Pedro Parra

Pedro Parra has a PhD in dirt. He spends a great deal of his day down a giant trench (called a calicata) studying the sub-soils of different wine regions around the world. "Top soil is unimportant" he says. "Without the rocks and stones underneath, there is no terroir".

In addition to his two other wine projects; Aristos (a joint project between him, Francois Massoc and Bugundy's Louis-Michel Liger-Belair) and Clos des Fous (which focuses on terroir-driven wines from all over Chile), his newest project is near his home-town of Concepcion, in the Bio Bio region and focuses on two main wines: Pencopolitano, a dry-farmed, old-vine field blend of Cinsault, Carignan, Carmenere and others, and Imaginador - mostly Cinsault with a touch of Carignan from vines averaging 90-100 years in age.

These two wines are perfect examples of Pedro's commitment to the concept of terroir, and he and a few other great Chilean winemakers are bringing new energy and excitement to the world of Chilean wine.