It was 1978. The Bee Gees ruled the radio. Jimmy Carter ruled the country, and a young Alex Guarachi boarded a plane from Chile to California with the goal of becoming the next Pele.

Armed with a soccer scholarship, an intense drive and about 400 bucks, he set out to make his dream a reality. Alex enjoyed a successful soccer career throughout college, but he was sidelined by an injury. A professional soccer career was no longer an option. Never one to give in to defeat, Alex graduated with a bachelor’s degree and set his sights elsewhere.

Alex hails from Santiago, Chile. One of eight children, wine, some of the best from his homeland, was a staple on the dinner table. When Alex made the pilgrimage from Chile to the U.S., those wines were nowhere to be found. The entrepreneur vowed to change that and TGIC, Thank God It’s Chilean, was born.

America had not been formally introduced to Chilean wines, and Alex seized the opportunity of this virtually untapped market. In 1985, through resources of his own, he managed to purchase his first container of Chilean wine. TGIC Importers, Inc. was officially open for business.  What began as a one-man show operating out of Alex’s dimly lit garage has grown into a multi-million dollar company boasting a portfolio of some of the finest wines from not only Chile, but also Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Spain and California.

TGIC celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2010. To commemorate this milestone, Alex introduced Guarachi Family Wines and is enjoying the fruits of this labor. With his friend, Paul Hobbs, as the winemaker, Guarachi Family Wines Pinot Noir has been awarded 94 points by Wine Spectator. The revered publication gave the Cabernet Sauvignon 92 points. Though Alex is from Chile, he sports an immense passion for California wines, which is why his freshman effort springs from vineyards in Napa and Sonoma counties.

Alex is a recognized authority on wine and has been featured on KABC-TV, The Tasting Room with Tom Leykis, Wine Spectator, Los Angeles Business Journal, Los Angeles Daily News, Wine Business, The Tasting Panel, Beverage Media, Golfer’s Guide, The Santiago Times and numerous other publications.

Wine is very much in Alex’s blood. He has judged national and international wine competitions and has lectured on wine at such renowned establishments as UCLA. He is a contributing writer for American Wine and an avid collector, with a penchant toward New World wines, as well as a love and respect for Old World wines.

Philanthropically, Alex has been a devout supporter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. He partnered with Music for Relief and Habitat for Humanity to assist in earthquake repair efforts in his homeland of Chile and actively contributes to a variety of local charities.