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How did your father become a key figure of the Chilean wine industry?
My father's story is actually really nice.
It goes back almost 30 years now, to a great passion of his,
which was to transform the Chilean wine industry; to turn mass wine production
into, for the first time, high-quality winemaking;
thus showing the world that Chile did have potential for quality.
That's when he set out, along with four partners and completely penniless,
to promote our wines, which experienced an explosive growth.
And he was always focused on quality.
To me, seeing my father shape an image of quality for Chilean wines out of nothing,
with such great passion, was a remarkable example.
Of course, it caught my attention and brought me closer to the world of wine,
and that's when I started working with him.
And well, we thought: "Why not Argentina?"
To us, Argentina is a fellow country; and a country that makes excellent wines.
We started business in Argentina a few years ago,
but, thank goodness, the country has grown a lot quicker than what we had expected.
It has now come of age and that's why I've come over to support the Kaiken brand and its leap into the world.
What made you decide to settle down in Argentina?
The reason for my coming to Argentina is quite clear:
at Kaiken, which is already a consolidated winery, we wanted to take a further step
a step towards excellence, with the desire to keep on growing as we've been doing so far.
And what better choice than to have someone from our family come over?
I'm a winemaker and I'm very keen on working with new varieties
and finding new terroirs in Argentina to continue promoting the development of our line of wines
and continue delighting consumers.
Chile is an example of a country where different varieties are grown:
Carmenere, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot…
Well, Argentina is so full of attractive varieties waiting to be explored that I consider it a challenge
to produce new varieties and release new wines for everyone to enjoy a pleasant time in the company of Kaiken wines.
What’s your main challenge regarding Kaiken?
Argentina is a paradise for winegrowing.
The diversity of terroirs, soils and weather conditions is actually a huge challenge to me as a winemaker,
to continue discovering new places, as we have done elsewhere.
In Chile, we have explored different ways of planting vineyards on the hillsides, with different orientations…
It is now a huge challenge for me to get to work in altitude;
to be able to see and make the most of every corner in Mendoza.
Mendoza is so diverse in its soil and its weather that it allows you to continue developing new varieties
and, who can tell, maybe even discover new wines.
What should the identifying feature of a wine be?
Concerning the issue of whether the variety or the location is more important,
I think that, in the future, the information consumers will expect to find on a wine label will be, without a question, where the grape comes from
It's very important to know whether it is Cabernet, Syrah, Merlot, etc.,
but it's also important to know what corner of the world the wine comes from;
this will give the wine an identity and a much more personal touch.
Whether the wine is from Valle de Uco, from Mendoza's premium winemaking area, or from somewhere close to Vistalba, it's important to let consumers know.
That's why, as a winemaker, I hope to see that, in the future,
the Valley will predominate over the variety, because I think that's far more important nowadays than the grape variety.