Roberto was born in 1938, in Santiago. Even as a child he showed great interest in the process of winemaking, spending complete harvest seasons in the winery located at Molina, which in those days was run by his grandparents.

He completed his studies in Agronomy, with Oenology and Economics majors, obtaining the highest GPA of all Chilean universities.  After marrying his wife Gloria, he decided to study a doctorate in Cornell University, for which he was granted the Rockefeller Scholarship for Chile, given to only one person every year. At Cornell Gloria and Roberto became immersed in American graduate student life, and enjoyed thoroughly the beautiful Finger Lakes landscape. Roberto received his Ph.D. in economics in 1969.

A proud father of four, Roberto worked for eight years as an economist in the World Bank based in Washington D.C. In his frequent travels world wide, he became aware of the tremendous potential that the production of fine wines had to satisfy the growing demands of more educated and quality oriented consumers. In 1979 Roberto decided to return to Chile, to continue his family tradition in winemaking.

At that time, he believed he was coming back to join an ongoing winery operation, but instead discovered a country whose wine industry was in the midst of a great depression.  Many wineries had gone bankrupt, and very little wine was being exported. The family business was in jeopardy and the old winery in which he spent his summers was on the brink of disappearing.

Passionate about wine, and determined to preserve his ancestors’ wine making tradition, he embarked on the greatest challenge of his life: projecting his winery into the future; transforming it into a modern, export-oriented, and family owned and managed operation.

Bucking the trend in the midst of the crisis, when most vines were being uprooted to plant other crops, earned him a maverick reputation, but it was during this time that he put together the original family Molina property, started renovating the old plantations with new high quality varietals, initiated the reconstruction and modernization of the old winery, and toured endlessly around Europe and Asia to promote his wines, competing hand to hand with the big players in the world markets.

With his characteristic Basque tenacity, he was able to drive the family winery to higher ground, became an industry leader and, together with a handful of contemporary Chilean wine producers, led the Chilean wine industry to become a prime player into the most demanding world wine markets.

1992 was a milestone for Viña Echeverría. It was the first time that the wine his ancestors started producing for the domestic market in the early 1900s was sitting at tables all over the world. Since then, the winery has continued growing to give its demanding customers worldwide what they cherish: a glass of happiness.

Today Roberto lives in both Santiago and Molina, traveling frequently back and forth, and thoroughly involved in the day-to-day activities of the winery. He enjoys walking in the vineyard, driving his Jeep through the rugged landscapes of Molina, sailing his “vagabond” dinghy in the Pacific coast in Algarrobo, and most of all, spending time with his wife Gloria (with whom he has been married for more than fifty years) and their four children, all of which share his passion for wine and are part of Viña Echeverría’s management, as well as his 5 grandchildren.

He lives each day to the limit, and is the perfect example of our motto: “Salud y alegría, con Vinos Echeverría!”*

* Wishing you health and happiness with Echeverria wines