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Thanks,

Dave

In order to promote the trip:

I have created a facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gid=13862132439 (join this group for more info and for constant updates about the class/trip status).  I can make you a group administrator so that you can invite your friends to join this group.

I have created a facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/business/dashboard/?ref=sb#/pages/The-Global-Wine-Industry/86995751295 (become a fan and receive less frequent updates about the class/trip).

The SSU Business Department has created a montage outside of the department office in Stevenson:

Email me (david.horowitz@sonoma.edu) or Lloyd Edmonson (lloyd@theaustralgroup.com) about the class/trip!

As of now, here is the cost estimate of the class/trip: $4,181.70 (most meals not included)

Airfare ($1,065.70) + Land Package ($2,193) + 4 Units of Credit Through SSU’s School of Extended Education ($792) + Chilean Entry Fee ($131).

As of now, here is the class/trip’s itinerary:

Some of the information from the facebook group is shown below, but please join/visit the facebook group for more info!

Airline information:

Cost US$1,065.70 per person
American Airlines Schedule

Flights to Chile
442G 11JAN San Francisco MIAMI 1200N 815P
987G 11JAN MIA Santiago 915P 745A 12JAN

Flights to US
940G 21JAN SCL Dallas 1115P 610A 22JAN
1077G 22JAN DFW SFO 805A 955A

Land Package Information (hotel, bus, tour costs):

12 students US$2,193 per student
16 students US$2,002 per student
20 students US$1,846 per student
24 students US$1,670 per student

Course Credit: This class will be offered through SSU’s School of Extended Education. I will put the link to the class here when it is available. Last year the cost to register for this 4 unit course was $792.

Additional costs:
$131 tax to enter Chile
You will have to purchase the majority of your meals on the trip.

See the itinerary in the photos section below!

Here is a copy of the thank you email I sent to everyone (with emails) who helped make this trip possible.  If I have forgotten some people I apologize, but please leave a comment.

Subject: Gracias!
Date: January 22, 2009 2:58:47 AM PST
To:   lloyd@theaustralgroup.com, shaun@theaustralgroup.com, Terry.Lease@sonoma.edu, linda.nowak@sonoma.edu, william.silver@sonoma.edu, barrett@theaustralgroup.com, adrian@theaustralgroup.com, david.horowitz@sonoma.edu
Cc:   cordonez@prochile.cl, fvargas@santacarolina.cl, cgomez@undurraga.cl, frv@catrala.cl, agillmore@emiliana.cl, aarriagada@casadonoso.com, vinnova@vinnova.cl, jmgarcia@conchaytoro.cl, palbornoz@calina.cl, daniela@tabonko.cl, ibriones@migueltorres.cl, claudiaolmed@gmail.com

Muchisimas gracias a todos quines ayudaron a Sonoma State University’s Wine Business Program (http://www.sonoma.edu/winebiz/) recentamente.

Espero regresar a Chile el ano que viene con mas estudiantes.

El blog, flickr grupo, y viddler grupo del clase estan aqui: http://theglobalwineindustry.wordpress.com/, http://www.flickr.com/groups/globalwineindustry/, y http://www.viddler.com/groups/theglobalwineindustry/ .

David

Dr. David Horowitz
Professor of Marketing
School of Business and Economics http://www.sonoma.edu/sbe/
Sonoma State University
drhorowitz.biz
david.horowitz@sonoma.edu

Bill Silver – Dean of Sonoma State University Wine Business Program william.silver@sonoma.edu
Terry Lease – Dean of Sonoma State University Business Department Terry.Lease@sonoma.edu
Linda Nowak – Wine Business Program Director linda.nowak@sonoma.edu

1/14 Pro Chile: Carolina Ordonez, cordonez@prochile.cl

http://theglobalwineindustry.wordpress.com/2009/01/15/video-video-an…deo-from-chile

1/14 Vinnova: Elena Carretero, vinnova@vinnova.cl

http://theglobalwineindustry.wordpress.com/2009/01/15/video-video-an…deo-from-chile

1/14 Vina Santa Carolina: Fernando Vargas, Export Director North America, fvargas@santacarolina.cl

http://theglobalwineindustry.wordpress.com/2009/01/15/video-video-an…deo-from-chile

1/15 Vina Dona Javiera

http://theglobalwineindustry.wordpress.com/2009/01/15/day-4-concha-y-toro-or-bust/

1/15 Vina Undurruga, Carolina Gómez, Communications Director, cgomez@undurraga.cl

http://theglobalwineindustry.wordpress.com/2009/01/15/day-4-concha-y-toro-or-bust/

1/16 Concha Y Toro, Jose Manuel Garcia-Huidobro, PR Manager, jmgarcia@conchaytoro.cl

1/17 Vina Catrala, Felipe Rodriguez, Production Manager, frv@catrala.cl

http://theglobalwineindustry.wordpress.com/2009/01/17/got-charm/

1/19 Vina Emiliana Organica, Andres Gilmore, Export Manager, agillmore@emiliana.cl

http://theglobalwineindustry.wordpress.com/2009/01/20/emiliana-organico

1/20 Vina Calina, Victor Baeza Johnson, General Manager, Priscilla Albornoz <palbornoz@calina.cl>

http://theglobalwineindustry.wordpress.com/2009/01/20/calina-winery

1/20 Gilmore Vineyard, Daniella Gilmore, Owner, daniela@tabonko.cl

http://theglobalwineindustry.wordpress.com/2009/01/20/would-you-like-to-see-the-puma

1/21Vina Casa Donoso, Alvaro Arriagada, General Manager, aarriagada@casadonoso.com

http://theglobalwineindustry.wordpress.com/2009/01/21/how-do-you-run-a-winery-when-the-owners-are-in-tahiti/

1/22 1/22 Ingrid Briones, Vina Miguel Torres, ibriones@migueltorres.cl

Thank you Austral Group as well (http://www.theaustralgroup.com/index/index.php)–to our fearless leader Claudia Olmedo (claudiaolmed@gmail.com), Lloyd, Barrett, Shaun, and Adrian.

As the previous blog posts (here, here, and here) state, we had a wonderful visit with Vina Casa Donoso today.  We had a great presentation from Alvaro Arriagada, in charge of BOTH making Vina Casa Donoso’s wine and selling it.

Alvaro Arriagada had a brand new 15” macbook pro that he used in his presentation and I was excited to hear (for the first time on the trip, though I didn’t ask everyone) that he had heard of Gary Vaynerchuk’s Wine Library TV.

But, when it is your job to make wine, sell wine, manage the people at a winery, and be the figurehead of the winery who fashions an Australian cowboy hat, would you really have the time to build a virtual community around your brand?  Would you spend your lunch breaks and nights managing your social networks on myspace, facebook, twitter, etc., etc., while the winery owners are in Tahiti?

Sadly we only have one more day in the beautiful country of Chile. Tomorrow we will be visiting our last winery Vina Miguel Torres before we fly home in the evening. I was very excited going into this trip (and even a little nervous!) but the whole experience, from visiting all the wineries to making new friends, by FAR exceeded all my expectations. I honestly could not have asked for a better experience or a more amazing class. I would recommend this trip to any students who have the opportunity to take it, this is an experience that should not be missed. Of course I could not have had a better group, every person was absolutely amazing from the students, to our Professor Dave, to Roberto our bus driver (thanks for brining along the 90′s dance party music videos!) , and I can’t forget our wonderful guide Claudia who we probably could not have survived Chile without!

I grew up in Sonoma County so I have always been around the wine industry but I had no idea how huge the wine industry has become and it is only expanding rapidly with the discovery of new wine regions- like Chile! The wines we have tasted on this trip were different from the normal Californian wines most of us usually drink and most of the wines were absolutely amazing in my opinion. The process of wine making was explained to us so thoroughly we could all probably explain it in our sleep! Each winery we visited brought something different to the table. The range of wineries we went to was broad- from the small boutique, family owned and operated winery to the largest winery in Chile.  Every winery had something unique about it. ProChile and Wines of Chile (which we visited on the first day) are doing a great job of promoting the ever expanding wine industry in Chile and the amazing wines being produced within the country. The varying range of terroirs allows Chile to produce some fantastic wines and as Chile begins promoting their niche with Carmenere wine, the industry will just keep growing. I feel blessed that I was able to go on this trip and expand my knowledge on the global wine industry and I am sad to see this trip end but I know that this trip is one that I will never forget!

Yesterday we visited Vina Calina, which was founded by Jess Jackson and Barbara Banke, the owners of California’s Kendall-Jackson. The decision to start the winery in Chile was due to the country’s enormous wine producing potential which our group has seen throughout the wineries we have visited. Chile has varying terroirs within the country, which are protected by natural barriers from each side- the Andes mountains from the east, the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Atacama Desert to the North, and Antarctica to the south.

Vina Calina, as with most Chilean wine, export the majority of the wines produced to international markets because of the low wine consumption within Chile. In 2000 the winery was built in the Maule Valley due to such factors such as the soil and weather of the valley. Within the property’s seventy hectors of land, Carmenere, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot grapes are grown because of the warmer weather of the valley. The Chardonnay grapes are grown in cooler coastal regions of Chile. The winery produces three SKU- Calina Reserva, Alcance, and their icon wine Bravura. The wine is aged in French and American oak. The winery produces about 80,000 cases of wine a year.

Their general manager, Victor Baeza Johnson, did a tasting with our group while we discussed the qualities that the Maule valley’s soil, climate, and weather give to their wines. The group tasted five wines- the Calina Reserva Chardonnay, Carmenere, and Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as the Alcance Carmenere and Cabernet Sauvignon. Just as with every winery we have visited, the wine was unique to the terroir and the winery was absolutely beautiful. It was interesting to see how the Kendall-Jackson brand started a winery in an international market and how they export and distribute their Chilean wine in an international and very competitive market.

Like other Chilean wineries, Donoso exports most of its wine (mostly to the U.K.), but it has one brand called Bicentenario that is only for the market in Chile. There is only one SKU for this brand and it is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec. This wine was pretty tasty, but the crème de la crème was the 1810 which is their premium brand with beautiful packaging. This is also a wine that can be  aged which goes against the concept that all wines made in Chile need tobe consumed now. This wine was very good now, but has potential to be cellared for up to 10 years.  

Alvarro explained to us that he started at Donoso (at the time it was named something French) and he quickly became the General Manager and had to deal with rebuilding the brand. He changed the name to Casa Donoso to be more connected to Chile and had to learn very quickly how to make exceptional wine, create a marketing stratgey, and manage people and operations. I was really interested in how he was able to overcome obstacles because I have been in a similar position with my experience in the wine industry in Sonoma. I started in the tasting room with essentially zero wine knowledge and earned my way to the position of Tasting Room & Wine Club Manager within siz months. Alvarro said it was a challenge to figure out the path to take and it took a few years to get it right, but it’s good experience.

Alvarro discussed the marketing issues he faces and his obstacles are really no different than what everyone else in the industry struggles with. He thinks the internet is extremely important and you have to grab the consumer’s attention immediately. He has a personal Facebook account that he uses to network but doesn’t have an account for the winery because he has to be careful how much he shares about himself as Alvarro the person and as Alvarro Arriagada, the General Manager of Casa Donoso. He also brought up a good point about publications and distribution which my company is trying to tackle in Sonoma as well. He said that it’s hard to know which comes first, the publicity or the distribution. Distributors want wine that has gained notoriety through Wine Spectator and other ratings, and writers and publications want to deal with wines that have distribution. It’s a catch twenty-two.

This winery was wonderful to visit for the business knowledge and to taste the wines, but it was also beautiful inside and out.  They even had a cool terrace structure to stand on and view the scenery, but you’ll have to view the pictures on our Flickr account because WordPress won’t let me add the pictures.

On another note, this is my last blog post of the trip and I must say that I am so sad to leave Chile. This has been the experience of a lifetime for both education and vacation. I have had the best time getting to know Chile’s culture and wine, and I have enjoyed getting to know my fellow students. If anyone has the chance to take this class, or just go to Chile on their own, I would definitely reccomend it.

So long Chile…so sad to leave, but I’ll be back. Until next time…Ciao! Friedman out.

Today we had the pleasure of visiting Vina Casa Donoso, a winery that was created in 1989 and has a total of around 140 hectares of vines. Their focus is on red wines, mainly Cabernet Sauvignon Carmenere, Merlot and a little Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Syrah. They consider themselves a blend of two or more grapes to give more complexity to a wine but the demand for single variety of wines is big. We were able to taste the Cabernet/Carmenere, two blends that, in my opinion, were superb. Michael Paoletti came to Chile from Tahiti in 1988, and after visiting all wine producing regions, found that the Maule Valley offered great potential. He wanted a vineyard which could be a “domain” that was similar to the Bordeaux region. The company owns two different vineyards in the Maule Valley. Maule Valley, Chile’s largest wine regions reveals an interesting blend of tradition and innovation. There are many ancient vineyards throughout the valley, and small-scale growers. Temperature variation is an important climatic feature in this valley and red grapes benefit from the warmer temperatures on the valley floor. One wine we tasted, Bicentennial, a very light Cabernet wine sold solely in Chile, was launched last September. A lot of money goes into the investment put into production, and not enough in marketing, according to Alvaro Arriagada, the general manager of Vina Casa Donoso.

A few of the most important marketing techniques are one, making sure that the labels as well as the overall look and image of the wine is what consumers will be tempted to buy, no matter what the price may be. For example, their basic concept is to sell and produce inexpensive quality wines at a lower price, but by putting labels on their bottles that look like they are expensive is a way to “disguise” their bottles. Investing in journalists, which is an important aspect of owning a winery, are needed to follow the market. Chile is an extremely organized country, but suffers when it comes to marketing their products, language being one of the main barriers, The Internet is an easy way to promote and communicate and is becoming a more popular form of marketing in Chile. It’s hard to believe that ten days has gone by so quickly.

I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to meet the people that I did and to learn as much as I did about Chile’s culture and about a subject that I was completely unfamiliar with. There is no doubt that I will pursue a career in international marketing after this trip, and hope that this class will continue for others interested in the global wine industry. It is an experience that I will never forget.