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Views of the Beautiful South: Mario Pablo Silva, Casa Silva

Published:  17 September, 2014

Here Mario Pablo Silva , managing director of Chilean wine producer Casa Silva, gives his impressions and hopes for the UK market on the back of last weeek's Wines of the Beautiful South tasting.

Here Mario Pablo Silva , managing director of Chilean wine producer Casa Silva, gives his impressions and hopes for the UK market on the back of last weeek's Wines of the Beautiful South tasting. 

How important is the UK market to you?

The UK is a very important market for Casa Silva. We proactively support our commercial partners and their relationships. As a result this has not only seen us maintain sales in the UK especially during the European recession but also increase them allowing us to delivery consistency both in our wines and our marketing strategies. 

What is your biggest challenge in the UK?

Chile has made such headway in terms of winemaking in recent years that it is vital that we push forward and develop as a region as well as individual producers. Firstly we need to come together and define the characteristics of Chilean wine as currently we are producing many diverse styles. This is great for variety, however in order to position Chile as a leader in the New World we need to combine our knowledge and understanding of the land through research and case studies. This will help us define the strengths and strains of our land. We can then use these characteristics to our advantage in creating wines of quality and excellence.

In terms of our biggest challenges in the UK, it is the supermarkets. It's fantastic when we get the listings but we then face two main challenges; the first is getting a listing from the mid to premium price range and our second challenge is then maintaining them, with the pressure of price promotions and the vast range of wines supermarkets now offer this can prove to be very difficult. 

 What is the main message you're trying to put out to trade/consumers?

Education is at the centre of our consumer and trade strategy. A key message we continuously strive to share with both the trade and consumer is to showcase the diversity of Chile. Some of the trade and many consumers are stuck with only looking to Chile for entry-level wines and are not even aware of our unique country's potential. Boundaries are constantly being pushed and it is important for us to continue to drive the mid-premium price range of wines Chile has to offer which express the 'New Chile' of freshness and elegance. 

 How are economies at home effecting business abroad? 

We faced a challenging harvest this year, which ran all the way through to the end of May! Despite the persistent threat of frost, which resulted in a shortage of some strains of varieties, in particular chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc the intern prices have tended to rise. The exportations of Chilean wine have evolved without any changes, which is inline with the Wines of Chile plans.  

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