11th Annual Experience the Taste of Chile
Wine Tasting and Dinner
April 27, 2016
Hotel du Pont
Wilmington, DE
On Wednesday, April 27th, the Chilean and American Chamber of Commerce (CACC) hosted the 11th Annual Experience the Taste of Chile Wine Tasting and Dinner, an evening full of delicious Chilean food and wine. The night began with a reception and Chilean wine tasting before everyone was escorted into the Hotel du Pont’s Gold Ballroom for dinner and the award ceremony.
CACC President Robert Palaima opened the evening’s program with a warm welcome, thanking all attendees for their continued support of the Chamber and recognizing special guests in attendance before introducing Presenting Sponsor, Leo Holt of Holt Logistics to the stage. Holt began his introduction to the Chilean Ambassador to the U.S., His Excellency Juan Gabriel Valdes, by accrediting him for his great work in the face of the difficult Chilean season. He accredited Ambassador Valdes for “opening the window” to Chile as a major partner and gateway for growth along the Delaware River.
Ambassador Valdes approached the stage with gratitude and pride in the Philadelphia-Chile relationship; he had just been visiting Philadelphia a few weeks prior and saw firsthand the region’s appreciation for the strong bond. Ambassador Valdes informed the audience that the Delaware and Philadelphia ports receive more than half of Chile’s fresh food exports and that the United States is Chile’s second largest trade partner. He closed by emphasizing the importance of enhancing the relationship by not just quantity, but also quality, and invited everyone to participate in the upcoming Chile Week to be held in Philadelphia, New York and Miami in October 2016.
Guests enjoyed a delicious dinner of fresh Chilean salmon provided by Agrosuper USA while listening to festive live music. After dessert, the program continued with Presenting Sponsor, Anne Bookout of Royal Fumigation, who remarked how proud her company is to continually support the Chamber’s mission and the annual Experience the Taste of Chile event. Benjamin Leavenworth, Honorary Consul of Chile, mirrored Bookout’s praise of the Chamber and also described his appreciation for the support of APHIS, an agency which protects consumers while simultaneously guiding the powerful relationship between Chile and Philadelphia which ultimately strengthens the alliance. Leavenworth noted that the strong relationship between Greater Philadelphia and Chile was demonstrated through the recent visit from a Chilean Senatorial Delegation, led by Senator Garcia-Huidobro of the VI Region.
Following Leavenworth, Delaware’s Secretary of State, Jeffrey Bullock, took the stage and recounted the wonderful people, culture and geography of Chile after his recent and first trip to the country before welcoming to the podium Visionary Sponsor Miriam Borja-Fisher of Western Fumigation. In order to properly credit the USDA APHIS PPQ, Borja-Fisher spoke of the inauguration of CACC’s Visionary Award in 2012 to recognize individuals and organizations for their outstanding work in building resilient international trade relationships between Chilean and US partners. She noted a great appreciation for the comprehensive work of APHIS, emphasizing its close alignment with the Chamber’s mission, and officially presented the 2016 Visionary Award to Osama El-Lissy, Deputy Administrator, on behalf of the USDA APHIS PPQ. El-Lissy accepted the award with vivacity and took the chance to apprize his colleagues present that evening. He said that part of the mission of their work was to facilitate the safe trade of commodities coming to the United States which ensures delicious, fresh and healthy fruits and vegetables year round. El-Lissy recognized the companies, importers, and vessels for their partnership commitment and understanding of market change on business and other government regulations. He ended his remarks with acknowledgement of the Chamber for the growth of this cohesive relationship to reach a shared mission.
U.S. Senator Chris Coons graciously stopped by the 11th Annual Experience the Taste of Chile to share in the celebration. The Senator emphasized the importance of job creation in the region, much of which he accredits to trade activity with Chile.
Following the close of remarks, Brisa Carmenere and a Porta Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon were raffled off to lucky guests. Robert Palaima then closed the event and invited all guests to take a ProChile gift bag on their way out.
The CACC would like to extend a special thank you to all of the sponsoring companies and attendees of this esteemed event, and also to Mauricio Banchieri and ProChile NY for providing gift bags and facilitating the fresh Chilean Salmon for the evening. ¡Muchas gracias!
For more photos from the 11th Annual Experience the Taste of Chile, please visit our Flickr Page.