Aresti installs $9 million bottling line at Curicó winery

Aresti Chile Wine has completed investment in a new $9 million bottling line, as part of its efforts to increase sales to one million cases this year, and to 1.5m by 2026.

Describing 2018 as a “new era” for Aresti, the bottling line will lead the producer’s 10 year growth plans, having made major investments over the past five years to establish its position in the Curicó valley.

It will allow the producer to increase its production capabilities to 6,000 bottles an hour, up from 1,400 previously, with a further goal to reach sales of 1.5m cases by 2026.

“Our new Italian-made, state-of-the-art bottling line adds to the various investments made in vineyards and technology over the past five years and marks the completion of the strategic plan we had devised to face the challenges of the coming decade”, explained general manager Matías Rivera.

This new technology will not only increase production, but enhance product quality assurance standards and strengthen Aresti’s commitment to an environmentally friendly operation, it has said.

In winegrowing, substantial investments have been made in new plantations and upgrading of old vineyards, while new vinification techniques and experimentation with new varieties are also underway.

This year Aresti will add two new wines to its Trisquel series – a Carmenere and Malbec – from coastal vineyards in the Curicó Valley, which were first presented at ProWein this year and priced at £18.

“The idea of the range is to keep the real fruit character,”  explained winemaker Jon Usabiaga, speaking to the drinks business in Santiago earlier this year.

“We don’t want to cover the wine with a lot of oak or different things. It’s a very clean, straight fermentation, and a little bit of work on lees. The objective of this range is to cover the whole of Curicó Valley, from the coast to the mountains. Because Curicó is so big, we are trying to grow grapes from east to west. We have terroir for low altitude vineyards, coastal vineyards, we have a good central valley for Semilion, and some beautiful places in the mountains. At the moment Curicó is focused on Sauvignon Blanc, but in the future I think we need to focus on Chardonnay from coastal Curicó and Semillon from the central valley as well.”

While these new additions are from vineyards located close to the coast, the producer’s Trisquel Semillon and Cabernet are from the central part of the Curicó Valley, while the Trisquel Merlot is made from fruit sourced in the foothills of the Andes at high altitude.
“It’s a cool climate region, but it’s not like Leyda,” adds Usabiaga, of its coastal vineyard. “It’s a little bit warmer than Leyda. It’s smooth and poised, and there’s some texture there.”

Why Malbec? “It’s about going further west with the reds in Curicó which I think is challenging,” says Usabiaga. “It is the most challenging grape in Curicó. Temperatures are lower than you expect for a red and we were exploring with some other varieties – Cab Franc, Petit Verdot and Syrah in the same area – and Malbec performed the best. We have fermented those varieties for the last three years. For me the others were uneven but Malbec was very good, so we decided to keep the Malbec and to show the potential that Curico has in every area.”

Further trials with Petite Syrah, Petit Verdot, Roussanne and Marsanne also in the pipeline, but there’s “still a long way to go”, adds Barbara Lewin, marketing manager at Aresti, who suggests a white blend might be a future possibility.

“We are exploring it in our own estates,” she said. “It has to be in line with the exploration of the winemakers and commercial needs.”