San Pedro "Premium Chilean Wine Capturing the Pure Nature of the Andes"

Interview with Gabriel Moustakis, Head Winemaker at San Pedro Winery, Chile

'GVSP' Premium Brand by San Pedro
Capturing the Andes Terroir Fully with a Fresh and Elegant Character
Chile to Break the Prejudice of Being Just a Value-for-Money Wine Producer

"GVSP is a high-quality wine that fully captures the pristine nature of the Andes. I am confident it will completely change perceptions of Chilean wine."

Gabriel Mustakis, San Pedro's Chief Winemaker, emphasized in an interview with Asia Economy on the 3rd that through his visit to Korea, he wants to show that Chile is not just a producer of cost-effective wines but also a place that properly makes high-quality wines.

Gabriel Mustakis, Head Winemaker of San Pedro Cachapoal Andes

Premium Wine ‘GVSP’ Made by the Producer of '1865'

San Pedro is a winery established in 1865 in Chile's Curic? Valley by the Corea Albano brothers and is currently one of Chile's leading exporters, shipping to 80 countries worldwide. Domestically, it is famous as the producer of the mega brand ‘1865’ wine, which sold over one million bottles last year. As a large winery with over 150 years of tradition, it is also a leading company in the Chilean wine industry that realizes sustainable and innovative winemaking based on terroirs from various regions and state-of-the-art brewing facilities.

Mustakis’s visit to Korea was made to introduce the 'GVSP (Grandes Vinos de San Pedro)' brand wines, which are relatively less known domestically compared to the existing 1865 series. Mustakis explained, "Since the 1990s, San Pedro has focused on high-quality wines and launched GVSP as a premium brand in 2001. GVSP is a high-end wine made by investing all the capabilities San Pedro possesses."

Product lineup of San Pedro GVSP. (From left) 'Altair', 'Cabo De Hornos', 'Sideral'

San Pedro has chosen Cachapoal Valley as the best terroir for producing premium Chilean wines. Mustakis emphasized, "San Pedro’s vineyards are located in the eastern part of Cachapoal Valley, adjacent to the Andes Mountains. Since the Andes surrounding the vineyards have a significant influence on the grapes and wine, the term ‘Cachapoal Andes’ rather than just ‘Cachapoal Valley’ accurately describes the terroir."

Cachapoal Andes has a hot summer climate with abundant sunlight, but its high altitude provides cool temperatures, and the winds blowing from the Andes create a cooling effect, resulting in a large diurnal temperature range that allows grapes to ripen slowly. Mustakis explained, "Generally, Chilean wines are criticized for being monotonous because grapes ripen quickly due to the hot summer, but Cachapoal Andes has relatively cold climate conditions that excellently develop acidity, tannins, and aroma, enabling the production of complex and elegant character wines."

Fresh and Elegant Wines Fully Capturing the Andes Terroir

San Pedro produces three wines in Cachapoal Andes: ‘Altair,’ ‘Cabo De Hornos,’ and ‘Sideral.’ All are produced based on Cabernet Sauvignon. Among them, Cabo De Hornos is made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and is characterized by diverse aroma profiles. Although only one grape variety is used, various winemaking methods are applied, and different aging vessels such as oak barrels, concrete tanks, and amphorae are used for blending. Mustakis explained, "Some wines are made to have good structure, others emphasize aromatic expression, so by blending, we express almost all the characteristics that Cabernet Sauvignon can show."

Alongside Cabo De Hornos, Altair is the iconic wine of GVSP. Altair is a blended wine centered on Cabernet Sauvignon, known for its excellent concentration and vibrant tannins. Mustakis expressed his affection, saying, "Every year, depending on the vintage, we adjust the proportions of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Carmenere, Syrah, and Petit Verdot to create a blend that shows the best character. It is a wine that represents the identity of Cachapoal Andes."

Scenery of the 'Cachapoal Andes' vineyard in San Pedro

Mustakis emphasized that he hopes people experience the essence of Chilean terroir through GVSP wines. He said, "The recent trend in winemaking is to show the terroir of the region where one is located as it is. New World producers like Chile must constantly prove their terroir through quality, unlike traditional producers such as France, so they continue various attempts and challenges in both production and winemaking, and GVSP is the result."

He also expressed hope that the rapidly growing demand for premium wines in the Korean wine market will be an opportunity for GVSP. Mustakis said, "Awareness of Chilean wine is already high in Korea, but I wanted to show that there are various high-quality wines beyond just cost-effective ones. Through GVSP, I hope people experience fresh and elegant Chilean wines grown in the cool winds of the pristine Andes nature."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.