He will oversee winemaking for Neyen, Primus, Ritual and Veramonte Wines in Chile
January 10th – Viñedos Veramonte and Viña Neyen de Apalta have appointed Gonzalo Bertelsen as their new Head Winemaker. As one of the top 100% organic and sustainable wineries in Chile, Viñedos Veramonte makes Veramonte and Ritual wines while Viña Neyen de Apalta includes Neyen and Primus. The winery’s parent company, González Byass, a producer and supplier of wine brands from several countries with organic, sustainable and biodynamic wine, is elated to have Bertelsen join the team.
Bertelsen’s family arrived in Chile in the 19th century, after leaving their distillery in Denmark. On his father’s side was a French oenologist who was brought over by Silvestre Ochagavia, a pioneer in the Chilean wine industry. The family laid roots in the country and Bertelsen’s great-grandfather and grandfather both were winemakers, making Bertelsen’s future quite clear; he knew from an early age he wanted to work with the outdoors and his love of travel helped solidify his profession. He studied agronomy at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, where he saw the first Chilean wine boom, with the country’s wine taking off and making waves in international markets. In 1997, he was accepted as a Winemaker in the Association of Enologists and Agronomists of Chile and a decade later, he completed his Master of Oenology at the University of Adelaide in Southern Australia.
His first winemaking position was with Terramater Wine and then, in 2003, Bertelsen joined Caliterra, one of the first Chilean joint ventures between Viña Errázuriz and Mondavi. In 2009, he headed to the Uco Valley in Mendoza as a winemaker at the Finca el Origen. While working in Argentina, Bertelsen led the Viña Casablanca cellar for eight years, co-owned by Domaine Laroche in France and Viña Santa Carolina. His harvest experience has led him to winemaking regions around the world, including Languedoc Rousillon and Bordeaux in France; Campo de Borja in Spain; the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale in Australia; and Napa Valley in the United States.
“I am thrilled to be back in my homeland of Chile with Viñedos Veramonte and Viña Neyen de Apalta,” says Gonzalo Bertelsen. “I’m excited to join a winemaking team that truly believes in organic farming principles and practices. Their goals for biodiversity, while producing quality wine, is exactly what I have strived for throughout my career.”
In 2021, Viñedos Veramonte and Viña Neyen de Apalta became two separate wineries that belong to the
5+5 Caring for the Planet Program, a long-term sustainability initiative. This program represents the five generations of the González family, from parent company González Byass, who have brought the organization into the 21st century and the next five generations who will continue to build upon the work that has already been done to help the planet succeed. Both Viñedos Veramonte and Viña Neyen de Apalta are part of Sustainability 360° which includes organic and biodynamic agriculture and fair-trade commitment.
Under his supervision, Gonzalo Bertelsen will lead the teams at Viñedos Veramonte in Casablanca and Viña Neyen de Apalta and continue the dedicated organic and biodynamic management in the vineyards, including the Regenerative Agriculture the winery believes in, creating authentic wines that reflect their origin.
For more information, please contact Rebekah Polster at Rebekah@donnawhitepr.com.
About Viñedos Veramonte and Viña Neyen de Apalta
Viñedos Veramonte and Viña Neyen de Apalta follow organic practices in all of their estates to ensure the best conditions for the development of the vine, thus achieving vineyards that are sustainable over time. Through cultivating healthy, living soils and maintaining a natural balance in the vineyards and winemaking process, the wines obtain quality grapes that express the full potential of the terroir, leading to wines with character, authentic and expressive. Within the Viñedos Veramonte umbrella are Ritual and Veramonte in the Casablanca Valley and in Viña Neyen de Apalta are Neyen and Primus in the Colchagua Valley.
For further information, please visit: www.vinedosveramonte.cl/home or www.neyendeapalta.cl and follow @veramontewines.
About González Byass USA
González Byass USA is a Chicago based importer for a strategically selected portfolio of fine wine and spirit brands from around the world including Spain, Chile, Italy and Austria. González Byass USA is the US subsidiary of González Byass headquartered in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. González Byass is a family-owned, collection of wineries founded in 1835 which spans across Spain’s most important wine producing regions.
Today the fifth generation of the family are the custodians of many exceptional brands having built the company into a family of wineries which produces wine in some of Spain’s most famous regions; Bodegas Beronia (Rioja and Rueda), Dominio Fournier (Ribera del Duero), Cavas Vilarnau (Cava), Finca Constancia (Vino de la Tierra de Castilla), Finca Moncloa (Vino de la Tierra de Cádiz), Viñas del Vero (Somontano) and Pazos de Lusco (Rías Baixas). In each of these regions the family strives to make the best possible quality wines respecting the local terroir and the environment. At the same time the company has also expanded its interests further in the premium spirits business and has created pioneering brands such as The London No.1 and Nomad Outland Whisky to complement the Spanish brandies in the portfolio Soberano and Lepanto. In recent years, the family have expanded outside of Spain purchasing the quality vineyards of Viñedos Veramonte in Chile. Organically farmed vineyards producing cool climate wines from Casablanca and complex reds from Apalta.
González Byass USA also represents a number of international wineries in the US market including from Austria Domäne Wachau, and from Italy Pranza, Caldora, Cantine Cellaro, Vesevo, Vigneti Del Salento and Tenute Rossetti. In addition, Harveys Bristol Cream and Fundador Brandy de Jerez and El Recuerdo and Señorio mezcals were recently added to the portfolio, as well as Mexican brandies from Pedro Domecq: Presidente and Don Pedro.
