughout Chile for Cabernet – but if you go round the old Carignan vineyads, you don’t see it.”

How fortuitous then that Vigno has opened up a market for this healthy old-vine Chilean asset before it was too late, even if today, there’s still a threat to Maule Carignan from other forms of agriculture, above all forestry.

NB. According to Wine Grapes (Jancis Robinson MW, Julia Harding MW, José Vouillamoz), Carignan orginated from Aragón in north-east Spain, where it’s called Mazuelo, after a village named Mazuelo de Muñó. It’s common synomym Cariñena (and Carignan in French) is believed to stem from the town of Cariñena in the same region.