After Brief Interruption, Banfi’s Chilean Shipments Back On Track

Dan Marsteller
Posted: March 10, 2010

Banfi, the largest importer of Chilean wines into the U.S., is
resuming shipments from its San Antonio, Chile warehouse tomorrow
(March 11), less than two weeks after a devastating earthquake tore
through the country. The warehouse—which serves as a consolidation
point for Banfi’s U.S. shipments and maintains a reserve inventory to
bridge such shipping delays—is operated by Giorgio Gori. Current
estimates place the amount of wine damaged in the quake at around 20%
of the warehouse’s total inventory.

“A complete inventory will be finalized today and containers loaded
with wines from Trivento, Emiliana and Concha y Toro are being moved
to the stacking area for shipment on the first vessel to set sail from
San Antonio on March 11,” says Banfi evp and coo Marc Goodrich.
“Additionally, the wineries have resumed production and goods will be
arriving at our facility starting today.”

In February, prior to the quake on the 27th, four large shipments of
wine totaling more than 200,000 cases departed the San Antonio
warehouse and will arrive in the U.S. shortly. 75,000 cases more are
staged at the port awaiting shipment. Banfi says those shipments,
along with existing U.S. inventory, will ensure the company’s U.S.
supply until the Chilean wineries are back up to full output.

Concha y Toro, the world’s seventh-largest wine brand, and the
third-largest imported wine in the U.S. at more than 3 million cases,
suspended bottling and harvest activities after the quake, but is in
the process of gradually restoring both functions up to full speed.
Although it did sustain losses of wine and production capacity at
several of its 11 cellars, the company’s largest cellar, at
Chimbarongo, and its premium wines facility, at Puente Alto, suffered
only minor damage.

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