Santa Rita Owner Ricardo Claro Dies at 74

October 30, 2008 - Ricardo Claro, owner of the Santa Rita winery and one of the most respected and influential figures in the Chilean wine industry, died suddenly Tuesday morning after suffering a heart attack in Santiago, Chile. Mr. Claro was 74.

Nearly 2,000 mourners - including friends, family, prominent politicians and business leaders - attended a funeral mass yesterday morning to bid farewell to Claro, who has had a major impact on so many aspects of Chilean society, including business, arts and cultural affairs, academics, charities, politics and religion.

While Santa Rita and the broader world of wine was a true passion for Mr. Claro, his sphere of influence in Chile reached far beyond. His group of companies, known as Grupo Claro, is a highly regarded powerhouse in Chile's business community, with interests spanning various industries from media and glass manufacturing to steel, shipping and ports. Among Grupo Claro's holdings is shipping company CSAV, Saam (ports and logistics), Elecmetal (steel), Cristalerias de Chile (glass), CMF (packaging), Megavision (Chile's first privately held television station), VTR (cable TV), financial newspaper Diario Financiero and Capital Magazine. The Claro Group controls companies in Chile and abroad, including countries like China, India, USA, Brazil and several other Latin American countries.

Mr. Claro purchased the Santa Rita winery in 1980. Together with the Santa Rita team, he played an instrumental role in propelling the Chilean wine category to the top position it now enjoys in markets around the world. Today, Santa Rita is one of the top Chilean wine brands globally.

The group also owns other wineries like Carmen, Sur Andino and Doña Paula, and also has a stake in Los Vascos with Les Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite).

Mr. Claro's past includes experience as a lawyer and an educator. He earned his law degree from the Universidad de Chile in 1958 and later served as a professor of economics at the same institution.

Throughout his long and illustrious career, Mr. Claro touched so many lives across the Chilean business landscape and, indeed, globally - he will certainly be missed.  Ricardo Claro is survived by his wife, Maria Luisa.