Marcelo Arriagada: “From my humble space, the restaurant room, I do consider myself an ambassador of Chilean wine”.

We spoke the Best Sommelier of Chile 2024 contest, who obtained the title for the second time, thus reconfirming his vocation and passion for wine. From New York, where he lives, in this interview he tells us about his perseverance, pushing limits and the rewards that come after leaving the comfort zone.

When did you start your career as a sommelier?

I started serving as a runner, waiter’s assistant, then a waiter and after several years in different restaurants in Santiago, in January 2016 I registered for the first level of the Chilean Sommelier School. A year later, while studying the third level, I found my first job as a Sommelier at La Casa del Habano.

How did you decide to participate in the competitions?

I quickly understood that competitions could be a plus in the career to be able to stand out. My first competition was in 2016 for Best Young Sommelier, when I was in the second level of the Sommelier School. I came seventh, but it helped me to understand what these events were about. The following year, a month after having qualified as a Professional Sommelier, I registered for the Best Sommelier of Chile 2017 contest. I remember that more than 30 people registered, some obviously with much more experience. So when I got fifth place, so close to the final, I realized that it was possible and that it was only up to me to reach the final in 3 more years. That’s when I set out to win the competition. Years passed and in the next edition I managed to win the title of Best Sommelier of Chile 2021.

How did you receive the title of Best Sommelier of Chile 2024? How did you prepare yourself and how do you see your future after the triumph?

I receive it with great joy, it is undoubtedly a reward for the effort because luck does not exist in this type of contest, and “talent” may help, but it is useless without the work behind it, that helps you form a solid foundation. Preparation is essential. For the same reason, I had prepared myself by pushing my limits and leaving my comfort zone, looking for real learning opportunities to continue advancing and growing as a professional. Two months before the competition, the theory and tasting review was almost daily to be the most prepared for the day of the competition.

Now it will be time to represent Chile in international competitions; Best Sommelier of the Americas 2025 in the United States and Best Sommelier in the World 2026 in Portugal.

Was it your career as a sommerlier that brought you to NY? Can you tell me what you do there and how you see the image and presence of Chilean wine in the USA?

Yes. The only way to grow as a sommelier is to work in restaurants. There are other areas where a sommelier can also perform, but from my point of view the heart is in the service, in the room, in the consistency of the restaurant, that is where our profession is born. Understanding this, I always knew that, if I wanted to continue advancing as a professional and focusing on the Master Sommelier diploma, I had to leave Chile.

In our country, being an important wine producer, the local wine lists (as also happens in Italy, France or Spain), focus 90% on national products, which is not bad, but for a sommelier it is limiting. To understand wines, regions, styles, liquors, spirits or gastronomy in depth, one must travel and, if possible, work in a restaurant with a wide menu in terms of wine styles.

For this reason, in 2020 I worked in Dubai as a Sommelier and since 2022 I have been based in New York, currently as Head Sommelier of the Japanese Restaurant Kappo Masa.

Do you consider yourself an ambassador of Chilean wine? If yes, how do you like to promote it?

Each sommelier is a link between the producer, whether of wine or any product served on the table, and the diner. We communicate a product, an identity, a know-how and a message, from its origin and production process, to the customer’s table. Under that premise, yes, from my humble space, the restaurant room, I do consider myself an ambassador of Chilean wine.

In your daily life, do you drink wine? Which ones?

It will depend on what we are eating or celebrating, but generally I really like light wines with good acidity, for example, a good white from the Coquimbo region or a País or Cinsault from the Maule Valley or Itata.

Could you recommend some food pairings with grape varieties are commonly drunk in Chile?

I think that variety in Chilean bbq’s helps demonstrate on the versatility in Chilean wines. The fire is lit, the bbq begins and the sausages, ribs or pork Malaya with lemon begin to come out, which without a doubt with a glass of Semillón from the Maule Valley would be a luxury. Yes, whites work very well on bbq’s, you just have to know how to pair them. Semillon has good breadth on the palate, it has great weight, which helps cleanse the palate of the texture and fat of the malaya or sausages, and the acidity of the wine will refresh it.

Then a Carmenère with Beef Empanada, it’s total music. Carmenère gives life to wines with a unique perfume, lots of fruit, a spiced character, with silky, round, very well polished tannins, which helps lower the acidity of the onion, combining with cumin and the beef, raising the flavour of the empanada and embracing the palate in pure pleasure. Unique pairing.

For the end, we always leave the meats with bone or more fat, such as a Rib Eye or Beef Rib. They are meats with greater intensity and fattiness, where we need wines with greater structure, tannins, acidity and personality on the palate. This is where the king of kings of Chile, a good Cabernet Sauvignon from Maipo does not fail.

We invite you to try these pairings recommended by the Best Sommelier in Chile 2024, Marcelo Arriagada, with two excellent examples of Marques de Casa Concha, such as Marques de Casa Concha Carmenère and Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon.