New world winners

The McKenna Collection is a tribute to General Juan McKenna and his descendants’ role in Chilean wine history

Chilean wines are some of the most chosen new world wines by Irish consumers. With a wide range of varieties and an affordable price range, Chilean wine is making its mark on the Irish palette. Fiona Donnellan examines the range of offerings which are from the country designed to impact sales

Brand Central

10 September 2013

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Chilean Wines

The McKenna Collection is a tribute to General Juan McKenna and his descendants’ role in Chilean wine history

A tribute to Irish heritage

General Juan McKenna was born in 1771, a son to William McKenna and Eleanor O’Reilly. In 1787 he was accepted into the Irish Brigade of the Spanish army and went on to become a hero in Chile during the Chilean War of Independence. His descendents were some of the pioneers of Chile’s famous wine making. As a fitting tribute to Juan McKenna and in view of his descendants’ role in Chilean wine history, Comans decided to commemorate him with a wine collection in his honour.

The two varieties of The McKenna Collection sold in Ireland are Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Launched in 2009, The McKenna Collection has fast become the third biggest Chilean wine in the Irish market. The McKenna Collection Sauvignon Blanc is pale in colour with green overtones. On the nose it delivers ripe citrus aromas and the palate is dry and crisp with zesty fruit. It is best served with chicken dishes and salads.

The McKenna Collection Cabernet Sauvignon has an intense ruby red colour with well defined varietal fruit characters on the nose. The palate shows rich ripe berry flavours and good balance. It is best served with red meat dishes. The McKenna Collection is available nationwide and retails at a very competitive price.

Enjoy Mad Men with Santa Rita

Santa Rita, the leading Chilean wine in Ireland, has returned as sponsors of the highly anticipated sixth season of TV show Mad Men, which began on Friday 13, September at 10pm on RTE 2.

Santa Rita’s sponsorship of Mad Men will run for 13 weeks and will centre on the screening of four originally produced and highly creative intro and outro stings that reflect the New York lifestyle of the 1960s. The sponsorship will kick off with strong in-store visibility in the form of point of sale, neck collar and in-store competition activity, offering customers and fans of the show the opportunity to enjoy Mad Men in style by designing and winning their very own 60s style ball chair. This will be supported by outdoor advertising.

Santa Rita wine’s sponsorship of Mad Men is part of a wider marketing campaign aimed at promoting the entire Santa Rita range. The campaign will focus on the wonderful winemakers at Santa Rita who are passionate about the wine they produce for the range and will utilise the brand’s tagline ‘Our Passion is Wine’. Plus, ‘The Wine Makers Experience’ Facebook competition will make a return this September at www.facebook.com/santaritaireland, offering Facebook fans the chance to win a seat at an exclusive food and wine experience hosted by the wine makers at Santa Rita.

Santa Rita is Ireland’s leading Chilean wine range and prides itself on producing outstanding wines that are rich, distinctive and authentically unique, reflecting the different territories in Chile. In fact, Ireland is the second biggest export market after the United States, accounting for three million bottles and a retail sales value in excess of €30 million. The portfolio boasts a variety of exquisite wines, including Medalla Real Gran Reserva and Pehuén plus the world class Casa Real, which was awarded 94 points by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate for the 2011 and 2002 vintages. In addition, the Santa Rita 120 range is one of the most widely known wines and is the top selling Chilean wine in Ireland.

Twenty years of quality

The beautifully neat vineyards of MontGras, in the locality of Palmilla, Colchagua, VI region of Chile, represent the concrete testimony of the development and the desire to do things right that have always characterised the Gras brothers, Hernán and Eduardo, along with partner Cristián Hartwig. Hernán Gras, who has a brilliant winemaking trajectory in Canada, joined with the entrepreneurial vision of his brother Eduardo. Hartwig’s pragmatic businesses view, who comes from a winemaking family and who in addition has strong bonds with Colchagua, joined them to give to life to Viña MontGras in 1993, the first project of MontGras Properties.

MontGras has always had state-of-the-art technology in all its processes and set out from its conception to be the winery with the best premium wine from Chile. In this, people have been key. Hernán Gras, chairman of the board says: "Our philosophy has to do with producing quality Chilean wines at exceptional value, which reflect the specific territories from where the grape comes from. Although we count on the equipment and the technology, it is definitively our people that make the difference. To create a wine is a true art in which all the senses are used."

Cono Sur’s 20 Barrels Pinot Noir was shortlisted for the ‘Champion Red Wine Award 2013’ at this year’s International Wine Challenge; widely recognised as the best red wine in the world award

The Ocio Pinot Noir was awarded a Gold Medal at this year’s IWC

Champion wines

Cono Sur‘s 20 Barrels Pinot Noir 2011 was shortlisted for the "Champion Red Wine Award 2013" at this year’s International Wine Challenge (IWC) held in London last June; a prize which is colloquially known as the "The Best Red Wine in the World Award". On its way, the 20 Barrels Pinot Noir was awarded a Gold Medal in its class before scooping up both the Chilean Pinot Noir Trophy and the overall Chilean Red Trophy, making it the best red wine in Chile and qualifying it for a shortlisted place in the premier league of red wines of the world.

Cono Sur’s success with Pinot Noir is well known, from its Bicicleta Pinot Noir which is consistently rated the best value Pinot available in Ireland, right through to Ocio, Chile’s first ultra-premium icon Pinot Noir which itself was also awarded a Gold Medal at this year’s IWC. Cono Sur’s Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2011 – from its range which focuses on single sites in Chile as examples of the diversity of Chile’s territories – also won a silver medal at the event.

The range has expanded to incorporate other varietals; for example the 20 Barrels Sauvignon Blanc which was awarded "Best Sauvignon Blanc Worldwide" in the 2011 International Wine and Spirit Competition, beating off entries from the Loire, Marlborough, and other famous Sauvignon Blanc regions from both the new and old worlds. Considerable achievements for a winery that this year is only celebrating its 20th birthday.

Innovative legend

Marketed and distributed in Ireland by Richmond Marketing Ltd, Casillero del Diablo has come a long way to be the most recognised premium Chilean brand in the world. Don Melchor – founder of Concha Y Toro Winery created the wine legend when, to keep strangers away from his private reserve, he spread the rumour that the devil lived in the cellar. Since its very first vintage, Casillero del Diablo has become one of the most popular wines among Chilean people and today acclaims global recognition.

The international press has recognised the quality of Casillero del Diablo creations; yet its history has been supported by powerful and innovative advertising campaigns that have set a precedent in the wine world. All these elements have contributed to turning Casillero del Diablo into the most famous Chilean wine brand. Due to popular demand, Casillero del Diablo’s "Wine Legend" TV campaign will return in October. The famous legend of Casillero del Diablo, has been taken to the big screen, and is the first wine brand all over the world with a TV spot in the style of a film trailer.

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