(Santiago, January 2012) Chilean wine marketing and strategy firm Andes Wines announced that it has signed a strategic alliance agreement with Norwegian web applications developer nLink, as part of its new spin-off project “WineAmix: Digital Laboratory”.

Wine Amix’s main objective is to fuel innovation in the winemaking, food, tourism, and entertainment businesses with the use of digital tools. For this purpose, it will offer a custom-made service in the design and implementation of digital tools to improve customer relationship management initiatives, as well as generate and/or increase sales using the Web as a tool.

Through this alliance, Andes Wines and nLink will work together to develop and deliver high definition web applications starting with an interactive “wine-quiz,” a game platform that will bring together winemakers and consumers in 15 countries.

Halvor Gregusson, co-founder of nLink, said: “This partnership combines two successful industries in the San Francisco region. The wine industry can leverage from the market communication provided by well designed applications. In return, tech-consumers will gladly spread the word about their new app when they find good tasting wine in their physical mailbox. Working with Andes Wines, which possess the logistics for branding and exporting wine, is a vital part in the future of Word of Mouth marketing.”

In the meantime, the companies have jointly begun to search for investment partners in Silicon Valley and San Francisco in order to raise around US$ 2 million in start-up capital, all the while they have begun negotiations with wineries in Chile and the United States to offer this service.

Andes Wines’ spin-off emerges as a result of the firm’s ten years of experience in the international markets after becoming the first wine marketing firm in South America, with an office in Santiago led by the company’s CEO Maximiliano Morales.

“We are currently making US$ 1 million in gross sales through our wine, beer and gourmet products sales, which motivated us to set up this ‘spin off’ due to our knowhow in selling, marketing and promoting Chilean wine abroad,” said Morales from Andes Wines”, CEO Morales said.

The agreement was signed in December 2011 in San Francisco, California, in parallel to Morales’ participation in a two-week Silicon Valley Immersion Program California, at the University of San Francisco, after being awarded a grant by Chilean economic development agency Corfo- Innova Bío Bío.

For more information, contact:

Andes Wines

andes@andeswines.com

Twitter @andeswines

(56)(2) 370 2997

The debate about how independent can wine critics really be added another chapter with American critic Jay Miller leaving The Wine Advocate, and both his former employer, Robert Parker, and the Institute of Master of Wine starting formal investigations on the alleged cash payments charged by Pancho Campo MW to secure access to Miller during his visit to Spanish wineries in 2011.

Miller´s decision to leave the magazine took place a few months after Decanter wine writer Jim Budd reported that winemakers in Spain were being told to pay 20,000 euros in management fees to have Miller visit their wine cellars while he toured the country during a visit organized by the Wine Academy of Spain, institution founded and directed by Campo (to read Budd’s report click here).

Budd’s extensive investigation, which revealed the e-mails that show Campo requesting Spanish winemakers to pay these fees to get Miller for a 2-day visit to their wineries and lead a wine tasting, has brought the legitimacy of the independence of wine critics to question once again.

In a public statement, Miller insisted that his departure from the magazine had been planned well before the scandal. While announcing his resignation from TWA he reiterated that he had never “accepted (or requested) fees for visiting wine regions or wineries”. He said that up until now he had felt “constrained” to respond to his critics by being part of the TWA staff. “While the office has defended my actions, justifiably, now it is time for me to speak for myself… I leave The Wine Advocate with a clear conscience,” he insisted.

Meanwhile, the publisher of the Wine Advocate and leading wine critic, Robert Parker, has defended Miller’s performance while working at the magazine, insisting that he “clearly and irrefutably has taken no money for a wine review or winery visit.”

Nonetheless, he will await the final report of the law firm Cozen O’Connor, which he asked to “determine whether our strict policy of independence in the review and tasting of wines for publication in The Wine Advocate or posting on www.eRobertparker.com was compromised by any conduct of The Wine Advocate or any other party associated with tastings in that region.”

The Institute of Masters of Wine has opened an investigation after receiving a formal complaint against Campo, as well.

Campo has denied the accusations and insisted that the management fees were destined to organized paid speeches by Miller, an not paid wine reviews.

In his blog Jim’s Loire, Budd has insisted that his reporting of these irregularities has no hidden agenda but to demonstrate how Campo was using Miller and the TWA brand for his own benefit.

He has insisted that his investigation shows “that the bodegas are being charged both for having their wines rated and assessed by Jay Miller for The Wine Advocate/erobertparker and for the opportunity to have their wines included in the master class as well as a possible visit to their bodega”.

The wine journalist has warned that “one aspect of this scandal that has yet to be explored is whether public money was used to pay Campo, The Wine Academy of Spain and Miller’s substantial lecturing fees”.

By Marta Lillo
Andes Wines Journalist

andes@andeswines.com
(56 2) 370 2997
twitter: @andeswines

After 10 years developing wine sales & marketing strategies in Latin America, Chilean consulting firm Andes Wines will launch a “spin off” project to fuel innovation in the local winemaking, food and tourism, and entertainment businesses with the use of digital tools.

To speed up the implementation of this “Digital Laboratory”, Andes Wines’ CEO, Maximiliano Morales, will be among the Chilean entrepreneurs that will participate from December 3-16 in the Silicon Valley Immersion Program California, at the University of San Francisco, after being awarded a grant by Innova Bío Bío.

The Digital Lab’s main objective is to offer a custom-made service in the design and implementation of digital tools to improve customer relationship management initiatives as well as generate and/or increase sales using the Web as a tool. A secondary goal is to develop game applications to promote brands and businesses.

Andes Wines will implement this start-up firstly in Chile and later with clients across Latin America, North America, Europe and Asia, due to the strong expansion of Chilean wine and tourism in the international markets. The firm aims to gather more than 3,000 wineries, about 4,500 wine and food traders and more than 90,000 wine consumers and leaders of opinion in winemaking, food and tourism, and entertainment industries across the ten most important countries in those regions.

The project emerges as a result of Andes Wines’ 10 years of experience in the international markets after becoming the first wine marketing firm in South America, with an office in Santiago led by Morales and in Buenos Aires, Argentina by Gabriela Luna Romano.

“We are currently making US$ 1 million in gross sales through our wine, beer and gourmet products sales, which motivated us to set up this ‘spin off’ due to our knowhow in selling, marketing and promoting Chilean wine abroad,” said Morales from Andes Wines.

Andes Wines is currently negotiating with two potential investment partners to finance this new area of digital business, in order to raise around US$ 2 million in start-up capital.

The company’s commitment with entrepreneurship and start-up efforts in Chile has been from the start. The firm was among the city founders of the Concepción chapter of the knowledge and business network for innovation and entrepreneurship platform First Tuesday, and is now media partner to First Tuesday Santiago.

Andes Wines also started in 2011 its own start-up networking forum under the name of Wine After Office, in order to facilitate relationships and developments in leading and emerging industries, with wine tastings as the meeting point. Among the key speakers invited to this event was James Bond´s Quantum of Solace producer in Chile, Bud Theisen. Founder and CEO of Straightforward Films, Theisen provided an insightful analysis about the challenges ahead for Chile to become a strong destiny for international motion picture filmmaking.

In that sense, Andes Wines is exploring business opportunities in the promotion of Chilean wine and beer in international movie and advertising productions; among them, the creation of a film private equity fund to attract local and foreign investment to finance international motion picture productions in Chile.

Andes Wines
andes@andeswines.com
9-2197117 / (2) 370 2997

By Concha y Toro

Among those present in Hong Kong was one of UK´s and Europe´s leading Masters of Wine, Tim Atkin. His main conclusion after two days of analysis, comradeship and tastings is that China continues to be difficult to invest in, that the lack of regulation is not to be taken lightly, and that those in the wine business that keep thinking this is the place to be must have patience, lots of patience (read blog here).

Even more so, with China projected to grow both demographically and economically at rates that are expected –and hoped as well- to compensate a fall in total world consumption due to the recent international crisis. Among the figures juggled is that if China imported 16.5 million cases in 2010, the number it is expected to reach 22 million this year. The outlook is that the Asian dragon will surpass the 100 million mark by 2020.

However, this optimist scenario doesn´t mean the wine business should overlook issues that may end up being mere “siren songs,” warns Atkin. A customs system lacking regulation concerning wine trade is not facilitating shipments; the fact that most fine wines are sold in Hong Kong due to its condition of free trade zone is helping to smuggle wines into the mainland to avoid the 48% rate imposed on any liquor sold on central China; local wines are uplifting their packaging and image, but this doesn´t necessarily mean they better quality, a warning that goes particularly to the foreign investment funds and businesses that are trying to buy local wineries.

To Atkin, that wealthy Chinese (particularly investment funds) still prefer fine Bordeaux such as Latife, Latour or Margaux doesn´t

By Concha y Toro

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

The tasting gathered around 75 wine professionals from Chile and Argentina who sampled a total of 24 wines in an original online blind wine tasting that used a sophisticated software that recorded the reviews and scores of each participant.

Andes Wines was among the wine makers, agricultural engineers, journalists and writers who tasted 12 samples from Chile and 12 from Argentina selected by Chrabolowsky and Cristina Pandolfi from the National Viticulture Institute (INV) in Argentina, and Chilean wine journalist Mariana Martínez from Planeta Vinos together with a wine panel run by Martínez.

This gathering is held in Chile and Argentina alternatively every year, and in this case the location chosen was Viña del Mar, in the Valparaiso Region, in order to promote cool climate wines produced in the area.

Gran Enemigo, produced by wine makers Alejandro Vigil and Adriana Catena, was awarded a score of 92 points. Other Argentinean wines that received 91 points are Bodegas de Belasco de Baquedano, Lindaflor y Trapiche. Chilean wines Tabali, Casas del Bosque and Morande received 91 points each as well.

The fact that very few wines received above 90 points caused great debate among the participants. The rules at the Vinos de la Cordillera contest state that the samples that receive less than 90 points are not mentioned in the final review, while the judges who award the highest and lowest scores must explain the reasons behind their decision.

Wine journalist Mariana Martínez commented that “the tight scores awarded since the contest began in 2002 and the quality of the varietals sampled in each occasion, show that both South American countries must continue working on the quality of their wines, but at the same time act as one great South American wine bloc”.

SCORES:
92 (Arg.) Gran Enemigo Malbec 2008, Mendoza
91 (CH) Tabali Reserva Especial Ensamblaje 2009, Limarí
91 (Arg) Bodega Belasco de Baquedano Swinto Malbec, Mendoza
91 (CH Casas del Bosque Gran Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2011, Valle de Casablanca
91 (Arg) Lindaflor Malbec 2006, Mendoza
91 (Arg) Trapiche Single Vineyard Villafañe Malbec, Mendoza
91 (CH) Morande Edicion Limitada Golden Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2007, Casablanca
90 (Arg) Kaiken Mai Malbec, Mendoza
90 (Arg) Cheval des Andes Malbec-C/S-PV, Mendoza
90 (Arg) Bodega El Esteco Cabernet Sauvignon Serie Fincas Notables, Cafayate
90 (CH) Kankana del Elqui Syrah, Elqui
90 (CH) Bressia Profundo Malbec-C/S- Merlot-Syrah, Mendoza
90 (CH) San Pedro 1865 Cabernet Sauvignon, Maipo
90 (Arg) Cobos Bramare Chardonnay Marchiri Vineyards, Mendoza
90 (CH) ConoSur 20 Barricas, Valle de Casablanca
90 (Arg) Alta Vista Premium Torrontés 2011, Salta

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

The contest, held for the first time in Chile, has become one of the most important beer industry events in the region. Brands from Belgium, Brazil, the Netherlands and Chile all won gold medals in the competition.

SANTIAGO, SEPTEMBER 9 – Beers from Belgium, Brazil, the Netherlands and Chile all won gold medals at the awards ceremony of the international beer competition “Copa Cervezas de America 2011.” The event brought together 21 countries and 280 beer brands, which were tasted and evaluated by an expert jury. The cup was organized by the magazine Alma Cerveza and Maltexco, and was also sponsored by Pro Chile, Duoc UC, Mundo Cervecero and Puracerveza.cl.

Gold medals were won by the Belgian beer “Blonde Ale,” made by Augustinj; “Weizenbier” from the Brazilian company Cervejaria Bamberg; “Dubbel” from Dutch company La Trappe; and “Stout” from the Chilean brewer Cuello Negro.

Among the 64 awarded medals, Chilean brands won first place due to 31 awards, among which included Cervecería Guayacán, which one a silver medal with its stout; Cervecería Szot, which won a bronze medal with its Negra Stout and Rubia al vapor; and Cervecería Kross, which won a bronze medal for its stout, Maibock, and golden ale.

During the five days of the competition, in Duoc UC (Antonio Varas headquarters), the competition also held nine seminars with the aim of analyzing specific themes of interest to beer producers. These were led by well-known brewmasters and beer-world authorities, such as Asbjorn Gerlach, Kevin Szot, Jay Brooks, Matthew Brynildson, Lyn Kruger, Martín Boan, Rodrigo Sánchez and journalists from Mundo Cervecero, as well as other industry experts.

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

According to Patricio de la Cruz, sale manager of Andes Wines, “We have wines from every valley, including Bio Bio, Cachapoal, Casablanca, San Antonio, Colchagua, Curicó and Maule, and some of the participating vineyards include Balduzzi, Casas del Toqui, William Fevre, Portal del Alto, La Rosa, Anakena, Villalobos, AguaTierra, Encomenderos, Via Wines, Casa Donoso, Bisquertt and Nerkihue.”

Guided wine tastings will also be held for restaurant buyers who are buying products for their menus or special packs for the upcoming Independence Day.

As for accessories, the sale will offer wine glasses of all kinds, decanters, corkscrews for both wine and champagne, and furniture made from French oak barrels.

Highlights of the gourmet products include Agroches (sheep and goat cheece), Oliva Bogaris olive oil, De Camacho (garlic pastes), De Pampa (lamb), Directo del Productor (fruit infusions), Los Montes (tuna), Majo (chutney and jams), Nahual (pate and quail eggs), Nobleza Artesanal (artisan mustard), Omni Nuts (dried fruits), Rayún (spreads and chuntey), Rucamalal (chocolates), Sofruco (natural juices), Doña Vicky (manjar and jam), Los Tilos (special cheese), Pulltex (wine accessories), Scandik (glasses and decanters), Apisu (gourmet honey), desserts from Dulce Patria, pate and carpaccio from Emú, smoked lamb shanks, sugar-free jams and preserves, and soda from Frutas Francesas and French beer.

The sale format is based in boxed of 6-12 bottles, in addition to individual bottles for varietal, reserve, and grand reserve wines. The wine ranges from $1.200 to $50.000 per bottle. For the gourmet products, the discounts run from 20% to 30%, in boxes or packs of 3-4 products, in addition to being presented without frills (as contrasted with the average supermarket shelf).

PARKING AND HOURS

The mall has a modern infrastructure, parking spaces for more than 1600 vehicles, and an ample security system included a fenced-in perimeter, guards, security cameras and a partnership with the police for constant guarding.

Hours are: Monday through Friday 10am-7pm, Saturday 10am-8pm, and Sundays and holidays 11am-6pm.

Location: Avenida San Ignacio 500, módulo 9, in the industrial neighborhood Buenaventura, in Comuna de Quilicura. Easy to access from the Autopista Nor Oriente, Autopista Américo Vespucio Norte, Túnel San Cristóbal, Autopista 5 Norte and Carretera General San Martín.

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

The new edition of Cata y Vino will start at 4:00pm on August 26th and 27th in Hotel W. One distinguishing feature of this year’s event is that the fair began in July with the Noches Gourmet, a series of evenings of wine pairings premiering the event’s wines, which were planned by The Wine House. Featured restaurants included Zinnia, Casa Mar, Sukalde and Tierranoble. With this early premier, more than 200 people were able to try to wines that will be featured at the fair, which were accompanied by menus designed by well-known chefs.

Cata y Vino 2011 will include more than 40 national wine labels, demonstrating its evolution into an important event for the industry, where each vineyard has an opportunity to display its new wines and vintages.

This year, as in last year’s bicentennial edition, the Cata y Vino will host a tasting in which people from the wine industry will judge the wine of their peers and reward the best with prizes. A week before the event, the jury, which will include one representative from each winery and which will be led by journalist Alejandro Jimenez, editor of the magazine WAIN, will meet in the Hotel W to taste close to 300 samples and vote for the winners.

Medals will include Gold, Silver, and Bronze, in addition to Best Value.

“The results of the contest will be announced at the beginning of the fair, so that visitors will know which are the best wines at the exposition,” said Marí José Zañartu, commercial director of The Wine House.

In this event, as in all previous versions of Cata y Vino, there will be tastings of sparkling wine and gourmet products, in addition to hors d’oeuvres that visitors can enjoy alongside the wine.

Wine lovers can also watch the show live via live streaming at http://www.nirvino.cl, a specialized wine and gastronomy site by foodie journalist Daniel Greve.

If you want all the Chilean wine news in one place, you can’t miss this new version of Cata y Vino 2011.

Ticket sales begin August 10 in WAIN, El Mundo del Vino, and through distributor El Cielo, and can also be purchased directly at Hotel W on event day.

Program Cata y Vino 2011

Place: Level -3 Hotel W Santiago

General Admission $15.000
General hall, includes one cup Riedel
Friday August 26th 4:00pm-11:00pm
Saturday August 27th 4:00pm-12:00am

Premium Admission $25.000
General hall and wine icon hall, includes one cup Riedel
Friday August 26th 7:00pm-10:00pm
Saturday August 17th 7:00pm-11:00pm

http://www.catayvino.cl

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

In the first stage, the objective of the “Wine Private Equity” is to administer 20 million dollars in conjunction with a local bank to buy vineyards in different valleys that have medium term growth potential to leverage and strengthen them through management for 2 to 5 years and then sell them at a higher value.

To support this strategy and consolidate the growth of Wine Private Equity, “Wine & Investment Circle” was created and will operate in Santiago through regular meetings at the Hotel Atton el Bosque and after June in San Francisco, California in the United States. Convened for the purpose of investors, investment funds and hedge funds will provide a portfolio of the projects for sales that are managed by Andes Wines such as vineyards in Casablanca, Maipo, Colchagua and Limarí.

The investment determination strategy will be headed by Sebastián Hoppe, Investment Director and Pamela Villablanca, International Wine Manager of Andes Wines-USA and Former Ambassador of Huneeus Vintners Wine, a family owned property in Veramonte in the Casablanca Valley and Quintessa.

“We are very excited about our relationship with Andes Wines”, says Matt Scoggins with the Pan American Real Estate Group, Panama City, Republic of Panama: “We have been working closely with Max Morales and his group over the past several months to marry our relationships and investors with the unique opportunity being presented in the Wine Private Equity venture. We strongly believe in the leverage being created by the leadership and experience that Max, Pamela and Sebastián bring to the table. Timing is everything, and with the continued growth of the region, as well as the expanding global market for quality grapes and wine, we believe our clients will be properly positioned to take advantage of this exciting and unique opportunity. We are confident that this initial step forward with Andes Wines will be followed by additional and equally impressive ventures.” – Matt Scoggins, Pan American Capital Corporation

“We will offer a comprehensive management and consulting service for the investor, which could range from establishing a new vineyard to produce wines from a premium terroir, or alternatively, acquiring and operating an existing vineyard. That is why we are receiving a wide variety of properties and wineries interested in being offered through wine private equity.” Maximiliano Morales, CEO of Andes Wines.

Andes Wines
andes@andeswines.com
twitter: andeswines

What this actually means, well that’s a complex answer. Anyone looking to simplify that complexity (and who wouldn’t when you’re trying to make generalizations at the scale of the global economy) could reasonably say that America consumed more wine last year than any other country.

I gave my own little cheer when I read the news stories, but then I started to wonder at the real story behind the numbers. Certainly, shipping volume can’t be denied as an indicator of commercial activity, and a derivative of commercial demand. But where are all those boxes of wine going? And are they really being consumed when they get there?

What has happened to wine inventories in the past year in all those big warehouses around the country where the boxes end up when they cross our shores? According to some folks I know who spend time in those warehouses, they’re not exactly emptying out at the rates they were several years ago.

And then there’s the little problem of per-capita consumption in this country, which is still dismally low compared to almost all other countries in the world. We Americans drink only 9.6 liters of wine a year per-capita. That’s less than Macedonia, and only a bit more than the United Arab Emirates, where alcohol is pretty much illegal.

The good news is that our consumption, no matter how you measure it, is on the rise. Our per capita consumption in 2008 was up 14% (thank you recession), and I expect it to keep on rising, though it will take us a long time at even a 14% annual increase to approach the per-capita consumption of France, at 53 liters of wine a year.

This of course means that some of us (we know who we are) seem to be responsible for vastly more than our fair share of wine consumption in this country. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but that’s a gap not unlike the income inequality gap in this country. Sobering. Or just the opposite, as the case may be.

So forgive me if I don’t get too excited about this recent milestone in our country’s history of global wine commerce. It’s an achievement to be sure, but there’s much more to be done to get wine on more tables in this country, more often. And of course, there’s much more wine to be drunk.

Official site: http://www.vinography.com/archives/2011/03/where_all_that_wine_is_going.html