Coronavirus conversations: Angélica Valenzuela from Wines of Chile

Wines of Chile commercial director, Angélica Valenzuela, gives db the lowdown on Chile’s response to the coronavirus crisis, from new harvesting measures to fresh marketing efforts, as well as providing a forecasted impact of Covid-19 on the nation’s wine business.

Francis Mallman and Angélica Valenzuela at Fuegos de Apalta – the celebrity chef’s restaurant at Vina Montes

How has the current pandemic affected the Chilean harvest 2020 – if at all?

At the first stages of the pandemia, the government identified critical sectors for the country. One of them was the agricultural sector, an essential sector to maintain the food chain. Therefore, for workers in agriculture, there are special safe-conduct (permits) that enables them to move through the country and go to their workplaces. Among the measures highlighted by the Minister of Agriculture, there is a manual of good hygienic practices that was developed to protect workers and to secure food safety.

Wine Sector: In terms of operations, the sector did the harvest under normal conditions and in terms of the production facilities as well, but with specific healthcare measures for this situation.

What is the quality and character of the harvest please?

The high temperatures registered in spring and summer in Chile produced an advance in the harvest dates, for both white and red varieties, which is estimated between 15 and 20 days depending on the valley. The general drought that the country is experiencing, plus some frosts that affected certain locations in spring, have determined a lower production than the previous years, but considered normal, since the previous ones had been above average. In terms of quality, the harvest is balanced with good sanitary conditions.

How has the situation affected the demand for Chilean wines at home and worldwide?

The effect is different depending on the channel focus and the level of diversification of each winery. Wineries whose main focus is the on trade are the ones that have suffered more because the on trade is the one that is not selling a lot. The same for those that are more dependent on China, China showed in March a huge decline in exports mainly because the chinese market has not recovered yet from the pandemic. They lost a wine consumption occasion which is celebrations. 

The other export markets have not fully shown the effects of the pandemia yet.

What is your expectation for the rest of year in terms of sales?

We are expecting 20% to 30% decline in the wine business. Our main markets China, Brasil, Japan, US, UK are affected by the pandemia and we are working hard to maintain the consumption and the distribution but having the on trade close is difficult to do. We are carrying out many activities to support the on trade and off trade , also activities with consumers such as social media (IG ,FB ,tik tok ), tastings, interviews, talks with winemakers, cooking and food pairing in order to accompany and contain during the crisis. It is a time to educate and promote the benefits of responsible wine consumption.

How is Wines of Chile responding to the constraints associated with controlling Covid-19, such as physical distancing and travel bans?

The association has been sending some recommended actions to the wineries to deal with this virus. The objective of this measurements are:

1. Reduce the risk and / or speed of infection of working people and their families. 

2. Protect employment.

3. Maintain the supply chain of goods and services. Most of the people that can work from home are doing so.