Ben Gordon, a British citizen, was born in Bristol and went to a leading UK catholic boarding school near Reading before his degree in French & Spanish from The University of Leeds which ultimately directed him towards a career with an international focus. It was in London that Ben first started working in the wine trade as an Account Director at a reputable publishing house that was home to The International Wine Challenge, Wine Magazine, Just-Drinks, Drinks International and Wine & Spirit International magazine.

With the WSET Level 3 (Advanced) successfully passed with distinction in 2005 Ben decided to return to Chile due to, as he states, “his love for a woman and wine” and it was a country he had spent a year of his university studies visiting as an English Teacher through the British Council.
In over fifteen years in Chile Ben has considerable experience having worked for large and small wineries and has directly worked with all the leading markets worldwide. For the first years up to November 2010 Ben was Export Director at one well known Chilean winery, in charge of the UK & Irish markets mainly but he also managed the African markets too. The zone grew over 200% under his management in 5 years.

At the end of 2010 Ben decided to join a family-owned, Colchagua-based winery, where he worked as Commercial Director for 5 years in charge of marketing, tourism and sales in all 30 markets including Chile. Profitability and branded sales increased dramatically during Ben’s term.

Most recently Ben joined Bodega Volcanes de Chile in January 2016 as Managing Director - a new position that previously didn’t exist in the winery due to its existence within the Undurraga group. The opportunity to continue to sell quality wines but enjoy the advantages of a larger winery are ideal as Ben has experience of both worlds and under his management Volcanes quickly surpassed US$2 million turnover and more importantly now boasts up a distribution network of over 30 markets worldwide.

On a personal level Ben is married to his Chilean wife, Natalia, and they have three children who share his high-energy and love for sport (Ben has completed two marathons and runs and plays sports regularly). He is incredibly passionate about wine and feels blessed to work in a job that allows him to explore new cultures and meet new people with a glass in his hand and is a firm believer that personality and passion can, should and indeed do still make a difference.

From an early age Pilar Díaz was capable of recognizing the leaves of the different varieties of vitis vinifera perfectly. She learned this on her outings to the vineyards with her agronomist parents, especially her mother, the renowned winemaker Pilar González, who for many years was in charge of 2 well known chilean wineries. As she grew up between grapes, pumps, tanks and hoses; years later, she decided to carry on the family passion and maintain her bond with the land and with wine.

She joined Viña Undurraga in 2009 as an assistant winemaker on Undurraga’s winemaking team, working most closely with winemaker Rafael Urrejola, as one of the group of professionals responsible for the T.H. project, also Altazor and Founder´s collection. With Urrejola she learned to analyze different aspects of Chile’s bountiful geography and has become familiar with modern, innovative and revolutionary winemaking styles.

At the same time, she took the lead of Bodega Volcanes de Chile, a young boutique winery, also part of GVP Holding, same as Undurraga.
Here, as a winemaker, she is responsible for giving a unique identity and personality to the project where the key focus is to reveal, in the wines, the influence of volcanic terroirs.

Prior to this, while studying, she worked several vintages with her mother as a mentor. Later, she became the assistant winemaker to Ignacio Recabarren, winemaker at one of the big Chilean wineries, where she participated in the harvesting, winemaking and blending of different wines, including the award-winning Carmín de Peumo.

Always interested in learning about different winemaking styles, Pilar has made several technical visits to a number of the world’s winegrowing valleys, including Marlborough in New Zealand, where she participated as an intern, during harvest at Nobilo Wines, famous for its Sauvignon Blancs. In Burgundy, France, she vinified Chardonnay and Pinot Noir for the very traditional Domaine Roux Père et Fils, and did the same in Napa Valley, in the US, where she participated in a harvest under Ken Bernards, winemaker of Ancien Wines and currently an international consultant to several wineries, including two in Chile. She has also toured the winegrowing valleys of Australia, New Zealand, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, South Africa, United States and Canada.

A lover of travel, the outdoor life and working in the countryside, in her free time she practices sports or tends to a herd of milk goats and helps out in a family business that produces gourmet goat cheese.

Finally in late 2020 Pilar, and her husband Patricio, welcomed their 1st child Josefina into the world and perhaps a future 3rd generation female winemaker!

Roberto is a passionate for the wine young man who has a professional background studies in Gastronomy and Business Management, with a vast experience within the FMCG´s and within the wine industry at a local and international level. He joined the Volcanes Team in January 2020 to lead with great enthusiasm as Marketing and Exports Director for several markets.

Roberto is originally from Venezuela where he got his professional degree in Culinary Arts and then bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and Dietetics at the UCV. Afterwards he lived in Madrid where he got his Master degree in business (MBA) from the recognized IE Business School. His English is fluent and is actually learning Portuguese. From his beginnings he was linked to the gastronomy scene having worked at several restaurants in Caracas and also on the touristic Isla Margarita. He moved to Chile where he worked for big FMCG´s companies and then within the wine industry leading sales for domestic and international markets, which allowed him to master his knowledge of the different sales channels and the details that help build brands from the point of sales. The combination of his experience along with his hunger for success and empathy, would definitely be great for the team and our partners around the world.

He has taken several wine related courses, from the early ones within the culinary arts studies to the WSET certification ones. He is an avid traveler and “foddie” who enjoy a good conversation and learning about the local culture of the different parts of the world he visits. His hobbies include camping and motorcycling, and of course cooking exquisite dishes for friends and family, always accompanied by a good bottle of wine from Bodega Volcanes!