Eight years ago a Chilean arrived in England with a mission: to persuade us all to drink more wine produced in his distant land, instead of that produced 21 miles away across the Channel in France.

His plan was to set up an offshoot of the old established Santiago wine company Concha y Toro — Shell and Bull in English — which had been founded back in 1883.

Cristian Lopez, managing director of Concha y Toro UK, said: "I came to visit Oxford and fell in love with it. That is really why I set up the company here — although of course Oxfordshire is in such a good central position as well as being beautiful."

He added: "Coming from Chile, which is so beautiful and close to nature, we knew we would need to place ourselves somewhere beautiful in England." Back in 2000 the company sold 250,000 cases of wine a year in Britain. In 2007 it sold 4.2 million cases, spelling an increase in turnover from £4.2m to £65m.

Last month septit moved into new offices at Ashurst Court in Wheatley, a collection of beautifully converted wooden barns off London Road.

"We moved here from offices in the Oxford Science Park which I took in 2001 with just two sales people and a finance officer," said The company now employs 30 people in Britain, 15 of whom work at the Wheatley headquarters and Mr Lopez says he is looking to recruit five more as PAs and in the marketing department.

Concha y Toro is the company behind such familiar brands on supermarket shelves as Casillero del Diablo, Frontera, Sunrise, Cono Sur, and Isla Negra.

Mr Lopez said: "For ten or 12 years before 2000 the company sold in UK through two distributors. By establishing a presence here we took one step further in the supply chain — and it worked well. It was a good plan to take things into our own hands.

"The two distributors have now joined the team here."

He added that the UK was seen as the number one target for Chilean wine producers, as we impoprt more so-called New World wine than any other country, though Germany is snapping at our heels.

Mr Lopez said: "The point about Britain from our point of view is that a lot of business is in a few hands: 20 per cent of our customers do 80 per cent of our business. That is because supermarkets handle so much trade."

He added that other major markets, such as the United States, are more complicated, with different state laws and regulations, some dating right back to the 1930s days of prohibition.

Until 1994 Concha y Toro was a company run by the Guilisasti family. Then it floated on the New York stock exchange, though the family still have a large financial interest in it.

Vineyards owned by the company, many around Santiago, are in valleys with different micro-climates which produce wines from a wide variety of grapes.

Most of the vines were originally imported from Europe, though Chileans are pleased to tell anyone who will listen that some were exported back to France after the voracious philoxera insect devastated the French parent vines in the 19th Century.

Mr Lopez said: "One of our grape varieties, Carmenere, used in our Casillero del Diablo, is more or less indigenous to Chile now. You can find very little of it elsewhere though it was originally imported from France."

He added that before the coming of the conquistadores to Chile in the 16th Century there were very few native grapes.

And how has the New World made such huge inroads into the British market, which for centuries favoured French wines?

Mr Lopez said: "I am afraid it was largely the fault of France, where wine consumption is falling even in its own home market. They failed to develop brands that were easy to follow and understand.

"It is a challenge to understand all their regions, and this seems to restrict them to traditional markets. Australia led the way in promoting brands but Chile followed.

"Now of course the drought in Australia is causing a decline in production there; and, I hate to say it, but we are benefiting."

But he added that French wines are still strong in the "on" trade — is wines sold through wholesalers to restaurants and pubs.

Chilean wines also gained a fillip six years ago when an international agreement with the European Union meant that they became exempt from the Common Customs Tariff (CTT), a tax which is still applied to other South American wines.

Latest figures from the Wine and Spirit Trade Association show UK wine consumption has fallen off by about one per cent in the first six months of this year compared to the £8bn we spent on it in 2007.

But Britain is still a prime target for exporters — with Chile capturing 7.8 per cent of the market, increasing its share by about one per cent.

"In terms of value Britain is a wonderful market, perhaps the best in the world," said Mr Lopez.

FACT FILE: Name: Concha y Toro Managing director: Cristian Lopez Founded: Parent company founded in 1883, UK arm established in 2000 Number of staff: 30 Annual turnover: £65m Contact: 01865 873713