De Martino
Chile
Don Pietro De Martino Pascualone left his native Italy in 1934 with the dream of starting a new life in South America. He settled in Isla de Maipo and founded the De Martino winery. After the end of the Second World War, Giorgio De Martino began an extensive modernization project. Today the third and fourth generations are keeping Don Pietro’s dream alive. The state-of-the-art De Martino Winery now encompasses 740 acres and produces nearly 1.5 million bottles of wine per year. Thanks to the skilled hand of award wining winemaker, Marcelo Retamal, their wines are considered among the best that Chile has to offer.
Marcelo Retamal
Winemaker, De Martino
At 41 years of age Marcelo is considered by many to be one of the most highly regarded and distinguished winemakers of his generation. Renowned for his constant and passionate hard work, his tireless search for something new and exciting and his relaxed outlook on life, he most definitely stands out from his peers. Having studied Agronomy at the University of Concepción, with a specialization in Oenology, he graduated in 1996, from where he was employed immediately by Viña De Martino in the Maipo Valley, where he has worked ever since. Together with the rest of the Viña De Martino winemaking team he was the main protagonist when the winery launched the first ever wine to be produced, labeled and exported as Carmenère. Ever since that landmark day his consummate passion for this unique grape variety has never dwindled, and for some good reason his Single Vineyard Carmenère has been chosen as Chile’s best for the past 2 years in the Chilean Wine Guide. This striving for perfection and difference has also meant that the main focus of his work in the past 14 years has been a “Terroir Project” which is unrivalled in Chile and which has lead him to investigate and find the most appropriate places to grow particular varieties in Chile. He has now made wines in over 350 vineyards the length and breadth of the country, many of which are unique in their field, with amazing personality and unerring quality. At the same time Marcelo has traveled extensively around the globe to broaden his knowledge of the world’s vineyards and winemaking practices and to perfect his know-how of the international wine business.
Achievements & Awards
1998: he made wines in Argentina for De Martino and also spent a month in Haut Médoc at Chateau Belgrave (France)
1999: he traveled to California (USA) where he spent a month making Pinot Noir in the Russian River
2000: he undertook a technical trip to Australia, where he visited Griffith, McLaren Vale, Barossa, Yarra and King Valley
2001: he worked for a month in Spain, in Ribera del Duero, and also visited the regions of Toro and Rioja
2002 & 2003: he traveled to Spain again and Italy, where he became acquainted with the areas of Friuli, Piemonte, Toscana and Bolgueri
2004: he was twice awarded “Best Winemaker of the Year”, by the prestigious Chilean Wine Guide and also by the Chilean Circle of Gastronomic Writers
2005: together with a group of geologists he traveled to France to get a deeper understanding of the Loire Valley, Champagne, Alsace, Burgundy, Rhone Valley, Bordeaux and Languedoc Rousillon
2006: his affinity for the Iberian Peninsula took him back to Spain, where he traveled around Priorat and Toro
2007: this time it was Portugal, where he fell in love with Touriga Nacional in the Douro Valley and also got to know the Alentejo and Extremadura regions
2008: he traveled to California again, during which time he focused on understanding the Napa Valley in depth
2009: he obtained the unique Bicentennial Award for “Winemaker of the Decade”, awarded by the Chilean Wine Guide
De Martino
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