For example, we often have wineries who seek us out because they want representation in the market. In this instance, my team and I look at everything: packaging, price and quality. We ask ourselves–does the wine over-deliver to the customers? The ratio of the quality to the price is very important. If we are interested in a particular region, that area takes priority over other submissions. The opposite is true as well. We have recently been inundated with requests from Spanish wineries; however, we currently have two fine wineries from Spain so we are not interested in any Spanish wine at this time. As we taste, we look at the price. We especially like wines that taste like they should cost $30 but actually cost less.

Recently, Paul Hobbs, Julian Gonzales and I conducted a tasting of 2011 Guarachi Family Wines baby wines, which is the process of tasting wines about two to three months after the grapes have been harvested. At this early point in their development, the wines show what they will be like, and a professional can see the potential of the vintage. We ask ourselves are the wines up to par? Do they have the color, structure, tannins, acid and fruit? They need all of these components. Despite doing these early tastings, it can still be difficult to determine with 100 percent certainty how the wines will be upon release. Baby wine tastings can be quite exciting and challenging!

When we receive new releases of wines in our current portfolio, we always taste them before sending them out to be reviewed. We automatically compare the new vintage to the previous ones. We ask ourselves is the new release fantastic? If so, should we order more? Should we do a special promotion? A new vintage with a wonderful taste almost guarantees good acceptance by the trade. We can often do a presale based on the wine’s description. We buy more of a great vintage so we don’t run out of stock, but figuring out the right amount to buy can be complicated. In the past, we have run out of Montes Reserve Cabernet and Norton Reserve Malbec. If a $20 bottle of wine gets a 92-point score or a $12 bottle receives a 90-point score, then you will run out of wine. Unfortunately, the scores often come out many months after we put in our orders.

Whether we are tastings new wines, baby wines or new vintages, the process of tasting wines in our office is fun, challenging and unpredictable. It’s not the easiest part of my job, but it’s not the worst part either.

— Alex Guarachi

I love my home country. It may be prone to volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, landslides and tsunamis, but you can also drive from the Andes Mountains to the Pacific Ocean in less than two hours in most parts of Chile, as it is one of the narrowest countries in the world. However, Mother Nature can be dangerous. Last June, the Puyehue volcano erupted for the first time in 50 years. The cloud of ash reached Argentina and continues to cause problems as the volcano has not stopped erupting. When I took pictures of Lake Llanquihue, I could see Puyehue in the distance as well as the ash in the air.

While I recommend that everyone visit my hometown—Santiago, I also suggest driving the 650 miles south to Chile’s Los Lagos region located at the base of the Andes Mountains. You must see the pristine bay of Frutillar at the banks of Lake Llanquihue. You must hike through the green lush valleys. You must allow yourself to get lost in all of the beauty that Chile has to offer. But most importantly, you must allow your brain to say shhhhh for a few hours.

— Alex Guarachi

On another occasion, I ate Ensalada a la Chilena, which is sliced tomatoes and onions in an oil dressing. How I missed a good Chilean salad! My family and I also grilled lamb and steak on the barbeque. With this meal, we drank Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon, Montes Purple Angel and Guarachi Family Wines Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines were a perfect complement to the meat.

When I was a child, my favorite dish was empanadas, which are very Chilean and very good with red wine. Empanadas look like a baked English pie with meat and onions on the inside. The dough is the most important part. There are many kinds of empanadas: beef, seafood, cheese, etc. Though I prefer beef, my children like ham and cheese empanadas.

Of all of the wonderful dishes that I ate, the one that I would recommend most is Pastel de Choclo, a typical Chilean summer dish. It consists of ground corn and ground beef, chopped onions, pieces of hard-boiled eggs, olives and raisins. This “corn pie” (similar to Shepherd’s Pie) is baked in the oven. The top is sprinkled with sugar, which gets burned while cooking and gives the top layer a nice sweet crust.

I encourage you to make your own Pastel de Choclo. You will love it!

— Alex Guarachi

Pastel de Choclo (Beef and Corn Shepherd’s Pie)

Anyway, time has passed quickly. My siblings’ children now have children. It’s funny to see my nieces and nephews with their own families, but it is also incredible to witness the circle of life. From the youngest who is six months old to the oldest who is 60 years old, 42 people came together to celebrate what I consider the most important thing in life: family.

We stayed in Puerto Varas, a city located in southern Chile near the lake region (i.e., Los Lagos Region). This area is very sparsely populated, and I only saw three or four boats on the lake during the week we were there. There are many outdoor activities to do including fly fishing, hiking and river rafting. I’ve been fly fishing before, and although we went fishing on this trip I didn’t catch anything. Just a couple of bites. However, I had lots of fun hiking in the lush green forests.

The most exciting event though was when the Guarachi family played the others (i.e., in-laws) in an indoor soccer match. We called it: the Guarachis vs. the World. Indoor soccer is played on Astroturf with smaller goals so the final score tends to be higher, and indeed it was! The Guarachis won 10 – 8. Believe it or not, even though we were playing amongst family members, the level of competition was high, and it got heated! However, we ended the game with great wine and many laughs.

My favorite part of the trip was talking and remembering old times with my brothers and sisters. Having that quality time with family in a beautiful, serene environment is priceless. I only hope we don’t wait another 13 years to do it again.

— Alex Guarachi

Everyone knows Tom is an entertaining man, but I also find him interesting. The man knows his wine; his knowledge about vino is both broad and deep. However, he is still curious to learn more about the industry. For example, Tom asked how importers find the wines they represent. I explained to him that I listen to the market, and I work with the best winemakers in the world. At TGIC, we are very selective. We only work with family-owned wineries with their own vineyards, own soil, own dirt. And always quality first. We try to always overdeliver when it comes to taste and price. Though people often send us bottles of wine to sample, I usually discover new wines by traveling to various regions.

Tom wondered what was “hot” right now in the wine world. I told him that Argentina and Malbec are popular as well as Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. Consumers are looking for good values these days so $10 – $15 is the sweet price point. Tom and I discussed how the Argentine government has affected the local agriculture (e.g., inflation). I find that people are not as loyal to imports so if the price goes up, they will move on to a different wine. Therefore, politics can hurt the wine industry.

After some shop talk, Tom and I began tasting wines. We started with Guarachi Family Wines 2010 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, which Tom declared, “Delicious.” The Chardonnay was just released, and it’s from a single vineyard. The next wine we tasted was Guarachi Family Wines 2010 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. It’s from the same single vineyard called Gap’s Crown. The grapes there are fantastic. Tom commented on the “great tannins” in the full-bodied Pinot.

Although Tom had traveled to and tasted wines in Spain, he had never tasted Resalte—the newest winery in our portfolio. Resalte is a Spanish winery located in Ribera del Duero, one of the hottest regions in Spain. It’s the Napa Valley of California. It’s the Bordeaux of France. Their wines are very approachable and 100 percent Tempranillo. We tasted the following wines:

• Resalte Crianza Pena Roble 2006—Tom’s reaction: “Big red wine with layers and layers of flavor.”
• Resalte Crianza 2005, a wine that earned 94 points in Wine Spectator and is one of the top 100 wines in the world—Tom’s reaction: “Fantastic food wines.”
• Resalte Reserva 2004—”Very interesting elements. Food friendly. Very Old World. Just amazing.”
• Gran Resalte 2001—”Wow! Oh my.”

“Every one of these [Resalte] is a good food wine.” Tom and I agreed that the wines would only get better with decanting. He finished our time together by saying, “This last one [Gran Resalte] was just amazing.” I couldn’t agree more.

– Alex Guarachi

As we expand our business, our commitment to our suppliers, wholesalers accounts and consumers remain strong — to continue to deliver exceptional wines.

It has been a remarkable year for TGIC — first being awarded Importer of the Year by Wine Enthusiast eight months ago and now the expansion of the company. I am delighted about the growth of TGIC’s business and look forward to serving our customers for years to come.

– Alex Guarachi

TGIC’s founding years are similar in the sense that we were the first importer to put South American wines on the U.S. consumer map. We lead the category and now we dominate it in terms of quality wines. John and Gail Kautz, founders of Ironstone, were the first to plant Chardonnay and other wine varietals in Lodi. Today Ironstone grows numerous varietals including Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, along with several select, cutting-edge varietals. Ironstone is revered as an innovator in the California wine category. This represents what we do at TGIC: We lead.

We choose partners whose brands we know consumers will develop trust in. It is through this exercise that our suppliers, wholesalers, accounts and consumers have developed an allegiance to the TGIC portfolio. Our precise obligation is make every perspective of the wine experience so positive that we incite loyalty. This can only be achieved by working with wines that over-deliver on their promise of quality year after year. Wines like Ironstone fit this profile

Ironstone is noted for several leading U.S. brands. These include the flagship Ironstone brand, Ironstone Reserve and Leaping Horse Vineyards. Ironstone is listed as one of the largest family owned wineries in the U.S. Ironstone also sells significant amounts of wine in international markets including Canada, Japan, UK and more than 50 other countries. In all of these export markets, Ironstone’s sales and marketing will continue to be managed by Joan Kautz, Vice President International Operations.

In addition to vineyards in the Sierra Foothills, Ironstone draws on the production from its other vineyards — over 5,000 acres in all. “At Ironstone Vineyards, a healthy environment is important. By practicing Sustainable Viticulture, we are reducing water use, building healthy soil and maintaining the surrounding wildlife habitat,” explains John Kautz.

– Alex Guarachi

First and foremost, I want to thank you all — all of the people that believed in me, in us, 25 years ago. From the wineries that we represent to our customers and distributors and of course consumers — we couldn’t have done it without you!

I’m extremely honored and humbled simultaneously. There are no words to describe my joy and satisfaction at this phenomenal recognition! Of course, I would also like to thank Adam Strum and his team at the Wine Enthusiast!

This recognition is truly the greatest honor.

TGIC will be honored at the annual Wine Star Awards gala dinner on Monday, January 24, 2011, at the New York Public Library in New York City, along with the winners from the other categories.

TGIC has won this award for its leadership, innovation and strong belief in its wineries and winemakers who are the best from their respective regions of the world.

Thank you again for making this dream come true!

– Alex Guarachi

Click here to view the embedded video.

One hundred percent of the money we raised was donated to Music For Relief, a non-profit organization founded by the band, Linkin’ Park, to help victims of natural disasters. They passed every cent along to rebuild homes and community centers.

Thankfully, the dollar goes much further in Chile than it does in the U.S. A home can be constructed for about three thousand dollars. And so, rising out of the rubble, new homes now stand with many more under construction. Families who were sleeping in their cars and makeshift tents now have solid, new roofs over their heads and a place to call home.

From the bottom of my heart, I thank you. You opened your hearts, you opened your wallets and you opened up bottles of Montes and Santa Ema wines. In doing so, you made a difference.

Though the aftermath of the earthquake no longer tops or even appears on the daily news, the need for help has not disappeared.

Rebuilding Chile will require those of us outside the country to support its businesses and industry. Remember to buy Chilean, whether it’s wine or fruit for your table. Everything you do counts.

And, please continue to support Music for Relief in its unrelenting efforts to rebuild this wonderful country.

– Alex Guarachi

As can be expected from an earthquake of this size, damage has been considerable. Near the epicenter, the basic essentials — such as water, power, phone communications, housing and food — are still not available to those who have survived the quake. The country is in a state of emergency and recovery.

With respect to the wine industry, I spoke to James Molesworth from the Wine Spectator this morning. He has been keeping an up-to-date account through his Twitter feed and his blog of damages to the local wineries. As I told James, the good news from our winery friends in Chile is that all of our teammates and partners are safe.

I heard from Carlos Serrano from Montes a mere few hours after the quake hit. He reassured me that Viña Montes will “be back on duty as soon as possible … working hard with the help of Angels.” This is the spirit of the Chilean people as they recover in this difficult time. This independent resilience will take them far, but I believe that it is our duty to speed up this rebuilding process.

TGIC Importers is prepared to donate a significant amount to nonprofit relief and medical organizations. Since a bulk of our international wine imports are from Chile, we are currently organizing a program with our distributors to aid the earthquake victims directly. We will have more details for you soon.

If you feel the immediate need to help the causes for Chile, the following organizations are accepting text donations through the major cell phone carriers:

Text “CHILE” to 90999 to donate $10 on behalf of the American Red Cross.
Text “CHILE” to 25383 to donate $10 on behalf of the Habitat for Humanity.
Text “CHILE” to 20222 to donate $10 on behalf of World Vision.
Text “CHILE” to 52000 to donate $10 on behalf of the Salvation Army
Text “CHILE” to 85944 to donate $10 on behalf of International Medical Corp.
Text “4CHILE” to 50555 to donate $10 on behalf of Convoy of Hope
Text “CHILE” to 50555 to donate $10 on behalf of Friends of the World Program
Text “REBUILD” to 50555 to donate $10 on behalf of Friends of the Operation USA

– Alex Guarachi