“Chilean wine has continuously worked to establish itself as the world's best premium wine, beyond its value-for-money image. We want to promote Chile's premium wine more in Korea.”
Eduardo Chadwick, chair of Chilean winery Errazuriz, noted on the 13th at the 'Errazuriz Masterclass' held at Moodseoul in Banpo, Seoul, organized by Ayoung FBC. He introduced the history of the Chilean wine industry and Errazuriz, along with its global strategies.
Errazuriz is currently one of Chile's top 10 wineries. It was founded in 1870 when Don Maximiano Errázuriz began cultivating the first vineyard in the Aconcagua Valley, and it has been family-owned for five generations. It has also been known as a 'royal family' that has produced four presidents, exerting influence in various fields including politics, economy, society, and diplomacy.
Chadwick has been involved in management since 1983, leading efforts to improve the quality of Chilean wine and develop international markets. He explained, “Since the 1990s, Chilean wine began to be exported, but at that time, it was strongly associated with low-priced bulk-produced wine. Chilean wines had a hard time being recognized in the premium wine market.”
In response, Chadwick planned the 'Berlin Wine Tasting' in 2004 to compare Errazuriz's representative wines with the finest wines from France and Italy in a blind tasting format. This event has been held 22 times in 18 countries to date. Chadwick stated, “I wanted to prove that the finest wines could come from Chile,” adding, “Errazuriz's wines have consistently ranked highly in various tests, surpassing renowned French and Italian wines to establish themselves as premium wines.”
During the masterclass, Errazuriz's representative wines were introduced, including KAI 2013, KAI 2021, Don Maximiano Founder’s Reserve 1990, Don Maximiano Founder’s Reserve 2010, Don Maximiano Founder’s Reserve 2021, Aconcagua Costa Sauvignon Blanc 2023, and Aconcagua Costa Chardonnay 2023.
In particular, KAI was introduced as the wine that best expresses the characteristics of Chile's representative grape variety Carmenère. Chadwick noted, “In the past, we primarily cultivated Cabernet Sauvignon, but after extensive research, we discovered that the clay soil and climate of the Aconcagua Valley were optimal for cultivating Carmenère, leading us to produce KAI.” He added, “The 2006 vintage of KAI ranked first at the Berlin Tasting held in New York in 2010, surpassing Opus One and Château Haut-Brion.”
He mentioned, “The year 2021 had a pleasantly cool climate, making it perfect for Carmenère cultivation,” explaining, “It allowed for long and slow maturation, resulting in fresh and elegant wine with intense color, complex aromas, and silky tannins.”
Carmenère is originally an ancient variety from France's Bordeaux region, but it declined in Bordeaux due to its unsuitability for the local climate and soil. In Chile, it was once mistakenly known as Merlot but was confirmed as Carmenère through genetic analysis in 1994. This variety can exhibit excessive bell pepper aromas and bland flavors if not handled properly, but thanks to Chile's dry and long maturation period, it can develop deep flavors. The name Carmenère derives from the French word 'carmin' (crimson), and the label of KAI features red leaves that reflect the characteristic of grape leaves turning red in the autumn.
The flagship wine Don Maximiano was initially made with 100% Cabernet Sauvignon but has since included various blends such as Carmenère and Malbec. Don Maximiano has ranked first five times at the Berlin Tasting.
Errazuriz has received numerous awards both domestically and internationally, including being ranked 5th among the 'world's most respected wine brands' in 2017 and 2018 (Drinks International) and being named 'Chile's Winery of the Year' in 2008. Errazuriz considers sustainability and eco-friendly management as core values, implementing various environmentally friendly methods such as biodynamic farming, regenerative viticulture, and efficient water management to obtain the 'Wines of Chile Sustainability Code' for 2023-2025. Through this, they aim to pursue both social and environmental responsibility while maintaining quality.
Chadwick stated, “Errazuriz's goal is to establish itself as the world's best premium wine,” adding, “We will continue to challenge ourselves to elevate the status of Chilean wine.”