1865 Dreams of Becoming the National Wine Beyond Golf Wine

1865, Top-tier Line 'Prelusion' First Launch in Korea
Strengthening Domestic Market Strategy Through Lineup Expansion

The Chilean wine brand ‘1865,’ famous domestically as a golf wine symbolizing “shooting 65 strokes over 18 holes,” has introduced its top-tier product in Korea for the first time. Through diversifying its lineup from entry-level to premium, 1865 aims to establish itself as a national wine beyond just a golf wine in the Korean market.

Andrea Calderon, the head winemaker of 1865, is explaining the product at the 1865 Prelusion launch event held on the evening of the 21st at the Grand Hyatt Seoul in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

On the 23rd, Chile’s San Pedro wine group announced that it will launch the top-tier product of the ‘1865’ brand, ‘1865 Prelusion,’ for the first time worldwide in Korea.

San Pedro is a winery founded 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 well-known as the producer of the mega brand 1865 wine, which sold over one million bottles last year. The 1865 brand was first introduced in 1997 to commemorate the founding year of the San Pedro winery, and in Korea, Kumyang International has been responsible for its import and distribution since 2002.

San Pedro chose Korea as the first country to launch 1865 Prelusion because the Korean market holds a significant position. Korea is the largest export market for 1865, accounting for about 60% of total exports, making it the overwhelming number one among approximately 40 countries where 1865 is exported. Currently, 25% of Chilean wines imported into Korea are 1865 wines, and the brand accounts for about 20% of the total sales of the importer, Kumyang International.

San Pedro '1865 Prelusion'

With this launch of the top-tier line, San Pedro is determined to position 1865 not only as a golf wine or a value-for-money wine but as Chile’s representative wine brand with a diverse lineup including premium wines. In particular, recognizing the maturation and premiumization of the domestic wine market, the plan is to elevate the brand’s value with premium wines that align with current trends.

Andrea Calderon, the 1865 chief winemaker, stated, “We judged that a top-tier lineup was necessary to expand and revitalize the brand, which led to the release of Prelusion. In Korea, 1865 is famous for its golf wine image, but our goal is to surpass that with an iconic wine emphasizing premium quality.”

San Pedro is diversifying the brand through continuous portfolio restructuring and renewal of 1865. Currently, 1865 operates three lines: the entry-level ‘Selected Vineyard,’ best known as a golf wine; ‘Selected Blend,’ which combines vineyards and grape varieties; and ‘Selected Collection,’ made with unique winemaking methods not previously attempted by San Pedro. With the launch of Prelusion, the lineup has expanded to a total of four.

1865 Prelusion is a Bordeaux blend wine made from top-quality grapes grown in the Maipo Valley, where 1865 originated. The first vintage in 2019 consists of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Merlot, and received a score of 97 from the wine media Decanter. Winemaker Calderon explained, “Prelusion is an essence wine that embodies San Pedro’s 160 years of know-how. In each bottle of Prelusion, we strived to achieve perfect quality and balance by carefully considering the characteristics of clones, vintages, and climatic features to concretize the Maipo Valley terroir.”

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