On September 4, the Chilean Wine Day was celebrated to highlight the importance of one of the national export products with the greatest presence worldwide.
“This industry has positioned Chile’s name in the most important markets in the world. Becoming an extremely competitive alternative to leading countries in this area,” says the Undersecretary of Economy, Julio Pertuzé.
“However, its significance goes further. It is in the generation of jobs, in innovation and in the business opportunity that it generates for thousands of suppliers. But more importantly, most of the country’s winemakers are SMEs, which, with their work and effort, contribute to decentralization and generate unique products, with characteristics typical of every corner of Chile,” he adds.
Sustainability
This Wednesday, September 8, more than 40 national wineries exhibited in Brooklyn Grange in New York to highlight the wine and Chile’s commitment to sustainability, positioning this concept as one of the main attributes of the country and its products in international markets.
“Celebrating Sustainable Chile” highlighted the commitment of the wine sector to sustainability and became the first promotional event of Chile in the United States, held 100% face-to-face since the beginning of the pandemic.
Press specialized in travel, cuisine and wines attended, as well as Chilean diplomats, artists, musicians and chefs, who toured thematic stations and enjoyed food, traditional sweets, more than 80 wines from Chilean vineyards certified in sustainability, as well as wines from 10 small producers in the Itata Valley.
85% of bottled wine exports are certified sustainable. The wines from certified producers correspond to 50,000 hectares of vineyards, slightly more than the area cultivated with vineyards from Napa Valley, Sonoma and Mendocino counties combined.
Wine tourism
Between the regions of Coquimbo and Biobío there are more than 100 wine vineyards that are open to tourism.
According to data from the Undersecretariat of Tourism, in 2019, the year before the pandemic, there were 541,000 foreign visitors who, within their activities in the country, made visits to vineyards. 47.3% of them were Brazilian tourists, followed by American visitors (10.8%). These tourists stayed in the country for an average of 13.2 nights, generating a foreign exchange income of US$573 million.
José Luis Uriarte, Undersecretary of Tourism, assures that it cannot be “considered only an export product, its contribution goes much further, because it has revalued a culture of national traditions that has been positioned as a highly demanded experience internationally, attracting a significant number of foreign visitors, mainly Brazilians and Americans.”
“Wine tourism has the challenge of recovering foreign markets to receive them again once the restrictions on entry to Chile are lifted, but in addition, to also enchant the national market, generating an attractive offer for Chilean visitors, who represent 60% of the income that our country generates for tourism, “- Holds.
For the president of Vinos de Chile, Aurelio Montes, it is a pride to see “all the advances we have achieved in recent years, positioned as one of the most relevant origins worldwide”.
“These last two years have been very difficult for the tourism sector, but given the improvement in health figures, we are betting on the reactivation of this industry so important for Chile, and inviting all national tourists to go and travel the different valleys of the country,” he says.
