The history of the wine boom in Japan that we delivered twice in a row. He cited the explosive breakthrough of Chilean wine in the background of the boom from 1995 to 1998, which was a major turning point.

I've broken it a lot because of the number of characters, so let's dig into this Chilean wine this time.

Viticulture in Chile, like other wine-producing countries in South America, began in the mid-16th century when Spanish missionaries brought in grapes to make wine for the Misa.

The variety name is Pais. It is the same variety as the mission of California, Clioja of Argentina. It was weeded out long ago in California, but there are still 10,000 hectares of pie fields in Chile.

The seedlings of the best French varieties were brought to Chile in the middle of the 19th century, 300 years later. Don Silvestre Ochagavia, who made a fortune in mine development, traveled to Europe in 1851. I brought back a large amount of seedlings, mainly Bordeaux grape varieties. In fact, about 20 years earlier, in 1830, a French scholar named Claude Gay invited by the Chilean government set up a test field in Santiago and tried to plant Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc. Ochagavia's trip to Europe may have seen the results of this trial cultivation.

However, even with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, it is not as sweet as a wine like Bordeaux's finest chateau. Although engineers came from France at the end of the 19th century, what was being made at that time was a mass-produced wine that the common people drink instead of water.

In 1979, things changed. This year, Miguel TORRES came from Spain and established a winery in Curico Valley. Temperature-controlled fermentation in stainless steel tanks and wine aging in oak barrels resulted in sophisticated wines. Until then, Chilean wine was vinified a slightly oxidized, heavy taste.

Other wineries were impressed by the international style of Miguel TORRES, and they all introduced stainless steel tanks. The modernization of vinification has progressed.

Miguel TORRES' advance into Chile is interesting because of the political historical background of Spain and Chile. In Spain, after the end of the civil war in 1939, Francisco Franco, who had a dictatorship, died in 1975. Franco's death revives the royal government, but he did not know how the political system would change after the death of the dictator. So Miguel TORRES, who thought it would be risky to have a business base only in Spain, decided to set up a second or third base in another country.

On the other hand, Chile was established in 1970 by the socialist Allende administration, but collapsed in just three years due to the coup d'etat of General Augusto Pinochet. When Pinochet came to power the following year, he promoted market opening policies and welcomed foreign investment. It was Miguel TORRES who responded to this. It's not hard to imagine that each other had a sense of security that they were Spanish-speaking.

Chile, which has been modernizing winemaking in this way, will finally enter the international market in the mid-1980s. As already mentioned in the previous column, the marketing method used for this is a variety of wines that are modeled after California and Australia.

In the 1990s, an unexpected opportunity came to Chile. Beginning in the 1990s, a new strain of phylloxera attacked California vineyard, forcing the replanting of many vineyard. California wine was in dire supply, and American merchants searched for alternative wines. Chilean wine was able to meet this demand.

Chilean wine was also in the limelight in the mid 90's with the arrival of the Japanese red wine boom. Affordable prices, easy-to-understand labels, and quality that exceeded the price quickly swept the Japanese market. At its peak, a ship full of Chilean wine flooded Yokohama Port, and I heard that there was a ship that was stranded on the sea waiting for berthing.

In fact, even before that, the high cost performance of Chilean wine was a well-known fact in the industry even in Japan. This is because a large amount of Chilean wine was imported in bulk for blending domestic wines. As long as Japanese consumers began to enjoy wine normally in their daily lives, the setting for Chilean wine to break was already in place.

Taking this opportunity in Japan, we have established our position as a representative of "cheap wine" that is always placed on the shelves of supermarkets and convenience stores. When the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) signed between Japan and Chile in 2007 gradually reduced tariffs on Chilean wine (completely abolished in April 2019), it re-breaks with animal labels.

After that, while wines from other countries were sluggish, it continued to rise, and in 2015, it overtook French wine, which had reigned as the champion for many years, in terms of import volume, and finally jumped to the top. Last year, which was fueled by the Japan-EU EPA, he barely kept the number one position.

So far, I've only focused on the superiority of Chilean wine cospa, but from now on, I'll talk about quality advances that are often overlooked.

It was in 1997 that I first visited the Chilean wine region. It was right in the middle of the Chilean wine boom. Wineries all boasted of their stainless steel fermentation tanks, which glowed with a dull color. On the other hand, there were almost no wineries that showed their vineyard. It can be said that the Chilean wine industry at that time was primarily promoting the modernization of vinification technology, and viticulture was secondary.

But 10 years later, when he returned to Chile, the situation was completely different. When you visit a winery, greetings start with a guide to the vineyard. Thanks to this, the black bag of the cameraman who accompanied me was covered in dust and turned white when the interview was finished.

In the past, Chilean wine was mainly made from grapes grown on the fertile flatlands between the Coastal Mountains and the Andes Mountains. In dry Chile, irrigation is essential in principle, and flood irrigation was carried out by pouring snowmelt from the Andes directly into the vineyard. About 20 tons of grapes per hectare would normally have been harvested. Still, a wine with a sense of wonder and fulfillment was completed.

However, this is not the case in the fields where wineries "look" in the 2000s. It was a field located on the slope of the mountain surface, a field near the sea, or a field located at the foot of the Andes. In both cases, irrigation is drip irrigation, in which water drops from the tube.

The soil on the slopes of the mountain surface is generally thin, and it is possible to plant the optimum grape varieties according to the direction of the slope and the altitude. It is a basic condition for producing high quality grapes.

The ancestor of such sloped vineyard is the vineyards of MONTES Apalta. MONTES' ULTRA-premium Syrah "MONTES Folly Syrah" is a wine made from Syrah planted on a steep slope with a maximum slope of 45 degrees. Because the slope is so dangerous, it is said that it was named Folly (silly), saying, "It's ridiculous to plant grapes in such a place!"

In Chile's Central Valley, on the other hand, the climate is generally warm, which, while favorable for Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, is too warm for white grape varieties and Pinot Noir, where fresh acidity is essential. Therefore, vineyard near the sea were developed as suitable land for these grapes.

The cold Humboldt Current flows northward in the Pacific Ocean to the west of Chile. Due to the influence of this cold current, the land closer to the sea is cooler. The Casablanca Valley was pioneered in the early 90's, followed by the San Antonio Valley, which is cooler than the Casablanca Valley, and its subzone, the Reida Valley. Sauvignon Blanc, which was cultivated in warm and fertile lands, can be planted in the cool Reida Valley to transform the tropical flavor into a fresh, mineral style.

The Andean foothills are also relatively cool, though not as cool as the coastal areas, due to the wind blowing down from the Andes. Moreover, because of the high altitude, the temperature drops rapidly at night, so the temperature difference between day and night is large, which affects the quality of the grapes. The red wine varieties grown in the Andean foothills are generally small, dark in color, and rich in concentration, while also having rich acidity, and a straight back.

In addition, taking advantage of the blessed natural environment, natural viticulture that does not rely on chemical fertilizers or pesticides is very common, which can be said to be a major feature unique to Chile.

Today, Chile's wine region extends further north and south. The north is the southern tip of the Atacama Desert, a hot and dry land where pisco grapes are originally cultivated, but its coastal area is cool due to the Humboldt Current. In addition, the soil here contains calcareous components, which is rare in Chile.

Miguel TORRES 'Cordillera Chardonnay Reserva Especial is Chardonnay produced in Limari on the northern coast, and the salty minerality in the finish sets it apart from your average Chilean Chardonnay.

Conversely, to the south it crosses the Biobio Valley in the South region and approaches Patagonia at 40 degrees south latitude. This region is named Austral and includes sub-regions called Cautin Valley and Osorno Valley, where cool-climate grape varieties such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Pinot Noir are grown. Since it is in the southern hemisphere, the climate is cooler as you go south, but on the other hand, there is a lot of rainfall.

Furthermore, there is also a movement to review varieties such as Paice and Carignan, which were once in decline due to being overpowered by international varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. This is because from these long-grown varieties grown on non-irrigated land, we discovered a unique Chilean personality that cannot be obtained from international varieties.

It's outdated to think of Chile as a cheap wine-producing country forever. When you taste the rapidly evolving Chilean fine wines, you will be amazed at their true potential.