The ritual of choosing wine has become a key process for all of those looking to enjoy a good glass of red wine. But besides personal pleasure, the wine industry is a profitable market that allows expansion among other territories.
In this way, Chilean wineries are among those who fit into the definition of good quality. The reputation of Chilean wines has boosted the growth of this industry to the point in which it has become one of the most important economic activities of the country.
Canada is the fourth biggest importer of wine around the world, and the seventh when it comes to Chilean wines only. Both countries have decades of vine-related business history, even before the Free Trade Agreement between these two was implemented.
In fact, for many Chilean wineries, Canada is their main exporting destination. PanamericanWorld brings you the list of the tenth biggest Chilean wineries in Canada, for you to keep in mind when buying your next foreign wine.
1) Viña Concha y Toro. Chile’s most important winery shows why it is the most famous brand around the world: in 2014 it was awarded “The Most Powerful Wine Brands” and from 2010 to 2013 it was the most admired brand in the world.
Its history in Canada is a small scale copy of what it has done around the world: in 2013 the sales of CyT (Concha y Toro) in this country reached the US$ 23.7 million which amounts to 714 thousand 9-litre boxes, numbers that place the winery as a leader in the Chilean category with a market share of 35.5% of everything exported from Chile.
Blanca Bustamante, assistant director of Corporative Communications of CyT said that the Chilean wine inudstry is “growing” and that it is becoming more and more competitive every day. “It is still a challenge to make Chilean wine recognized internationally by its quality and price and make it competitive with better positioned industry”.
“Chile will have a very big opportunity in the years to come” she added.
2) Viña Cono Sur The vineyard, also a property of the group Concha y Toro, is the second most selling brand in Canada. In 2013 they sold 314 thousand boxes, an equivalent of US$ 9.8 millions in sales.
Their most popular wine was the Cono Sur Tocornal, a mix of two varieties of Cabernet/Merlot. The medium-bodied wine with little evidence of oak, can be bought by around US$ 10 in Canada.
3) Viña Errazuriz Third in the list, this vineyard created in 1870 was chosen again (for a second consecutive year) to be in the Top 100 “Wine & Spirits” vineyards, an annual list that “only includes those vineyards with the most consistent and exceptional wines”, said its Corporate Communications Officer, Veronica Steinbrugge.
The vineyard has been exporting to Canada since 1990. This last year they sold 146,000 boxes. The Canadian market is “very important” for the vineyard, said Steinbrugge because it is its first more valuable and second biggest market.
4) Viña Santa Carolina. Santa Carolina is part of Chilean wines history, with 139 years of tradition.
The vineyard has been exporting wine to Canada for 30 years and they send about 3 million litres of wine a year.
“In Ontario we are the number one Chilean wine brand and we have the number one and number two products of the province”, said the Communications Manager, Pilar Moreno.
For Santa Carolina “Canada is the most important market” where they are growing in presence and volume.
Their most sold wine is the Santa Carolina varietal Sauvignon/Merlot, which costs around US$ 7.
5) Viña San Pedro. In the middle of the list we have this powerful wine group, the second most important of Chile present in 90 countries.
It was one of the first vineyards to come to Canada, exporting since the 1940s. Nowadays they sell almost two million litres a year. They are present in all of Canada’s provinces.
“Today, Canada is one of the four focus markets for VSPT Wine Group, where we are using resources so that they let us construct long term relations, and we are supporting the construction of global and strategic brands for the company”, said Carolina Gotuzzo, Chief of Communications.
6) Viña Santa Rita. Another historic vineyard, Santa Rita was founded in 1880. 10 times winner of vineyard of the year by “Wine & Spirits”, this vineyard exports 1.8 million boxes of wine around the world and they sell almost all of it to Canada.
7) Viña Carmen. From the same group as Santa Rita, this vineyard exports wine to Canada since the 90s, said Maria Cecilia Pino, who is in charge of international communications.
Carmen will reach the 80,000 boxes (720,00 litres) exported to Canada this year. Even though they sell in every province, Quebec is their main destination.
The Canadian market represents a 17% of their total exports, making it a key market for Carmen.
8) Viña Luis Felipe Edwards. One of the newest in the market, this vineyard has been exporting wine to Canada for the past 10 years. It has sold 57,000 boxes (513,000 liters) in the past 12 months. For this vineyard, Canada is in the top 15 of its most important export destinations.
The vineyard’s best selling wines in Canada are the Cabernet S. Gran Reserva (about US$15) and the Shiraz Reserva (US$ 9)
9) Viña MontGras. This vineyard was founded in 1993. Only a year later, it was already exporting to Canada.
In one of the MontGras cellars.
“So far (2014), a total amount of 270,540 litres have been sold. We are in the following provinces: Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, and Nova Scotia”, said Andrea Ilabaca, Communications and Public Relations Manager at Viña MontGras.
“Canada is one of the first markets we started exporting to, as Viña MongtGras. The Canadian preference is for our high-end wines, specially for Ninquén”, she added.
10) Viña Montes. This vineyard, created in 1987, is the last vineyard in the list of the 10 most successful Chilean vineyards in Canada.
Sebastian Alvial, in charge of the Canadian market said that Montes is selling about 270,000 bottles a year with a growth of 20% versus the average 5% of other vineyards.
The biggest challenge, for Avial and other specialists, is to make Chilean wine keep growing in provinces where clients aren’t familiarized with the product. “Our industry has the big responsibility of working together to develop an image of a country of great, high quality wine producers.
