MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Wines of Chile reports a 37 percent of wine exports

Although many of Chile's agro-industrial sectors have suffered this year due to labor conflicts and an exceptionally cold winter, its wine industry is thriving

According to data collected by the guild Wines of Chile, wine exports have increased by 37 percent so far in 2007 for a total value of US$688 million. The total volume of wine exported increased by 41 percent, for a grand total of 361,000,000 liters. Wine experts say Chile's success is the result of a number of local and worldwide factors. "Chile has spent years trying to fine tune its wine so that it can compete in the most competitive markets," said vice president of Wines of Chile Javier Bitar. "For example, for a long time it was difficult to find Chilean wines that achieved more than 90 points (a form of classification created by influential enologist Robert Parker). Today, there are many," he said. Chile has also benefited where its competitor Australia has suffered. Australia, a primary exporter to the North American market, suffered from a frost and a draught during its most recent wine harvest, resulting in a 30 percent drop in wine production. As demand grows in developing countries in Latin America and Asia, worldwide wine consumption increases. Consequently, Chile stands to benefit. "Wine consumption is associated with a certain class and standard of living in the West," said Bitar. "As people in Latin America and Asia develop more comfortable lifestyles, they will want to share in this pastime." Finally, there is a growing market for enotourism – hotels and restaurants are now common sites in vineyards. There are 96 vineyards in Chile open to the public, which raked in US$3 million last year in tours (excluding wine sales). The Santiago Times