JAPAN and the WORLD Magazine OCTOBER ISSUE 2015 #Issue 13

FEATURE WINE CONSUMPTION IN JAPAN Source: USDA GAIN Report 日本のワイン消費量 VOLUME (000 KL) LUXURY PROPORTION OF CONSUMPTION BY TYPE OF WINE Source: Vinitrac Japan RED 50% 38% WHITE ROSÉ 12% Women constitute the greater percentage of wine consumers and buyers; 55% compared to men’s 45%. is plenty of sun, there are dry summers, the soil is excellent, and then to be successful you have to show quality at a reasonable price. We excel at that. On top of that, Chile is a country of mountains, and where you have many mountains, you have many valleys. In these little valleys you have micro-terroirs offering many possibilities to make wonderful wines. When you love wine you want to experiment a little bit. We provide you with the brand you have been drinking for 20 years, but if you want to try a new variety we provide you with that too. This is part of our success. It also has to do with very focused information. Everywhere we hear, “we love Chilean wine.” We have country brand recognition thanks to the wine. We apply this to our food and culture as well. Wine has become an ambassador of Chile. This is due to a very concerted long-term effort by the wineries and the Government in order to establish the brand. And it takes a lot of time, energy and investment. We have done that. If we keep growing at today’s rate we might become No. 1 in value too. This is our goal. We don’t stop here. If you look at the stat istics, wine consumption has enormous growth potential. Chilean wine is an extremely affordable option for Japanese wine enthusiasts, but Chile also has a number of luxurious icon wines. Can you tell us a little about these wines and their presence in Japan? An icon wine is a wine that is superior in quality, and sometimes in price. These are wines that consistently are given over 90 points in a scale from 0 to 100. We are talking about wines going beyond 10,000 JAPAN AND THE WORLD MAGAZINE When it comes to wine varieties, most Japanese consumers favor Cabernet Sauvignon (36%), Merlot (25%) and Pinot Noir (22%) for red, and Chardonnay (45%), Sauvignon Blanc (23%) and Riesling (15%) for white. yen, up to 40,000 to 50,000 yen in Japan. Chile has been making a concerted effort to place these wines in the market. However, we had to convince the experts first. Chilean icon wines have been winning prizes in widely recognized competitions like the Berlin Tasting. We brought a variety of vines from France in the middle of the 19th century, including Carménère. However, because of a Phylloxera epidemic at the time in Bordeaux, many vineyards were wiped out. The French winemakers needed to bring it back from the American continent to replant lost vineyards, mostly in Bordeaux. Among lost and forgotten vines was Carménère, ideal for the climate in Chile. Rediscovered in the 1980s, Carménère has become an exciting new flagship among many varieties produced by Chile. You know, Chile became known for the quality of its Cabernet Sauvignon but today everyone wants to try Carménère. It has a deep red color and is considered a medium bodied wine, usually blended with Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Franc. In Chile, the majority of wineries are still family owned and many have a tradition of over 150 years. Yet, we are still learning about our terroirs. With our very young and creative winemakers who like to experiment a lot, we have been creating exciting new wines from the Atacama desert to the south, in places where it was unthinkable to do so 20 or 30 years ago. There are magnificent Sauvignon Blancs produced only a few kilometers from the Pacific Ocean which have great mineral and saline flavors. Through international competitions like the Berlin Tasting we have been able to place our wines among the best. But there is still a long way to go considering that many countries produce outstanding wines and some among them, like France and Italy, have established themselves as leaders for many years. Our challenge is to increase our return per case. Today, Japan is our third largest market after the U.S. and the U.K. and we are certain that we will continue to grow in the future. Lately other countries such as those in the European Union and Australia have sought EPAs with Japan. What does Chile think of the impending competition in the wine market? Will Chile’s longstanding, nearly exclusive monopolization of Japan’s affordable wine market allow it to stay at the top of the foreign wine imports? Our challenges are to grow in value and, of course, to be the wine of choice in every niche. We are well established in table and middle range wines, but we want to grow in the premium niche and in icon wines. Competition is always stimulating. チリは今や信頼に足る輸出国として知られていますが、日本は貿易相手を選ぶ際に細心の注意を払う国です。つきつめると、日・チリ経済連携協定（EPA）がこれほどまでの成功を収めている理由は何でしょうか？まず初めに、日本とチリには150年に及ぶ経済的な結び付きがあり、信頼感が醸成されていたという背景があります。国交が正式に結ばれたのは1897年に日本チリ修好通商航海条約が締結されたときで、今から1世紀以上前のことですが、両国間での商取引は既に明治時代初頭から行われていました。 OCTOBER 2015 // 76

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