José Guilisasti Gana, one of the luminaries of Chilean viticulture, passed away suddenly at 57 on November 19. José had a long career in the agricultural sector in Chile and was part of the family who owns Concha y Toro. Since 1986 he worked at Emiliana and since 2005 he was managing the estate. He was one of the owners of the estate.
We had the chance to spend a morning with him at Viña Emiliana in Chile’s Colchagua last spring. He was genuinely full of life and passionate about his wines, his vineyards, his soils and the environment. What made a rainy fall morning unique was not only the spectacular quality of the wines or the beautiful vivid red color of the leaves on the vines, but José’s passion, his energy and sense of humor.
One morning is normally not enough to have the genuine impression of who a person is, but his intensity made a deep impact on us; he was not only in love with his wines, but he was passionate about everything that surrounded his wines – the trees, his llamas, and most importantly the people who helped make the wines, the people he worked with every day.
As he explained in an interview, “In this country it is very important how we care for our people, that we treat them well.” Today, words like these are hard to come by in the context of any business. He was an affectionate, fun and soulful man and it is truly a great loss – not only for the world of wine, but for the world, period. We only wish we had had more time with him.
Jacobo Garcia- Andrade Llamas and James Suckling
