Andes Wines’ sweets and pastry writer Suzanne Taylor sips through the history of coffee drinking in Chile, brings some light into the local popularity of instant coffee, and the principle behind the quintessential café con piernas.

You just can’t beat chillin’ out in a sidewalk café enjoying a nice cup of joe.

This is not an experience to take lightly down here in Santiago, however. It wasn’t all that long ago that there was a perception out there about Chile’s coffee scene being somewhat lacklustre.

A couple of years ago, I wouldn’t have blamed visitors for bringing beans from home. Going into a restaurant, at times, meant you got some hot water and some Nescafé instant coffee. Thankfully, the times are changing.

A couple of weekends ago, I happened to come across the 1st Annual Cafe Expo held in Espacio Juventud in Providencia, where coffee baristas got to demonstrate the art of making wonderful lattes and espressos. Could it be that Chile is finally shedding this age old reputation of bad coffee and is embracing a new atmosphere of coffee bean supremacy?

Yes, you may be thinking like I did when I first got here: When you are on the same continent as some of the biggest and best coffee producers in the world, how can you not get a decent cup of coffee in Chile? Unlike Brazil and Colombia, coffee has never been a traditional hot drink down here. It really has been in the last 50 years or so that it has started to take hold; more on this point later.

Before that, tea and a drink called “Ulpo” were the choices; Ulpo got its start when the Spanish conquistadores brought wheat to be grown in the south. The Mapuche toasted the wheat, ground it and added it to hot water with some honey. This was very popular in the countryside, and in some parts it still is.

Now, about 50 years ago, a group of business men got together and decided they would really like to have a place to go in the afternoons and have their espresso. A new business was born, Café Haiti, which was soon to be known as the first café con piernas (coffee with legs) This wasn’t any ordinary business as it was a coffee shop where the female servers all wore very tight fitting attire and high heels while offering only conversation… and fresh brewed coffee, of course.

Other coffee houses soon took off as did a little extra clothing in some places- ever wondered about those blacked out windows downtown!? One thing about most of these places is that the coffee is served from a bar and all the patrons are standing. So you really don’t have the relaxed, laid back atmosphere that you find in the cafes in Europe or even next door in Argentina.

But then again, Chileans seem to never have time for big, leisurely moments to enjoy a cup of coffee. Take breakfast, for instance. Back during the 70’s, Nestlé started a marketing campaign that capitalized on this fact by introducing instant coffee that could be made quickly and anywhere with just hot water at any time.

Of course today you will still see store shelves lined with Nescafé bottles and cans, but kitchens and supermarkets are starting to make room for more and more whole bean stuff (yeah!).

It’s 2012 now, and Chile’s economy is booming. Many Chileans are traveling overseas and people are flocking here. More people want to experience what they have enjoyed in other parts of the world. Now they get to relax with our favourite cup in many different cafes throughout Santiago offering different blends and preparations, and I don’t just mean the stand-up kind. Even those diehard fans of Starbucks –impossible not to miss the famous green label even here in Chile- can have their way.

My favourite places are the ones that have hidden patios and gardens that take you away from the hectic pace. There are the ones that play a great mix of music and have a nice shaded terrace. You can sit back, relax and chill.

So next time you go off on a trip, just leave room in your suitcase for other things than coffee. It won’t take you long to find a small cafetería with interesting alternatives from around the world.

If you’re in Providencia, check out:

Café Espresso-Avenida Pedro De Valdivia 1974

Nice easy going music, light snacks and sandwiches. Really enjoyed the pear and almond tart!

Café Plaza Victoria – Santa Isabel 052

Right next to the Santa Isabel Metro stop, with a little garden patio in the back. They’ve got delicious European style cheesecake made with ricotta cheese, yum!

Andes Wines

andes@andeswines.com

Twitter @andeswines

Andes Wines’ sweets and pastry writer Suzanne Taylor visited the VIII Andes Wines Gourmet Food and Wine Sale, the largest of its kind in Chile … and was in for a big surprise!

To many North Americans, knowledge of Chilean foods may only lead to the produce section where fruits like blueberries, blackberries, grapes and apples are abundant during the winter season. But dive a little further and you would be surprised at just how much more there is to this extremely diverse country. And why not, when you have such extremes in climate and geography from top to bottom.

You can see it for yourself at the Andes Wines Gourmet Food and Wines Sale in the Buenaventura Outlet Mall in Quilín, until December 31 at San Ignacio 500, Bodega 18, Quilicura. It was here that I found culinary gems from all different areas unique to Chile. Locally grown olive oils, cured deer meats, jams, artisan cheeses and seafood are just a few of the things you will find, not to mention amazing Chilean wine. You just have to love assignments like these!

Despite its name, the Chilean palette tends to prefer foods that are not too intense or spicy. This is not Mexico! Having said that, the indigenous people, the Mapuche, have been using their own blend of smoked dried chiles for years called “merquén.” Now this English background girl doesn’t normally appreciate really spicy things, but is has an incredible flavor that just cries out to the “asados” (barbeques in Chile.)

Because merquén is becoming more main stream, there is the introduction of other slightly spicy sauces and preserves to the Chilean kitchen such as Productos Toty. They make a wonderful chopped olive spread that comes in various levels of spiciness. This is great on crackers, in dressings for salads, sauces for roasting or with rice dishes.

Of course it wouldn’t be Chile without salt and Sal Gourmet makes a line of salt products to tempt different taste buds. Various spices, herbs or even vegetables are dried with the salt and then later ground up to produce a more flavorful and colorful salt.

Gourmet mustards, pasta de ajo, -a garlic paste that has been delicately infused with seasonings or herbs from the Island of Chiloe- as well as cebollas al Merlot (onions in a Merlot wine reduction) are just some of the examples of spreads and sauces that would enhance sandwiches, roast meats or cheese trays.

From the far south, on Isla Fresia, comes the new product of salami de ciervo from Bauser. These salamis of deer or boar would be perfect for light lunches or an enticing appetizer.

Let’s not forget the dessert course. Sweetened condensed milk or “manjar” as it is called in Chile, is almost a national treasure. It can be found in all kinds of desserts and ice creams. But the ingenious founder of Doña Vicky decided to do something different with it. She created a series of recipes that included rice, beans and fruits so that her children would eat manjar without realizing they were eating something good for them.

There are lots of preserved papayas, peaches and cherries. The day I was there, the owner of Dulce Patria was handing out samples of the syrup like dessert that has the essence of almonds with a touch of cream that just melted away on your tongue.

These were just a few of the many examples of the tastes of Chile. Being able to talk with some of the producers, you could see how proud they are of their products. The pride of Chile always comes shining through!

Of course wine is the star too, considering the 8th Wine Sale has over 35 wine brands, plus three beer brands and several spirits, tequila, vodka, whisky, etc.

Opening hours: Monday to Saturday from 10 to 20.00, Sunday and holidays from 11 to 19.00 hrs.

Location: Avenida San Ignacio N°500, Edificio 2, Bodega 18, Quilicura, with easy access coming from Autopista Nor Oriente, Autopista Américo Vespucio Norte, Túnel San Cristóbal, Autopista 5 Norte and Carretera General San Martín.

Christmas always conjures up many memories and, of course me being Canadian, this usually involves snow; Santa Claus and Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer are usually factored in there as well.

This will be my second Christmas in Chile after last year, and I almost feel sorry for Santa Claus, known here as the Viejo Pascuero (Old Man Christmas). He doesn’t get top billing like he does in the northern hemisphere. There is a lot of other stiff competition out there that he is up against, not to mention having to wear that huge, heavy suit when it is more than 30 degrees outside. It’s like carrying around your own personal sauna.

It seems that in the past few years, stores in the United States and Canada have been stocking earlier and earlier for Christmas even before Halloween costumes have been decided on. But down here, decorations start to come out sometime in November and not to very much fanfare. There isn’t this barrage of commercials on TV trying to lure people to buy, buy, and buy some more. There is a scattering of decorated houses and apartments, but there are just too many other things to finish off before the end of the year.

People scurry around on their lunch hours; the streets are filled with tacos (Chilean for traffic jam). It’s enough for me to want to sit back and reach for a glass. Good thing there’s is plenty of choice for liquid refreshment in this country.

For Chile, the end of December does not only bring Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. This time of year also means end of the fiscal year for business, the start of summer holidays for students and other planning for family vacations and get-togethers. It always seems like there are not enough hours in the day. Well, imagine trying to organize Christmas parties and your child’s graduation ceremonies from school all in the same month.

To add more icing to the cake, a local university football team (that’s right America, not soccer!) has just won a major title, the South American Cup. This is like winning the Super Bowl, World Series and Stanley Cup all at once. I thought the New Year’s fireworks were being set off a little early after their win. Not to mention all the celebrating in the streets. Sorry Santa. You don’t stand a chance this year.

But no matter what side of the equator you’re on, one common factor always comes out on top. Getting together with family and friends is always what you will remember the most.

So I wish you a Merry Christmas! Stay tuned for my next column on Chilean Christmas holidays’ eating and drinking traditions, because there’s more to roasted turkey here. And for those feeling nostalgic, there’ll be a special treat for you: I will be making traditional Christmas desserts, Canuck style, using Chilean ingredients!

¡FELIZ NAVIDAD!

We introduce you to our newest addition to the Andes Wines team of writers, Canadian sweets and pastry critic Suzanne Taylor. Her mission is deliciously simple: getting to know Chile’s sweet side!

To some people it may have appeared as if I snapped and began a midlife crisis: I sold my house, fortunately at just the right time, and I quit my Baking and Pastry Arts Instructor job in Calgary, Canada, to come live in Chile. Here I am three years later, and I’m not freaking out. In fact, I am having the time of my life.

Why Chile? In my last year of teaching, it was decided that there would be a culinary tour to this long and narrow country. Something told me that I had to be on that trip. Little did I know how life changing it would be.

Initially, my plan was to go to Asia, but my first trip to Chile would alter everything afterwards. Normally, when I go on a vacation, I research the history and the area to death to make sure I understand more about the people and the culture. However, the time leading up to the end of my last school year went by so quickly that basically all I knew about Chile was that it was in the southern hemisphere, next to Argentina, and that it exports “a little bit” of wine and fruit to Canada. It would be an understatement to say that I was blown away by the rugged beauty of the landscape.

I was fortunate to see other countries in my time off, but there was that pull to keep coming back to the land of empanadas, pastel de choclo, and pisco sours.

Since that fateful first trip, I have come back several times to venture North, South and West of this long skinny country; there’s not really an “East”- you’re pretty much into Argentina then. It is a land of such extreme contrasts from the driest desert in the world in the North, to the daunting mountains of Patagonia and the mystical Moai statues on Easter Island. Every time I turn around, there is always a spot that leaves me breathless.

This time around, however, I will taste my way through Chile’s sweet side and bring my observations on the many cultural happenings that are at hand.

Because you only have to walk off the plane to notice that Chileans have a serious sweet tooth. There have been different influences throughout the years to mould the dessert scene throughout this country. Immigrants from France, Germany and Italy have brought over their style of cuisine and melded with the Chilean flavours. It seems that if there is a way to incorporate sugar into the food, the Chileans will find it. I’ll be happy to discover when they do it. So stay tuned…

Andes Wines

andes@andeswines.com

(562) 370 2997

(Click here to read the original column)

It’s official: springtime has arrived to Chile and its vines are waking up, showing the first buds. This might mean that some of you will be looking to visit wineries or explore the vast universe of wine to choose “the one” for the coming holidays. Whichever your case is, we will cautiously dive into the secret world of smell contained in the glass in front of you. Are you ready?

Great discoveries on human senses were awarded with Nobel Prizes; in 1961 the sense of hearing and in 1967 the sense of vision. However, the sense of smell had remained a well-kept secret until 1991 when the New York Times’ science section published an article about smell. Linda Buck was searching the G-protein class in a paper about smell receptors with Richard Axel. An astounding 1 percent of human genes are devoted to olfaction and approximately $20 billion is generated every year by industrially manufactured smells.

Virtually all of these smells are made by only seven companies—the Big Boys. With wine, smell is one of the many aspects we use to recognize grape varieties, denomination of origin and even the vintage. Let’s review the scientific facts and dive into a wine glass to discover how powerful our sense of smell is.

The English scientist Malcolm Dyson in 1938 had become conscious of a specific, outstanding human power: we can smell and instantly identify the actual atoms hidden inside a molecule. Faster than our digestive system, our nose is capable of instantly identifying atoms and its vibrations. This has been key to human’s survival and evolution. Dyson wrote a paper called “The Scientific Basis of Odor,” which was inspiration for Canadian R. H. Wright’s paper in 1977.

But there is one man whose dedication and obsession led to the writing of a work that would open doors for him into the vast, secret world where perfumes are created: Luca Turin. From the French Riviera, he wrote about wave numbers and described odor as almost entirely nominative. He wrote the first perfume guide.

With hearing, there are 88 vibrations for us to notice—every combination of atom-and-bond, its tone to its one particular frequency, is what scientists call wave number and they run from 0 to 4000. Shall we apply this to a wine tasting?

First, always hold the stem of the glass and never the body. Your hand transfers temperature to the glass and its content, and temperature aspects the smell: if too cold the wine is shy, if too warm you would smell alcohol. The visual examination helps us determine variety, style and age, among other aspects. There is a rich vocabulary to describe the wide spectrum of colors. Believe me; brick red is not good enough because it depends on where the bricks are made.

Hold the glass at a 45-degree angle. Look at the rim variation and colors in the horseshoe shape of the glass. With 4,000 wave numbers or frequencies to discover, there are no bad smells, and it is definitely as subjective as color or sound. Recognizing all of these smells is the quest of a lifetime.

To do this, explore the scents of the world around you. When traveling, never miss the opportunity to visit local markets and wander in nature. Be aware of the smells on a sunny day or when it is raining, by the ocean or in the mountains. There is nothing better than linking a smell with a great story, which is the true spirit of wine.

Wine is a result of nature and culture, and therefore we should never forget the celebration of life and sharing our discoveries and experiences. We are all learning about wine, glass by glass.

‘One of the greatest vintages in Austrian history.’ This upbeat assessment of 2011, just coming to a close, comes from Josef (Pepe) Schuller MW, founder and managing director of the Austrian Wine Academy and recent chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine, after he had joined Willi Bründlmayer’s team to pick Riesling in the Heiligenstein vineyard near Langenlois in Kamptal.

Schuller’s passing comment to Jancis came on Friday, the same day as the official harvest report from the Austrian Wine Marketing Board (AWMB), in my opinion one of the best generic wine promotional organisations around. As with all bodies whose main role is promotion, they are inclined to focus on the positives but if Schuller is right, then perhaps the Austrians didn’t need to resort to air brushing this year.

2010, by contrast, has been described as ‘the year of challenge’ in Austria, including rain and cold during the flowering season, rain in August, cool and damp in September and wet weather at the end of October, such a crucial time for the top-quality Rieslings, dry and sweet. The result was a harvest 14% lower than average, following the very short vintage of 2009. Which is why the producers are particularly relieved to have in 2011 not only a healthy harvest but also a generous one: 2.45 million hectolitres in the cellar, a massive 41% up on 2010, and this despite the volume reduction caused by hail and frost damage in some regions.

This year the weather was far kinder: ‘Even though there were cold winter temperatures, frost damage at the beginning of May, a dry period in July and even some hailstorms, there was still plenty of optimal weather to be had. The beautiful flowering period led to a good fruit set, and the sunny and warm weather of late summer delivered a good ripening phase. The continuous lovely weather conditions allowed for the luxury of choosing a harvest day according to the ripeness sought, and of “waiting it out” periods if desired. This resulted in a varied and long harvest – for example, by the beginning of the main harvest period on the Wagram, already the first bottled young wine from the Seewinkel in Burgenland was on the table. Thanks to the dry weather, there were very few fungal diseases. There was some heavy wasp infestation in a number of regions.’

The main concern, mentioned several times in the regional summaries below, seems to have been potentially low acidity levels, making canopy management and accurate harvesting times particularly critical.

Here’s the AWMB’s round up of the regions. (The photo shows vineyards in Leithaberg, Burgenland.)

Burgenland
The weather here was similar to that in other wine-growing areas. The earlier-than-usual flowering and harvest dates as well as good weather conditions allowed for well-planned work without any of the stress that was so prevalent last year, when the danger of rot had propelled the harvesting to be undertaken in the shortest time possible.

There were some problems with regional dampness and winter frosts, the cold at the beginning of May and the hailstorms on 23 June – which hit 1,600 hectares very hard. But the sunny and dry weather nurtured the healthy, undamaged grapes that were brought into the cellars. Because of the acidity, however, good nerves were required for optimal maturation to be reached. The harvest here was status quo with an estimated 715,200 hl – up 54% from last year. This is just as pleasing as the wine quality itself: firm fruitiness and pleasant acidity accompanied by – in the red wines – a distinctive deep, dark colour.

Niederösterreich
Taking into account the varied conditions in the different regions during the year – frost and hail, for example – an average volume of 1.5 million hl is estimated. The Weinviertel and the Thermenregion are showing volumes lower than their long-standing averages (Weinviertel down 9%; Thermenregion down 3%). Throughout Niederösterreich, wasps were a very disturbing element for the grape pickers as well as for the wine quality. In fact, some of the harvest was completed early because of wasp damage. Otherwise, the acidity became the main focus, as warm temperatures sparked a partial rapid decrease – to achieve just the right balance between physiological ripeness and good acidity backbone.

Steiermark
This year, the Steiermark was favoured by the weather. There was little frost and, even despite some hail damage, the average volume increased by 19% in comparison with the five-year average. The estimated 226,600 hl reflects a 28% increase over last year. Because of the early and relatively short flowering period, also the harvest began somewhat early and was completed rather quickly in order to ‘catch’ the right acidity and sugar content. The main harvest was over by mid October, and good leaf management brought fruity and full-bodied wines.

Wien
The hailstorm on 4 June is now a bad memory for the vintners of Döbling and Stammersdorf. Damage and yield loss were left in its wake. Nevertheless, Vienna boasted very good quality and a yield just slightly below the long standing average. As in other regions, the work in the vineyards determined the high gradation and acidity content. A multi-faceted selection of fruity and bodied wines is expected.

I’m looking forward to finding out if Pepe Schuller is correct.

Originally published at: http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a20111107.html

Andes Wines
andes@andeswines.com
(56) 2-3702997

Theisen will provide a first look about his experience as a logistics and executive movie producer and his role as promoter of the country in the international movie scene. He will also talk about the pros and cons of filming in Chile, providing behind the scenes scoops about the challenges the film crew had to face when filming Quantum of Solace in the Antofagasta desert.

Entrepreneurs and business executives from the financial, real estate, gastronomy, tourism and winemaking sectors are invited to this third edition of Wine After Office, which aims to develop and strengthen new platforms for business in Chile.

More on Bud Theisen

Theisen is a Bsc in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who arrived in Chile in 1997 to work as an English teacher. Later on he began to work for the Economics Department at the University of Chile. He was introduced to the film industry by one of his students who happened to be a movie director at the production company Rojas Films.

At present he is focused on promoting Chile as a film destination for great international motion pictures productions.

Date:
Monday, November 7th at 19:30 hrs.

Venue:
Gran Central, Las Urbinas 44, Providencia.

Price:
Pre-sale at $ 7.000 (chilean pesos)
$ 10.000 on the day of the event. (chilean pesos)
Includes 2 wine glasses for each guest
Sampling of venison and wild boar from Bauser

SPONSORS:
- First Tuesday Santiago
- ACTI (Asociación Chilena de Empresas de Tecnologías de Información A.G.)

Andes Wines
andes@andeswines.com
(56) 2-3702997

For many months, there have been worrying signals coming from foreign markets—especially the US—about the condition of Argentinean wine sales.

Although, according to official statistics, sales are increasing and the median price has been relatively stable, this doesn’t tell the whole story. The sales statistics only apply to shipments, not sales figures from buyers and consumers. And currently, many distributors’ warehouses are building up an alarming stock of economy-price wine from wineries that have opted to enter the market at the lower-end price range.

Thus Argentinean wine, according to some specialists, is beginning to follow the pattern set by Australian brand Yellow Tail. The label dramatically increased its exports, to the point where it couldn’t sustain its median value. The price dropped dramatically, which of course affected Yellow Tail, but also affected the country’s image as a quality wine producer, as well as the image of Syrah, as discussed in another report by AndesWines.com.

The worrying figures that should have set off Argentina’s alarms include that generic bottled wines fell by 19.8% while bulk increased by 695%, according to http://www.areadelvino.com/articulo.php?num=22637. This sends a clear message about what’s going on in the foreign market for Argentinean wines. It’s crucial to intervene before a complete meltdown affects even the most select of Malbec wines.

In many specialized wine stores in the US, you can see lots of wines that were formerly $9.99 selling for $7.99 or $6.99. This is a worrisome trend. This situation is compounded by the economic crisis in the US, which has caused problems for many American distributors and importers.

“To think that the Malbec varietal enjoys some kind of special protection is a fantasy,” Pamela Villablanca, International Director of AndesWines, said. “The number-one selling wine in the US is Franzia, and the second is Santa Margarita. Unemployment is growing and the unemployed are going to opt for Franzia. Major players in the wine industry can market wines by increasing the stock in their bodegas and lowering prices, in order to regulate sales and ensure that they rotate all of their product clusters. But what’s been happening since 2008 is that Argentina, naively, just continues to increase their volume.”

Villablanca, also a specialist in Latin American wine sales, continued discussing possible solutions to Argentina’s problem.

“I made a call to the trans-Andean Export Managers, in order that they begin formulating a plan to protect the branding of Argentina and Malbec. It’s crucial to support importers and distributors, given that many medium and large wineries are forgetting the Three Tier System. The system inevitably involves three actors to make each sale. This is controlled by mantaining a balance in volume and price, ensuring the wine is on sale for only a limited time.”

By Pamela Villablanca
Pamela Villablanca worked for 6 years in the US as a Brand Ambassador for Veramonte, which is owned by Huneeus Vintners. She traveled through the US conducting branding and wine education programs and positioned Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc as the number one “on premise” wine, as noted in the home page of Wine Spectator. Later, she served as Sales Manager in California for an importer and distributor of South American wines.

Translated by Erin Becker
Erin Becker, Research and Innovation for Andes Wines, graduated with a degree in literature and creative writing from the University of North Carolina, where she was also co-founder and editor-in-chief of Campus BluePrint magazine and co-founder of an Arts and Cultural Policy think tank.

Andes Wines
andes@andeswines.com
(56) 2-3702997
twitter: @andeswines.com

The fashion industry likes to claim “you are what you wear.” But according to some current research, we are, in fact, what we drink.

In an Anthropology of Food article titled “Globalization, differentiation and drinking cultures, an anthropological perspective,” Thomas Wilson argues:

“[…] drinking alcohol has been an extremely important feature in the production and reproduction of ethnic, national, class, gender and local community identities historically, and there is little prospect that this will change. In many societies, perhaps the majority, drinking alcohol is a key practice in the expression of identity, an element in the construction and dissemination of national and other cultures.”

In this way, the article says, drinking—and even not drinking—is inherently a cultural statement.

Lining up a few pictures, we see how true this really is. A Panama hat and a Cuban mojito; a fine glass of Bordeaux in the shade of a French chateau; a keg and red cups in an American frat-house basement; a rich Italian red, spaghetti on the side; a mug of Guinness in Dublin; a rowdy post-rugby pint in an English pub.

Each of these images is integral to our vision of life in a particular society. I say Ireland, and you say pub. I say France, you say fine wine. Expanding past the realm of no-frills tradition, which could be traced back to the days when we simply made alcohol with what was at hand, these cultural-practices-turned-stereotypes have become a crucial part of what the marketing world calls branding.

With travelers (and drinkers) tightening their purse strings, the tourism market is transforming into an evermore-competitive bid for the traveler’s dollar. Locales and alcohols with a strong positive association in the consumer’s mind have a distinct advantage. Wilson calls it “the construction and dissemination of national and other cultures,” but a marketing expert would simply call it good business.

In his book “The Significance of Branding Within German Beer Culture,” Benjamin Marienfeld reports that a large portion of citizens from Germany’s neighboring countries answered the question “What is German?” with the simple reply: “Beer.” This reputation is deserved; he reports that Germany has by far the most breweries of any country worldwide, including 75% of the total breweries in the EU.

And this association has not gone unnoticed here in Chile: we see Austral emphasizing its German roots by publicizing the story of its German founder José Fischer, and Kunstmann playing up its German-ness with a yearly “Bierfest” in Valdivia and its slogan “Das gute Bier.” So, if Chile is capitalizing on Germany’s long-held association with good brewing, what does Chile itself have to offer as a “brand”?

In their article “Country Image in National Umbrella Branding,” Nina Iversen and Leif Heim explain more about what “country image” actually is. They define it as a commonly held “structure of knowledge” about a country that can include widely believed stereotypes, which affect a consumer’s response to products from that particular place. For example, a Swiss-made watch will be perceived as higher-quality than an Australian-made watch, simply because that is what we expect from the Swiss. For countries like Chile, with small populations, relative global anonymity and a penchant for exporting raw materials rather than final consumer goods, capitalizing on this phenomenon is more difficult.

Yet more difficult does not mean impossible. A steadily developing reputation as a solid New World wine producer, as well as an accidental leap to international notoriety with a non-fatal mining accident—and, as some say, any press is good press—means that people worldwide have been talking about Chile. ProChile’s slogan “All Ways Surprising” is not perfect, but at least does try to get the most out of on that “unknown” element of the country at the edge of the map. With no associative equivalent to Argentina’s tango and beef or Peru’s Machu Picchu, Chile resorts instead to what it does best: geographical diversity and a sense of exploration.

Unlike German beer, Russian vodka and Swiss chocolate, Chilean wine has to fend for itself, and earn a loyal consumer base with quality and, yes, a little bit of branding. Wineries would do well to market themselves internationally with stunts like 2005’s Carmenere Adventure, where Chilean wine lover Cristián Muñoz took a 21,000-mile motorcycle trip from Santiago to New York City, three-liter bottle of Carmenere in hand.

Chile may not have the pub scene of England or the wine aristocracy of France, but a country stretching from the Atacama to the Torres del Paine can more than make up for that with the ancient allure of adventure.

Erin Becker, Research and Innovation for Andes Wines, graduated with a degree in literature and creative writing from the University of North Carolina, where she was also co-founder and editor-in-chief of Campus BluePrint magazine and co-founder of an Arts and Cultural Policy think tank.

Andes Wines
andes@andeswines.com
(56) 2-3702997
twitter: @andeswines.com