CONCHA Y TORO TEMPORARILY SUSPEND OPERATIONS AFTER EARTHQUAKE

I couldn't even copy a photo of their vineyard here  because their website is down.  Viña Concha y Toro, Chile's largest winery, issued a statement yesterday saying "our company, as well as the rest of the industry, have been heavily impacted by this catastrophe," referring to the catastrophic earthquake (8.8 on the Richter scale) that hit February 27.  The company has had to temporarily suspend all of its logistic and production operations for at least one week.  However, they are focused on "assessing the scope of this unprecedented event and resuming normal operations as soon as possible."  The central coast of Chile, which is the heartland of wine production, endured the most damage.  Seven-hundred people are reported dead and hundreds are missing.  Chile's government has implemented a state of emergency in the areas of Maule and Bio-Bio in response to massive damage to the country's infrastructure.  Says the company: "Fortunately no personal tragedies amongst our employees and their families. However we have already been able to assess serious damage to some of our main wineries which are located in the worst affected areas. This includes important loss in wine and production capacity. A more detailed assessment of the exact magnitude of these damages is currently being completed."