Wine

Viña Vik kicks off winemaking innovation contest to promote young talents

By: VIK Marketing

1 September , 2023

As a way of moving forward in its social commitment to the Chilean wine industry, Viña VIK announced today Wine LAB, a project designed to discover and strengthen the careers of future Chilean winemakers. Viña VIK has joined forces with the winemaking faculties of three renowned Chilean universities and has opened the doors of its winery and processes to the university community as part of this collaborative project that empowers the talents of the future. Through its partnership with the faculties of Agronomy of the Pontificia Universidad Católica, Universidad de Chile and Universidad de Talca, the 10 best students from each will be selected to have access to the expertise of the winemaking team, led by Cristián Vallejo, and the winery's infrastructure and support teams. Each student will have the opportunity to create their own blends, with the percentages that they define, using three varieties of VIK wines. The personal touch that the young winemakers will add to the final product will be that they will define the percentage of Barroir (Barrel and Terroir) for the ageing period. This unique VIK concept arises from giving unique and distinctive characteristics to French oak barrels by toasting them with oak from our own terroir in Millahue, which are more than a century old. In particular, this toasting will provide special characteristics, such as giving greater tension, dynamism and elegance to the wines. In December, after a common period of six months of ageing, a curatorship will be performed by a demanding national and international panel of judges to determine the top 3 winners.

The winner will receive a trip to France and the opportunity to visit the facilities in Sylvain (one of the largest suppliers of barrels in the world), and to travel to Italy where he or she will be hosted by Enológica Vason, a company that specializes in raw material selection and product development for the winemaking industry. He or she will also have the opportunity to create his or her own wine through to the final stage, including packaging, and the support of the Winemakeing and Marketing teams and the supplies to support its publicity. The second place winner will visit Portugal, hosted by R-Cork (one of the most important cork producers in the world), and will then visit Italy hosted by Enológica Vason.

Some of the confirmed sponsors include: Navarro y Cia, Laffort Chile, Value Juice, JVD Estudio, Riedel, in addition to those previously mentioned. The panel of judges will be composed of both national and international experts like Patricio Tapia (Chile), Mariana Martínez (Chile), and Alejandro Iglesias (Argentina - Decanter)

“The experience of participating in Wine LAB is a prize in itself, as future winemakers will have access to the entire winemaking process, from its origin to the final product. Plus, the fact that the entire industry has been invited to participate in different ways allows us to promote the future of these professionals in one of Chile's emblematic industries that contributes so much to our country's image. In return, partners and sponsors will be able to enhance their image and brand visibility among outstanding students from three of Chile's leading universities, in addition to global broadcasting through our networks,” said Cristián Vallejo, Head Winemaker of Viña VIK.

More information:

• Terms and conditions for sponsors and partners of VIK Wine Lab at www.vikwine.com
• Find our more about our innovative Barroir in these videos:

• Viña VIK was founded by Alex and Carrie Vik in 2006 in Millahue in the Cachapoal Valley. The goal was to develop world class vineyards and produce unique wines.
• With 4,500 hectares in the Cachapoal Valley and a team of winemakers, viticulturists and agronomists of excellence, it has worked to develop an exceptional terroir that has given life to world-class wines.
• Viña VIK was the overall winner at the prestigious World Travel Awards 2022 in the “World’s Leading Wine Region Hotel” category.
• Its winery and wine tourism experience has been widely acclaimed by the international press, along with its innovative winemaking approach: in 2019 it was awarded the world’s best “Wine Experience”, according to the prestigious Wine Enthusiast magazine.