Viñatero 83-year-old wins the 11th Competition of the Wine of the Itata Valley

Juan Bustamante Salgado, 83 years old, won the Gold Medal for Best Wine of the Competition and for Best Wine of the Year. Best Country Wine in the 11th Itata Valley Wine Competition organised by INDAP Ñuble. "I feel fully grateful to Indap and the Prodesal Programme of Portezuelo because They are always helping us, they are always teaching us. We know that all the producers make a I was not thinking of winning this prize. With effort and sacrifice we have the winemaker from the Panguilemu sector of the Panguilemu commune in the municipality of Portezuelo, upon receiving the award from the regional presidential delegate for Ñuble, Rodrigo García, and the regional director of INDAP, Fernanda Azócar.

The Itata Valley Wine Competition is fundamental to highlight the value of wine production in the Itata Valley," he said. winegrowing and winemaking in Ñuble. As a government, we are not only interested in productive development, which is very important. to continue this activity, but it is also important to emphasise the identity and the heritage value of the Chilean countryside production. We congratulate all the winners and We urge them to continue working on quality, respecting their ancestral knowledge and culture.

Arnaldo Hinojosa from Coelemu also received distinctions with the best wines in the vineyards Cinsault and Moscatel de Alejandría, as well as winning the prize for Best Wine Produced by Young; in the category Other Grape Varieties the award went to Luis Lagos with a Semillón and the Best Sparkling wine went to Bernardo Cortés. In the category Best Wine with Sustainable Practices the medal went to Mingaco and in the category Best Wine Produced by Women, the award went to Consuelo Venegas. Among the incentives were stainless steel vats, pallets of gold-plated bottles and labels.

For the regional director of INDAP Ñuble, Fernanda Azócar Rodríguez, "as INDAP we are focused on moving towards Inclusive Markets with sustainable and resilient agriculture, and these values are very well contained in all the work of the Itata Valley and the entire region. production of wines where the heritage vines are the protagonists of the hand of peasant and small-scale farmers. peasants who practice day by day the ancestral knowledge that defines their way of life. agricultural production and, above all, their way of life. It is here that women and young people become to be able to save this knowledge by means of innovation in order to produce more and better wines".

The jury of the 11th Itata Valley Wine Competition was composed of oenologists and sommeliers. such as Edmundo Bordeau, Carla Urrunaga, Luis Jorge Campos, Mariana Martínez, Nadia Parra, Demy Olmos, Fabián Lara, Felipe Aldunate, Edgardo Candia, Nury Gahona and Clara Arteaga. The agronomist, oenologist and lecturer at the Catholic University of Chile, Edmundo Bordeau, received an award for his work. recognition of his career and contribution to the development of Itata Valley wines. "The last 10 years, the Itata Valley wines have improved their quality, but always maintaining their qualities that make it different from other wines from Chile, such as its heritage grape varieties, its geographical location and winemaking practices," he said.

With 11 versions recognising the wine production of the Itata Valley, the Wine Competition organised by INDAP has become a traditional platform for the enhancement of the value of the Ñuble's family-run, peasant winemaking industry.