Chile has recently overtaken Australia and became the world’s 4th largest wine exporter. It is a face to be reckoned with. Yet as recent as few decades ago this country was renowned as a producer of cheap, simple and inexpensive wines.
This post is to discuss the reasons behind that image, and underline current developments in Chilean wine industry. These are definitely one of the reasons it is moving quickly to the top of wine exporting countries.
Chilean wines – an on-going change in winemaking
When looking back at Chile as a wine market, it was until 1980s that the market was relying heavily on the domestic production. The latter was dominated by rather rudimental, in terms of the technological development, winemaking processes.
Wineries were heavily underfunded and most of the wines were produced as oxidised white wines and fairly fading red wines. That happened because there was no major regard how the grapes were handled after harvest – careless transportation in trucks exposed to high temperatures. Yet also wineries were not equipped with enough temperature control machinery as well.
Yet the change was on the horizon when since the late 1980s Chile resisted their strategy and made it clear that they will be targeting export markets heavily.
This strategy involved these two major components – attracting the best expertise and changing the old equipment. The latter included pneumatic presses, new oak barrels and stainless steel tanks. One of the most changes in the winery was to provide a cool storage facility.
Industry bodies developed as well – MOVI is a Movement of Independent Vintners; another group of winemakers dedicated to natural wine movement was created too.
Chile has also seen a creating of appellation system, where DO status was signed to wines made from 75% grapes of that region. However to be exported to the EU these wines should contain 85% of local to that DO grapes.
One of the most remarkable movements in the recent decade was the emergence of a strong organic movement as well. A few producers notably Emiliana Vineyards dedicated their entire business to organic viticulture and gained a world-class reputation for their produce. This producer has been featured with the amazing range of organic wines at our Best Organic Wines top list.
Silbador 2013 Organic Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile is an amazing example of top class organic winemaking and deliciousness as well!
It expresses beautiful and pronounced aromas of cassis and chocolate. When you taste it, the flavours appear less sweet, but with more refreshing acidity with blackcurrant, notes of dark cherry and herbs. It is a very interesting organic Chilean wine with complex fruit flavours and spicy herby notes. You will be delighted with its concentration of flavours that gives a hint about a very careful winemaker’s job. Its organic status and sustainable viticulture make it sing even better.
29/35 organic wine rating
Organic wines of Chile: verdict
Recent figures showed a healthy increase in sales of Chilean wines in the UK, however this went into a steady decline since 2013. Specialists agree that Chile particularly struggles to move from the inexpensive under £6 category to more premium ones. Yet knowing that this market is dominated by 4 large wine companies, it is also quite liberal and there is a striving scene of artisanal wine produce, it is quite easy to predict another growth phase for the market. Current markets trends favour niche and organic wines and Chile is moving towards those both.
Which organic wines from Chile have you tried? Share your tasting notes or thoughts in the comments or on our wine community Forums!
Cheers
