Brazilian Demand Boosts Chilean Wine Industry and Gives Rise to
Brazilian Demand Boosts Chilean Wine Industry and Gives Rise to a New Ski-Linked Wine Tourism Category
Despite the global downturn in wine consumption, Chile’s wine industry is finding support from the Brazilian market. Not only are Brazilian consumers purchasing more wine domestically, but thousands of Brazilian tourists are also traveling to Chile’s ski resorts every winter, helping stimulate the country’s wine, pisco, and gastronomy sectors while creating opportunities for a new category of urban wine tourism.
Every winter season, Chile welcomes thousands of Brazilian and international visitors attracted by the country’s snow-covered mountains and ski resorts, many of which are located less than an hour from Santiago. Additional ski destinations extend throughout the country, from Portillo in central Chile to Punta Arenas in Patagonia.
However, most visitors have limited vacation time, making it difficult to travel long distances to Chile’s traditional wine regions. In response, AndesWines.com has developed the Ski & Wines Urban Wine Tasting Tour, an experience designed to bring Chilean wine culture directly to international visitors without requiring extensive travel.
The program features private tastings showcasing wines from several of Chile’s most important wine-producing regions, including Maipo, Itata, Maule, Colchagua, and Millahue, territories that are home to many of the country’s historic vineyards.
The experience is led by agronomist and wine specialist Maximiliano Morales, who has spent more than two decades promoting Chilean wine internationally, with a particular focus on the preservation of old vineyards and the development of ancestral wine tourism experiences.
From Skiing to Wine: A New Opportunity for the Industry
The growing influx of Brazilian tourists during the ski season is creating new business opportunities for boutique wineries, pisco producers, restaurants, and wine bars.
While ski resorts remain the main attraction, the Urban Wine Tour has expanded its offering to include Chilean pisco, allowing visitors to discover the country’s premium beverages, gastronomy, and culinary culture beyond the mountains.
Participants visit wine bars, chef-driven restaurants, and gastronomic venues where they can meet sommeliers, chefs, producers, and entrepreneurs who are helping redefine Chile’s contemporary food and beverage scene.
Built on International Wine Tourism Experience
The Urban Wine and Pisco Tour draws upon AndesWines’ extensive experience in premium wine tourism.
Before the pandemic, Maximiliano Morales coordinated technical visits and exclusive experiences for internationally recognized wine and food journalists, including British wine critic and Master of Wine Jancis Robinson MW, food writer Nicholas Lander of the Financial Times, and Cyril Penn of WineBusiness.com, among others.
During one of his visits to Chile, Nicholas Lander experienced the work being done at Santiago wine bar Bocanariz, later highlighting the venue in the Financial Times and contributing to the international visibility of Chilean wine and gastronomy.
Among the notable initiatives organized by AndesWines was a visit to Boragó alongside Swiss grape geneticist and ampelographer José Vouillamoz, demonstrating the potential for integrating world-class gastronomy, wine heritage, and international tourism.
From Santiago to Chillán: Expanding the Snow Tourism Experience
The project aims to establish a new tourism category that combines skiing, gastronomy, wine, and pisco.
In addition to Santiago, the program includes experiences linked to snow destinations such as Chillán, where visitors can enjoy wine tastings, food pairings, producer meetings, and cultural activities during their stay.
The initiative seeks to increase tourism spending, create new opportunities for small wineries and artisanal producers, and contribute to the preservation and promotion of Chile’s wine heritage.
Preserving Old Vineyards and Promoting Northern Chile
Currently based in the Coquimbo Region, Maximiliano Morales is actively promoting the wine valleys of Elqui, Limarí, Choapa, and Atacama as emerging destinations for wine and gastronomic tourism.
A significant portion of this work focuses on preserving old vineyards and supporting family-owned wine brands, while highlighting local grape varieties facing increasing challenges related to water scarcity and climate change.
The initiative also promotes Chilean pisco from the Atacama and Coquimbo regions. Chile’s pisco denomination of origin, officially established on May 15, 1931, is recognized as the oldest Denomination of Origin in the Americas, protecting a spirit tradition whose documented roots in northern Chile date back to at least 1733.
Coastal Gastronomy and New Tourism Destinations
Beginning in 2026, the Urban Wine and Pisco Tour expanded operations into the Coquimbo and Atacama regions, inviting restaurants, wine bars, pisco producers, chefs, and tourism operators to participate.
The initiative highlights the rich gastronomy of Chile’s semi-arid Pacific coast, known for products such as Japanese oysters, scallops, shellfish, and a wide variety of seafood sourced from the Pacific Ocean.
International Expertise
The experiences are led by Maximiliano Morales, former Wine Specialist aboard the expedition ships National Geographic Explorer, National Geographic Endeavour, and Silver Cloud, where he conducted comparative tastings of Chilean and Argentine wines for international travelers.
His background in luxury tourism, wine promotion, and experiential gastronomy has helped shape a program specifically designed for Brazilian and international visitors traveling to Chile during the winter ski season.
Open Call for Partners
Restaurants, wine bars, pisco producers, boutique wineries, tourism operators, and gastronomic projects interested in joining future Urban Wine and Pisco Tour routes are invited to request meetings for evaluation and collaboration.
For additional information and reservations:
📲 +56 9 3251 7848
