Brazilian Ski Tourists Revive Chile’s Winter Wine Tourism

Brazilian travelers are giving Chile’s wine tourism business an important lift during the Southern Hemisphere winter, according to a recent study that links ski vacations with urban wine experiences in and around Santiago and other cold-season destinations.

The research, led by Maximiliano Morales, a Chile-based agronomist and wine specialist, argues that Brazilian visitors have become the main force behind Chile’s winter wine tourism at a time when the global wine industry is dealing with weaker consumption. The finding points to a shift in how Chile is trying to reach foreign visitors who come for snow sports but often do not have enough time to travel deeper into the country’s traditional wine regions.

Chile receives international tourists each winter at more than 10 ski resorts, from Portillo in the central Andes to southern destinations farther down the country. Many of those visitors, especially Brazilians escaping their own winter holidays for ski trips, stay close to Santiago or other resort areas and do not make it to classic vineyard zones that require longer travel. That gap has created an opening for a new kind of wine tourism built around shorter, city-based tastings and food experiences.

Morales said the idea is to bring Chilean wine heritage closer to travelers rather than expect travelers to build an entire trip around vineyard visits. Through AndesWines.com, he has helped develop a program called Ski and Wines, an urban tasting tour that connects ski tourism with private wine tastings, restaurant visits and pisco experiences. The program features wines from Metropolitana, including Maipo, as well as Ñuble, Maule and O’Higgins, areas that include some of Chile’s oldest vineyards.

The strategy reflects a broader effort by Chile’s wine sector to capture spending from visitors already in the country for another reason. Instead of treating skiing and wine as separate markets, operators are combining them in a way that can extend a tourist’s day beyond the slopes and channel money toward boutique wineries, restaurants and spirits producers. In practical terms, that means tastings in Santiago or winter resort towns, food pairings and introductions to smaller producers whose wines might otherwise be harder for foreign visitors to discover.

The study says Brazilian demand has become especially important because it arrives during a season when wineries can benefit from fresh tourism revenue. Winter has not traditionally been the strongest period for vineyard visits in Chile, where many wine routes are better known in warmer months. By tying wine experiences to ski travel, operators are trying to smooth out seasonal swings and create business during a quieter part of the year.

Pisco is also part of the pitch. The tours include Chile’s national spirit alongside wine tastings and meals, widening the commercial opportunity for local producers. AndesWines says this mixed format is meant to raise average visitor spending while also giving travelers a broader introduction to Chilean drinks culture. For smaller businesses, especially family-run vineyards and boutique bars, that can mean access to international customers who may not have sought them out on their own.

Morales has spent more than two decades promoting Chilean wine abroad and has focused much of his work on preserving old vines through what he calls ancestral enotourism. His approach centers on historical vineyards and family producers, particularly those with centenarian vines or long local traditions. In this model, tourism is not only about tasting premium bottles but also about presenting wine as part of agricultural history, regional identity and food culture.

That emphasis on heritage is central to the current expansion. The urban tasting concept began around Santiago but is now moving into other winter destinations, including Chillán, where tourists can join pairing dinners and meet producers during their stay. The goal is both commercial and promotional: increase spending per visitor, create sales channels for small vineyards and strengthen Chile’s image abroad as a destination where skiing, gastronomy and wine can be combined in one trip.

The project is also extending north into Elqui, Limarí and Choapa, along with the Atacama region. In those areas, organizers are focusing on family-owned labels made from old vineyards that continue to produce despite drought pressure, climate change and water scarcity. That gives the tourism offer another layer, linking premium travel with stories about survival in harsh growing conditions and the preservation of older agricultural landscapes.

For northern Chile, pisco remains a major part of the message. AndesWines notes that Chilean pisco carries what it describes as the oldest designation of origin in the Americas, established on May 15, 1931, with production limited to valleys in Atacama and Coquimbo. For the 2026 season, the Urban Wine and Pisco Tour has formalized operations in northern Chile and tied regional producers to the gastronomy of the semi-arid coast around La Serena.

The push builds on earlier promotional work by AndesWines before the pandemic. The company organized field trips for international wine figures to places such as Puelo and Itata in an effort to draw attention to lesser-known regions and older vineyards. It also arranged visits that connected fine dining with Chilean wine heritage, including programs involving Boragó in Santiago. Those efforts were aimed at influential trade voices and media; the current winter tourism model applies some of the same logic directly to paying travelers.

Morales’ background also includes work aboard luxury expedition cruises such as National Geographic Explorer, National Geographic Endeavour and Silver Cloud, where he led comparative tastings of Chilean and Argentine wines for passengers. According to the study, that experience helped shape an urban enotourism format designed for premium international travelers who want high-quality tastings without long overland detours. Some of those cruise passengers later returned independently to Chile, suggesting that short-format introductions can lead to repeat travel.

The broader significance for Chile’s drinks industry is clear. Global wine consumption has been under pressure, forcing producers and tourism operators to look for new ways to protect demand. In Chile’s case, Brazilian ski tourists appear to be offering one answer: a ready-made audience with spending power, limited time and interest in adding food and drink experiences to a winter vacation.

For wineries outside the largest export brands, that matters because tourism can provide direct sales opportunities as well as visibility. Heritage vineyards in places such as Guarilihue, Portezuelo, Coelemu and Quillón may not always sit on standard tourist routes for short-stay visitors. Bringing their wines into curated tastings in cities or resort hubs gives them access to consumers who might later seek out those bottles in restaurants or retail markets back home.

The model also reflects changing travel habits. Many international tourists now prefer shorter experiences that fit into packed itineraries rather than full-day excursions. In response, Chilean operators are adapting wine tourism into formats that can work after skiing or alongside urban sightseeing. If Brazilian demand remains strong through future winters, that could help turn what began as a niche offer into a more established part of Chile’s tourism economy.