Report from: Looking Back at Don Melchor
31 Jul 2015- Details
- Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy
(April 29, 2015) ... A lot can be said about Concha y Toro ... they were first established in 1883 and the first winery to become public in 1933. They were the first on the New York Stock Exchange (1994), bought Trivento in Argentina in 1996, partnered with Baron Philippe de Rothschild in 1997 to form Almaviva. They acquired Fetzer / Bonterra (in California) in 2011 and they partnered up with Manchester United in 2010 ...
Their wines are in 147 markets, 70% of their production gets exported; they have 30% of their domestic market and make up 35% of Chilean exports. They have 10,750 acres planted, which is second largest and between the years 2011-2013 Drink International named them the #1 most admired wine brand in the world.
Chile is the perfect place to grow grapes and is one of only 2 countries free of phylloxera ... So why is Chile so perfect? Because of 4 natural barriers: the desert in the north, the Pacific to the west, Antarctic to the south and the Andes Mountains in the east.
So what brings them to Toronto on this fine April day? ...
Click here to see the why Concha y Toro was in town and the wines we tried
(July 29, 2015) ... It seems like it has been awhile since the Argentinian's have been to town and talked about their wines instead of just letting us taste them ... sure there was a tasting afterward, but first they had to inform us that much has changed in the land on the other side of the Andes: They have broken down the country into many appellations and three major regions - North, Cuyo and Patagonia. The whole of the country grows grapes between 1000 and 10,000 feet above sea level (300m - 3000m) - making it some of the most high altitude vineyards growing in the world.
