Viñas de los Valles del Maule, Itata and Biobío, located in southern Chile, producers of some of the so-called heritage varieties, is part of the plan to promote Chilean wine in Europe in 2018.
Hidden in the old vineyards of Maule, Ñuble and Biobío, red and white grape varieties such as Cinsault, Carignan, País, Moscatel and Semillón, among others, have gained great international recognition worldwide. had recently a valued take-off by critics and consumers, and this year they are main part of the promotion of Chilean wine in the world.
In Amsterdam, a marketing activity was carried out ferw weeks ago with eleven Chilean wineries, accompanied by the Chilean sommelier and patrimonial strains expert, Hector Riquelme. It was a business round with Dutch importers and a networking with wine-tasting for special guests.
“Some talk about new vines, but the truth is that they are part of the history of Chile and fundamental in our wine cultural heritage. There are some wines with over one hundred years and their production process has been inherited from generation to generation. This time ProChile wanted to work with them to give a new boost to Chilean wines and our exportable offer. Today our country is fourth world exporter of wines and we want to complement the already known offer with products and varieties that are part of our identity “ said ProChile director Alejandro Buvinic.
For his part, the Commercial Attaché of ProChile in the Netherlands, Osvaldo Marinao, said that “We see a great opportunity with these vineyards. Consumers in the Netherlands are looking for new experiences and wine bets, and these strains are perfect to enter that segment. “
After the Netherlands, the Chilean delegation continued with promotional activities in Ghent, Bruges and Paris.
What are heritage wines?
According to the Foundation for Agrarian Innovation (FIA), the agricultural heritage are all those products and / or processes that have a social and symbolic significance. They are part of the legacy and development of a communities associated with a specific territories.
This definition includes grapes or winemaking processes that meet these characteristics, but more than “heritage grapes” the transcendental lies in the traditions and the rescue of its history, which embraces several generations.
In Chile these strains correspond to Semillón, Carignan, Cinsault, País, Moscatel de Alejandría and Malbec, from the Inland Secano Valleys of Maule, in the Maule Region and Itata in the Ñuble and Biobío regions.
