Chile’s Viña San Pedro has reached agreement with other investors to create a new wine production and export company, Viña Tabalí.
 
Tabalí will focus on producing high-end wines for export. It will operate from a 150-hectare site in the Limarí valley near Ovalle in northern Chile. Its first grape harvest is scheduled for next year.
 
Tabalí’s parent, San Pedro, has decided to diversify its production and range of brands after experiencing weaker than expected growth in the first half of 2003, according to the winery’s general manager, Matías Elton.
 
“We didn’t grow as much as we hoped in the first six months, because we grew more in terms of volume than prices,” Elton said.
 
The general manager said the winery’s results had nonetheless been boosted by strong results from its subsidiaries, such as Santa Helena and Finca la Celia in Argentina.