Marcela Chandía: The woman revolutionizing the world of wine with her creations
Winemakers have taken center stage in the world of wine for several years, this is the case of Marcela Chandía with more than 20 years of experience making wines in New Zealand, South Africa, France, Portugal and the USA.
Chile’s wine industry has traditionally been dominated by men, but in recent years, there has been a notable increase in the influence of women in the field of oenology, showcasing their talent and creative passion for wine.
According to the National Association of Agricultural Engineers and Oenologists (ANIAE), there are currently 1,261 registered winemakers in Chile, of which approximately 30%, or 378, are women. This number continues to increase every year. In fact, in 2023, 26 winemakers joined, of which 11 were women.
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This is the case of Marcela Chandia, who dreamed of becoming a viticulturist and managing vineyards. When I graduated, I wanted to gain my first experience in a vineyard, and by chance, the position of assistant winemaker was available.” From there, I started working on making wines; it was like love at first sight. I loved it, a world full of aromas and flavors.
“Being a winemaker is an important part of both the quality and style of wine, and it’s necessary to be involved in the vineyard and its management. That’s where my life in the world of wine began,” explains Marcela.
Traveling the world
The enologist, originally an agronomic engineer by profession, decided to further specialize to gain more experience. “That’s how I decided to travel and work in California, Sonoma Valley, United States. I was there for five months, and then I returned to Chile and took a postgraduate course in oenology at the University of Chile. Many things I saw there were already familiar to me, so it was easier for me to understand the processes in a physicochemical way when I delved into them in this postgraduate program”, says the winemaker.
The opportunity to live in other countries and get to know other wine regions in the world allowed him to learn more styles of wines and strains. From a technical point of view, it was a great experience because it opened my mind, absolutely. Being able to leave Chile and get to know other realities gives you many more tools in the future to make better decisions, to do other winemaking techniques, etc. “It was a wonderful experience in every way”, he adds.
Chile diVino
With all the experience behind her, Marcela Chandia created Chile diVino in 2014, with the intention of sharing her knowledge to disseminate and position Chilean wine. The next year he began making signature wines in the Almahue Valley, Cachapoal.
“Chile diVino is a project where I make signature wines, which are almost hand-made wines, with a very particular style, part of me is in them, they are happy, friendly, complex and tasty wines, that is the touch that I give I wanted to give and deep down, much of the style of both the wine and even the packaging reflects a lot of my personality, what I am and what I would like to convey in them,” he explains.
And his efforts were rewarded since last year he received an important prize in the international Catad’Or World Wine Award competition where his wine “El Consentido Cabernet Sauvignon” was chosen as the best entrepreneur wine. “It was a tremendous honor. Great gold medal and best entrepreneur wine. And that was a way of life saying to me, you know what? It is worth so much effort, so much sacrifice, so much love, and it was very nice and rewarding. I have also had good scores, while in the Descorchados guide, in the CAV, it is called Mesa de Cata la CAV”, she says.
Chile diVino wines are composed of: “Gozador”, a Carmenere “El Consentido”, Cabernet Sauvignon; “The Confused”, Carmenere; “Heart”, 68% Carmenere, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Petit Verdot.
ProWine from Sao Paulo
By the end of the year Marcela Chandía hopes to release her fifth wine. “It will be called “El Canchero”, alluding to the classic Argentine Malbec. “It is a full-fruit wine, with a lot of power, which is already in the barrels and will be launched on the market at the end of this year”,she explanes.
“Also this year I would love to be able to reach more wine lovers so I am working to be in more wine stores and I would also like to be able to export a lot more”, said Chandia. For the latter, I will attend the next ProWine in Sao Paulo where I hope to show my wines to more clients from the rest of the world,” added Chandía.
“My greatest desire is to earn more income, and thus have resources to be able to grow in the portfolio of wines that I make and consolidate myself with Chile diVino both in Chile and abroad,” she concludes.