Think TED Drink Chile

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 21, 2016 -- The globally celebrated annual idea conference TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) 2016 comes to Vancouver with a call to world's innovators to… Dream. Wines of Chile aligned with the world's most inspiring, innovative, thought-provoking conferences to spark discourse about Chile's dream for sustainability and diversity in the wine industry.

"Creativity and innovation are revolutionizing Chile's wines, and propelled Wines of Chile to join the TED Talks. TED, a leader in revolutionary ideas, mirrors our vision of how to evolve," says Wines of Chile Managing Director Claudio Cilveti. "Chile is the first country to bring the culture of wine as a point of discussion to the TED Talks. Chile shares TED's vision of leading with impactful ideas. Everything happens very quickly in our world today and one cannot just wait and follow others' lead. The future is upon us, and Wines of Chile is excited to engage the TED Talks in a dialogue about the future of wine."

Wines of Chile will invite attendees at February's conference to consider how sustainability, if practiced on a global scale, could positively impact planet Earth. "As the most innovative wine-producing country on the planet, Chile is well-suited to join the conversation at the TED Talks," commented President of Wines of Chile and CEO of Casa Silva, Mario Pablo Silva. "We are exploring terroirs, varieties, and winemaking techniques and aiming to be the number one producer of sustainable wines. Chile is a viticultural paradise relatively free from pests and blessed with perfect growing conditions, which allows us to practice low-impact, intelligent viticulture techniques and demands that we protect this paradise for future generations."

A series of interactive workshops and dedicated wine events will be hosted by Wines of Chile throughout the conference to share the best practices in winemaking, including behind the scenes details on the sustainable certification process and hands-on learning. Ten Chilean wineries will present wines, soil and barrel samples, and varieties for a tasting and education station led by wine experts from Chile.

An 'Education Station' will be presented by Wines of Chile with three parts: framework – exploring the rigorous processes each winery must go through in order to become certified sustainable in Chile; groundwork – discovering first-hand the tapestry of soils that give Chile its winemaking diversity; and craftsmanship – learning the art of the blend by becoming 'winemakers' and blending barrel samples to taste and compare against top winemakers' blends.

The Education Station invites attendees to learn why worldwide sustainable winemaking would truly be a dream and how the code used in Chile could be used as a model for other regions. The hands-on experience will share with attendees the new heights which Chilean winemakers are going to in order to perfect their wines, and will immerse participants in terroir, dream soils which nurture different grape varieties, and the alchemy of winemaking – experience firsthand the taste, aroma and texture that different grapes yield when well blended.

As a bonus first-hand experience, Wines of Chile will give away one pass to TED2016, valued at $8,500, leading up to the event through an online contest. Residents of British Columbia aged 19 or over are invited to enter by visiting EnterToWinChile.com. The winner will be selected at random and contacted following the contest close date of February 1, 2016.

About Wines of Chile:

Wines of Chile is an organization committed to promoting the quality and image of Chilean wine throughout the world. As the Chilean wine industry has undergone numerous and profound transformations over the past 30 years it has allowed a new generation of talented viticulturists and winemakers to capitalize on Chile's viticultural paradise and to produce World Class Wines of unique character and personality. Chile is the world's seventh largest wine producer and the fifth largest exporter. With 150 destination countries and 1.5 billion consumers per year Chilean wines are positioned as the country's most emblematic and best known world ambassador.

The vision of the Chilean wine industry is to become the number one producer of sustainable and diverse premium wines by 2025. Wines of Chile offer unique sustainable premium quality and diversity, ranging from cool climate to full-bodied fruity wines, with consistent high quality and value. To learn more about the Wines of Chile visit: www.winesofchile.org

About TED:

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California almost 30 years ago, TED has grown to support its mission with multiple initiatives. The two annual TED Conferences invite the world's leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes on a diverse mix of topics. Many of these talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala, Isabel Allende and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The TED2014 Conference takes place in Vancouver, British Columbia, along with the TEDActive simulcast in neighboring Whistler. TEDGlobal 2014 will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
TED's media initiatives include TED.com, where new TED Talks are posted daily; the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as translations from volunteers worldwide; the educational initiative TED-Ed; and TEDBooks, short e-books on powerful ideas. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world get help translating their wishes into action; TEDx, which supports individuals or groups in hosting local, self-organized TED-style events around the world; and the TED Fellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

Follow TED on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TEDTalks, or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TED

Media enquiries and further information:
Julie Melanson
Director, Marketing & Communications
Aurillia Consulting
604 358 8727 | [email protected]

A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=38588

CONTACT: Julie Melanson
         
         Director, Marketing & Communications
         Aurillia Consulting
         
         604 358 8727 | [email protected]