Chile's VC Family Estates, which owns the Porta and Gracia wine labels, has announced a multi-million investment plan in Argentina.
Originally known as the Corpora Group, VC Family Estates said it was buying a winery and a total of 300ha (hectares) in the Rio Negro and Neuquen areas of Patagonia. The deal is worth US$15m (£9.2m).
The group's Patagonian operations will be named Bodega Universal Austral. The region has been praised by viticulturalists for its limestone soils and cold climate – considered ideal for Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Neuquen already boasts several wineries, including the high-profile Bodega Fin del Mundo, which employs renowned wine consultant Michel Rolland.
In Rio Negro, one of Argentina's oldest wine zones, the group has bought a 65ha vineyard dating back to the 1930s. The vineyards will produce Pinot Noir and Malbec for a new Chalten label.
Jorge Goles, president of VC Family Estates, told decanter.com that their investment was likely to be part of a new wave of Chilean wine investment in Patagonia.
Goles also said he wanted to become the leading producer of Pinot Noir in both Chile and Argentina.
'We want to specialize in cold climate wines,' he said.
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