SANTIAGO, June 16 (Xinhua) -- For South American winemakers, China presents an unrivaled growth opportunity, a Chilean wine industry expert said.
"China provides a tremendous market for wines from Chile and the rest of the world," Pablo Ugarte, executive director of Catad'Or Wine Awards, one of the Latin America's top wine competitions, told Xinhua in a recent interview.
China is boosting the industry through its growing consumption as well as its own production process, he said. It is not just "a consumer market," it is also producing quality wine, he added.
"I have had the chance to do taste tests at international wine competitions, and Chinese wines are of an excellent quality," he said.
Ugarte, who has more than 20 years of experience in this field, has served on the jury of prestigious international wine competitions such as Canada's Selections Mondiales des Vins, France's Citadelles du Vin, and Switzerland's Mondial des Pinots.
According to him, South American wines have a long history and are among the bestselling wines in the world, given the diversity of the industry.
According to the trade group Wines of Chile, Chile exported 57.2 million cases of bottled wine in 2017, 5.8 percent more than in the year before. China was the leading export market.
The introduction of new grape varieties has expanded South American countries' wine production beyond the typical grapes they were known for, Ugarte said.
New grapes "have made Chile much more than Carmenere and Cabernet Sauvignon, Argentina much more than Malbec, and Uruguay much more than Tannat," he said.
"Now what we have to do is to reach the most premium-priced niches, and position ourselves in the gondolas and restaurants of the world," he said. "I think we have everything we need to achieve it, we only have to go and be in the markets."
