FEATURED WINEMAKER AND SEMINAR LEADER Rafael Urrejola Winemaking Director Viña Undurraga

Rafael Urrejola: Known as “Mr. Hunter” in honor of the range of wines that made his name famous in the Chilean wine industry, as well as his constant quest for new terroirs in all Chilean geography.

Rafael joined the Undurraga team in 2007 and is the winemaker behind T.H. (Terroir Hunter) and, in recent years, he has also been in charge of Undurraga’s iconic wine, Altazor. He was formerly the Head Winemaker at Viña Leyda, where he created various internationally recognized Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Carménère wines. Rafael has travelled extensively throughout Chile and around the world. In his quest to learn more about terroir, he spent many harvests working in vineyards such as Saintsbury winery (Carneros, California), Viña Montes (Chile), Gainey Vineyard (Santa Barbara, California), Domaine Jacques Prieur (Mersault, Burgundy, France) and Paul Ginglinger (Alsace, France). As the winemaker responsible for T.H., Rafael oversees many of the details of the grape growing and wine production process. He carefully selects the individual lots in each vineyard which he regards as having the most interesting soil. Since 2008, his wines have earned him many accolades. In 2012, he received special recognition when T.H. Pinot Noir Leyda 2010 won the International Trophy International Trophy and Best in Show in the prestigious Decanter World Wine Awards 2012 (UK). In March 2010, he was chosen the Best Winemaker of 2009 by the Círculo de Cronistas Gastronómicos de Chile (Chilean Circle of Food & Wine Writers). Since June 2013, Rafael is leading the winemaking team at Undurraga group of wines as the Winemaking Director.

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FEATURED WINEMAKER Brett Jackson Winemaking Director Valdivieso

Brett Jackson, a native of New Zealand, trained in New Zealand, at Lincoln University and the Eastern Institute of Technology.

Before arriving in Chile, Brett received extensive international experience having made wines with some of the leading wineries in leading winegrowing areas of the world, Stonyridge Vineyard (Waiheke Island - New Zealand), Flora Springs (Napa Valley), Thelema Mountain (Stellenbosch - South Africa), Jacques & Francois Lurton (Langedouc, France). Brett worked from 1994 to 2001 as Senior Winemaker for Viña San Pedro, a traditional winery which for close to 100 years has been one of the most important wineries in Chile. For the last 12 years Brett has been the Chief Winemaker for Viña Valdivieso, a family owned wine company founded 120 years ago. This winery with traditional family values has during its entire history always been respected for the quality of the wines that they produce. “I arrived in Chile in 1994, and have had the very fortunate experience to have been an active participant in the Chilean wine revolution, which has seen Chile, transformed from a winemaking curiosity to the one of the major wine producing nations of the world. These experiences have given me an insight and appreciation of the passion and constant striving to improve of the Chilean wine industry.”

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WINEMAKERS AT THE TASTING Alvaro Espinoza Winemaker EMILIANA Few people have witnessed the rise of organic and sustainable viticulture as intimately as Emiliana Vineyard’s Alvaro Espinoza. He was at the genesis of the Chilean movement, when organic grape farming elsewhere in the world was still in its infancy.

More than a decade ago, Emiliana owners, brothers José and Rafael Guilisasti, undertook the beginnings of a bold plan that would transform the traditional Chilean winery into a 100 percent organic operation. The brothers were determined to create wines that would compete with those from around the world whilst remaining entirely sustainable and respectful of the environment. Arguably Chile’s most proactive biodynamic viticulturist, Espinoza has driven the agenda. Beyond implementing practices that include using chickens for bug control, wild yeast fermentation and lowering sulphite levels to less than 100 ppm, Espinoza says the unique approach to all embracing organic farming has made Emiliana’s wines far more terroir driven. “It lets us show the fingerprint of each vintage and character of our estates in every single wine,” he suggests. “Not only that but the socially responsible path we’ve taken has allowed us to present to the world the multiple faces and dimensions of the Chilean land and its people.” Emiliana’s biodynamic farms have also moved away from the traditional monoculture of growing only vines by including vegetable plots to help augment workers’ local food production. It all fits with the company’s determination to be socially responsible at all levels. In the bottle, Espinoza’s winemaking style emphasizes minimal manipulation. Again, “In order to make a wine true to its place of origin, it’s important to respect the fruit character and personality—and not to over extract and barrel age,” he says.Espinoza and his team’s vision have firmly established Emiliana as a world leader in the production of premium quality, and equally important, organic wines. He insists it’s that team approach at every level which makes all the difference. “Every single job and position is equally important,” he suggests. “When I see the expression of someone after they taste our wines, their smile or the brightness in their eyes transmits an energy. It’s hard to describe. But I see it as the same energy of the hands of the people who are behind every single bottle we produce.”

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Alejandro Wedeles Chief Winemaker Premium Range Santa Carolina

“After a lot of investigation and practice, we understand the strong connection between the soil, the climate, and grape clones. With this in mind, we are always seeking out terroir to grow quality grapes with a strong character.”

Alejandro Wedeles is an agricultural engineer from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. For the last 17 years, he has worked at numerous wineries in the United States, Spain and France. After spending 8 years at Viña Santa Rita as Chief Winemaker of one of its main facilities, he arrived in Santa Carolina in 2007 with the mission to produce the Reserva and Premium lines of the Company. One of the first Alejandro’s projects was the development in conjunction with Andrés Caballero, Winemaking Director of Santa Carolina, of the important line: Specialties Collection, a range of wines that emphasizes terroir and a selection of new varieties. In this project it is possible to find important developments such as Mouverdre and old Carignan from the Cauquenes area.

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Gonzalo Castro Chief Winemaker Castillo de Molina & 1865 Viña San Pedro

A passionate for the terroir and diversity of Chilean soil, he has developed a deep knowledge of our country's winegrowing valleys.

Gonzalo has been part of Viña San Pedro’s winemaking team since August 2010, working in a direct relationship with Winemaking Manager, Marco Puyo, and in charge of award-winning brands of Reserva wines, Castillo de Molina and 1865. Before joining San Pedro’s winemaking team, Gonzalo began his career with a professional practice at Viña Portal del Alto, to later work as an assistant Winemaker at Viña Siegel. Then, he worked for 5 years as Chief Winemaker at Viña Aquitania, which is located in Maipo Valley; there, he participated in developing important wines, such as SOL de SOL, LAZULI and AQUITANIA, in addition to the management and production of vineyards in Maipo and Malleco Valleys. Gonzalo has worked in several wine harvests abroad, in cellars and zones like renowned Chateau Margaux in Bordeaux and Champagne Bollinger in Champagne. He also travelled through Burgundy tasting and learning how to make Pinot Noir, visiting Côtes de Nuits, Côtes de Beaune in France, in addition to working at Rosemblum Cellars in California (U.S.A.). In other aspects, Gonzalo participated as a representative of Maipo Valley in the Official Association of Winemakers, is the Director of the National Association of Winemaking Agronomy Engineers of Chile, and exercised as collaborating professor of the class of General Vitiviniculture at PUC, dictated by Prof. Alejandro Hernández.

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Cristián Molina Winemaker Varietal & Reserva Range Viña Tarapaca Cristian’s wines stand out for his enological style, which is characterized by an intense varietal expression harmoniously complemented by the subtle aromas that develop with oak barrel ageing.

After receiving his degree in Agronomical Engineering with a mention in Agro-Business from the Universidad Mayor in Santiago, Chile, Cristián earned his graduate degree in enology at the Universidad de Chile. This young winemaker began his professional experience in the Tarapacá Winery in 2000 as an assistant winemaker. A year later, however, he had already taken responsibility for the harvest at Viña Misiones de Rengo. That same year he decided to pursue professional experience aboard, so he went to California to work as an assistant winemaker at a number of wineries, such as the Bartholomew Park Winery and the Gundlach Bundschu Winery in the renowned Sonoma Valley, as well as at St. Clement Vineyards and Beringer-Blass in the famous Napa Valley. Upon his return to Chile, Cristian took responsibility for the Viña Mar harvest in the Casablanca Valley and was later hired as the winemaker responsible for Viña Tarapacá’s special blends and private labels for different markets around the world. Because of his excellent job performance, Cristian was very quickly promoted and took charge of producing Viña Tarapacá’s Varietal and Reserva wine ranges. As of 2004 he has also been responsible for the management, administration, and operation of the wine cellar in Isla de Maipo, which has a production capacity of de 13 million liters.

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