This received at 10pm Wed night:


PUBLIC DECLARATION ON THE CHILEAN EARTHQUAKE AND THE NATIONAL WINE INDUSTRY


Santiago, March 3, 2010. In addition to emphasizing the overall strength of the Chilean wine industry’s material infrastructure and the fortitude of its people, Vinos de Chile, the association of Chilean wineries, has been able to verify the effects produced by the recent earthquake and its impact on the wine industry.

We wish to express our deepest condolences for the suffering of many employees and their families who have been affected both personally and materially, although we are happy to report that, as far as we know, there has been no loss of life among our workers.

The wine industry has been affected, but after several days of working to assess its impact, we have determined that the damage is, in fact, limited.

We have been able to quantify the total loss of wine at approximately 125 million liters, including bulk, bottled, and aging wine. This figure is the equivalent of US$ 250 million, which represents a loss of just 12.5% when compared with the 2009 vintage of 1.01 billion liters. We are therefore certain that dispatches and compliance with commercial obligations will return to normal within a very short period of time and without major difficulties.

The damage to infrastructure varies among the different wineries and has not, as yet, been fully measured. The vineyards have not been affected, and we are waiting for electricity to be restored in order to determine the extent of damage to irrigation systems.

Routine work has been reestablished—or will be shortly. Bottling lines are in generally good working condition, as are the cellars, which are already being repaired. The 2010 harvest has begun, and volumes should not be affected by the earthquake. Some shipments are already being dispatched, although the speed of transportation will depend upon the general functioning of the country’s overall infrastructure, such as highways and ports.

The wineries are also focusing their efforts on attending to the morale and material needs of their employees.

The wine industry will maintain the necessary contact with the authorities in order to ensure that the highways, ports, and basic services are restored to full working order as quickly as possible, and also to strengthen their support of the industry’s promotional efforts abroad and the development of the country’s image.

We would like to thank the many and sincere outpourings of concern, and support that all of the wineries and the industry in general have received from the international community since the earthquake. We hope to continue to count on their solidarity and especially the understanding of our importers and distributors for unexpected delays which, in many cases, are beyond the control of the industry, and which the circumstances of the earthquake can bring.

Our primary message is that we are working arduously to reestablish normality in the wine industry and to continue delivering the best of Chile to the rest of the world through our wines.



René Merino
President
Vinos de Chile A.G.

For more information, please contact Michael Cox, UK Director Wines of Chile – michael@winesofchile.org.uk Tel: +44 1344 872 229

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mel

Thanks for that. Excellent information

Email this morning:

Dear Mr xxxxxx xxxxxx

My name is Becca Reeves and I am The Sunday Times Wine Club's Chilean wine buyer. I'm writing to you today in reaction to the devastating effects of last Saturday's earthquake in Chile.

The earthquake struck in the heart of Chile's winemaking country - an area I know well from many buying trips there.

Like, for example, Luis Felipe Edwards (or Don Cayetano as you may know him better). I managed to speak to him yesterday on a crackly line to find out if he and his family are OK. They are. But their house was destroyed and some of their great wine has disappeared into the ground.

Luis Felipe was remarkably upbeat and at pains to assure me that the harvest (due to start right now in Chile) would still go ahead. He said his vineyards workers and cellar hands were determined to keep working despite the chaos around them.

I was astonished and said so to Luis Felipe. He told me that the best way to rebuild Chile right now is to carry on as normal and keep people in work. Luis Felipe was concerned that people would want to give Chile 'some space', hold off ordering and, as a result, the country would lose income it now desperately needs.

So, this month I am asking you to support our winemakers in Chile - their families and the families of their employees. Chilean wines these days are of impeccable quality and the range is staggering - the most varied in the world (OK, I am bit biased!) - there's plenty to choose from to suit your palate and budget.

In return, The Sunday Times Wine Club will donate 5% of sales of all Chilean wine sold during March to the Chilean Embassy's Earthquake Appeal Fund.

I hope that when you think about buying your wine this month you will think of our friends in Chile and help raise as much as we can for them - they really need your support right now.

Thanks for reading

Becca Reeves
The Sunday Times Wine Club

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Duncan

This slants just slightly towards taking advantage, or am I being overly sceptical?

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mel

If Becca Reeves spoke to Luis Felipe yesterday on a crackly line then I spoke to the Loch Ness Monster yesterday on a double yellow line outside the Aberdeen branch of Mothercare.

I wanted the opinion of others here, half expecting others to have found this in their inbox this lunchtime. No, I am not a cynic per se', but I thought it was a not so well disguised plug for a purchase. A 5% donnation of their selling price, after adjusting for heavy duty and 17.5% VAT on top, is not actually very much.

What will that be - approx 3.1% of the product and 1.9% of the duty and tax

Over slant, yeah.

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Duncan