Eduardo Brethauer is a journalist, writer and traveler. Author of the hilarious wine guide Vinos con Cuento. Owner and Wine Editor of Vitis Magazine. Member of the Circle of Wine Writers, La Commenda Major de Rosselló and Círculo de Cronistas Gastronómicos y de Vino de Chile. Founder of Vignadores de Carignan, a unique association of producers that reinvented a viticultural tradition of 5 centuries in Maule Valley. He doesn’t believe in scores. “They’re fuckin’ stupid”, claims. He and his brilliant collaborators are always seeking for character and identity. Their goal is to rescue and put in value wines, spirits and food treasures from forgotten corners of the world.
In the golden decade of the 90s, Chile flooded the markets with its good, beautiful and cheap wines, but the increase in production costs (energy, labor, exchange rate, etc.) has diminished its competitiveness, especially with the awakening of Eastern Europe. The solution is to increase the price of wines, but it is impossible if they do not have a reputation and the country image that supports the strategy. In recent years, however, the Chilean offer has changed. It is no longer based only on entry-level offerings, but proposals that add value and diversity, such as subversive, independent, luxurious, extreme and singular wines. All of them have inaugurated a new wine-producing Chile, but now the most difficult thing is coming: to communicate more and better, above all, the amazing notes of their #vinosconcuento.
Illustration: Barabini.