La propuesta mas audaz de marketing propuesta por un Argentino , denominacion de origen TERREMOTO para los vinos chilenos de valle del Maule y Bio Bio.
By Dereck Foster For the Herald Buenos Aires
By Dereck Foster For the Herald Buenos Aires
Nobody can deny the gravity or the long range results of Chile’s greatest earthquake disaster in at least 50 years — and probably more, according to many. None more than Chilean winemakers, who were caught in the height of the harvest season, some with must already fermenting in barrels and tanks, and some in the middle of harvesting. While definitive figures are still not available — and will probably not be available for some time yet — it is estimated that at least 125 million liters have been lost, with the total increasing as the situation is brought under control.
Not only have winery installations been ruined or seriously damaged, wine casks and barrels — in addition to fermentation tanks in full production — smashed, and vineyards flattened, most of them — those that had not yet been harvested — laden with grapes ready for crushing and fermentation, but housing and ancilliary buildings also devastated, bringing most of the owners and managers to the point of having to make a choice: rebuild their dwellings or their wineries. Most, especially those who do not have the benefit of insurance, have elected the latter. Without wine there is no income. But even many of these small operations are beyond visible salvation. The situation in Chilean winelands will be substantially different from now on, with many small but highly res pected Chilean wine labels absent from the marketplace – both domestic and international.
However, even in the direst of times one must try and avoid crying over spilt wine. From the ruins of the earthquake some sort of silver lining must be found. (If it is gold, so much the better) But where, out of the horrifying pile of trash and stench, ruin and despair,can such a lining be found? The answer must be found in the ability to turn disaster into a virtue. Those winemakers who have saved all or part of their wine — both that which was quietly ageing in dark and silent cellars, as well as the new wine that they are able to make — could use a marketing ploy that would enable them to enjoy an increase in the price they can ask, as well as promoting their wines abroad even more effectively than up to now, (which is saying quite a lot).
So far as I am aware, no basic manual devoted to the making of wine advocates the sudden and profound shaking and churning of wine — either in the making or during maturing — as was suffered by the Chilean wines of the 2010 vintage. Assuming that these wines — or at least some of them — survived the experience and turned out to be drinkable, they would form a family of wines that would be unique. They would be Earthquake Wines. Indeed, as might possibly be the case, they could quite likely assume a character and a flavour never before obtained deliberately in a winery. They would become collectors’ items nestling in cellars the world over.
This is a flight of fancy that is not based on any solid fact, but how many “impossible” features in the wine world have been the result of accidental events? The most familiar is probably the genesis of champagne (sparkling) wine and the birth of brandy.
One factor that Chilean wine lovers must bear in mind: the cost of wine is sure to increase due to the demand for grape from the large wineries that best survived the disaster and a generalized increase in overall expenses. This will probably not translate into the export side of the business, but domestic consumption will probably feel the pinch. And there is one side of the coin which has not been mentioned — at least so far. This is the fact that many Chilean wineries also run wineries — or at least vineyards —in Argentina, which were not affected by the quake. They may not be Earthquake Wines, but they are money in the bank all the same.
On a different subject altogether, I wish to say a couple of words regarding wine by the glass in restaurants. While I am not overly enthusiastic about the matter, and only feel at ease when I see the wine being poured from a just opened bottle, I must admit that when I am eating on my own for my own pleasure, a glass of wine makes all the difference to the meal. However, a whole bottle is too much and half bottles are either difficult to find on a wine list, or are of a level that fails to raise much enthusiasm. However, the main fly in the wine is to be found in the price one is asked to pay for a single glass. More and more frequently a glass is charged as a price that comes to around 50% of a whole bottle and far too frequently, more. This is not to be tolerated, especially when a half bottle of mineral water is even higher — such as 12 pesos that I was charged at Selquet for a small bottle of Villavicencio. One is almost forced to eat dry.
Not only have winery installations been ruined or seriously damaged, wine casks and barrels — in addition to fermentation tanks in full production — smashed, and vineyards flattened, most of them — those that had not yet been harvested — laden with grapes ready for crushing and fermentation, but housing and ancilliary buildings also devastated, bringing most of the owners and managers to the point of having to make a choice: rebuild their dwellings or their wineries. Most, especially those who do not have the benefit of insurance, have elected the latter. Without wine there is no income. But even many of these small operations are beyond visible salvation. The situation in Chilean winelands will be substantially different from now on, with many small but highly res pected Chilean wine labels absent from the marketplace – both domestic and international.
However, even in the direst of times one must try and avoid crying over spilt wine. From the ruins of the earthquake some sort of silver lining must be found. (If it is gold, so much the better) But where, out of the horrifying pile of trash and stench, ruin and despair,can such a lining be found? The answer must be found in the ability to turn disaster into a virtue. Those winemakers who have saved all or part of their wine — both that which was quietly ageing in dark and silent cellars, as well as the new wine that they are able to make — could use a marketing ploy that would enable them to enjoy an increase in the price they can ask, as well as promoting their wines abroad even more effectively than up to now, (which is saying quite a lot).
So far as I am aware, no basic manual devoted to the making of wine advocates the sudden and profound shaking and churning of wine — either in the making or during maturing — as was suffered by the Chilean wines of the 2010 vintage. Assuming that these wines — or at least some of them — survived the experience and turned out to be drinkable, they would form a family of wines that would be unique. They would be Earthquake Wines. Indeed, as might possibly be the case, they could quite likely assume a character and a flavour never before obtained deliberately in a winery. They would become collectors’ items nestling in cellars the world over.
This is a flight of fancy that is not based on any solid fact, but how many “impossible” features in the wine world have been the result of accidental events? The most familiar is probably the genesis of champagne (sparkling) wine and the birth of brandy.
One factor that Chilean wine lovers must bear in mind: the cost of wine is sure to increase due to the demand for grape from the large wineries that best survived the disaster and a generalized increase in overall expenses. This will probably not translate into the export side of the business, but domestic consumption will probably feel the pinch. And there is one side of the coin which has not been mentioned — at least so far. This is the fact that many Chilean wineries also run wineries — or at least vineyards —in Argentina, which were not affected by the quake. They may not be Earthquake Wines, but they are money in the bank all the same.
On a different subject altogether, I wish to say a couple of words regarding wine by the glass in restaurants. While I am not overly enthusiastic about the matter, and only feel at ease when I see the wine being poured from a just opened bottle, I must admit that when I am eating on my own for my own pleasure, a glass of wine makes all the difference to the meal. However, a whole bottle is too much and half bottles are either difficult to find on a wine list, or are of a level that fails to raise much enthusiasm. However, the main fly in the wine is to be found in the price one is asked to pay for a single glass. More and more frequently a glass is charged as a price that comes to around 50% of a whole bottle and far too frequently, more. This is not to be tolerated, especially when a half bottle of mineral water is even higher — such as 12 pesos that I was charged at Selquet for a small bottle of Villavicencio. One is almost forced to eat dry.
