Archive for April, 2009
Dry-farmed Reds
Maule, Itata
Chile’s Mediterranean climate, with cold rainy winters and warm dry summers makes dry farming a natural in certain areas such as Maule, Itata, and Bío Bío. These vineyards spend a good portion of the winter under water and receive none at all during the growing season. The vines send their roots deep into the [...]Old-vine Reds
Maule, Itata, Bío Bío
Chile’s idyllic climate for winegrowing gives rise to some timeless vineyards full of ancient gnarly-trunked, head-trained vines that produce rich elegant fruit with little or no human intervention. Adventurous young winemakers have rediscovered these viticultural gems in some of the most traditional wine valleys, particularly Maule and Itata, and match this rich [...]Organics & Biodynamics
Chile’s warm, dry climate and relatively pest-free environment makes eco-friendly winegrowing the norm.
With growing concern for the environmental future and increased interest in wines that express true terroir, sustainable, organic, and biodynamic viticulture are on the rise and wines made from organically grown grapes increasingly appear in every price range–including a number of Chilean icon [...]Sparkling
Although some houses have made sparkling wines for decades, a rise in consumer demand and an ever-broadening selection of cool climate grapes has led to an increase in fresh and delightful bubblies ranging from bone dry extra brut to off-dry demi-secs, from blanc de blanc to blanc de noir to sparkling rosé.
Aromatics
Cool climate vineyards and a long dry growing season contribute to making Chile’s aromatic whites—Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Viognier—worth shouting about. Heady floral notes in the first two and gorgeous ripe apricot in the latter matched with bright but not biting acidity make for delightfully fine and fragrant quaffing.
Rosés
Think pink. The world has gone rosé crazy, and Chile is putting forth some excellent examples. When you start with a country full of rich red wines with soft, ripe tannins, there’s no room to go wrong with its rosés. Dry to off-dry, with plenty of red fruit flavor, bright acidity, and soft palates lead [...]
Food-friendly varietals
A friendly climate makes for friendly fruit…
Perfect growing conditions: a long dry growing season and the right varietals matched to the right soils make for flavor-intense fruit with bright acidity and ripe tannins that produce enticing wines in every price range. Pick your favorite variety and you can bet Chile’s got something that’s just right [...]Cool-climate Syrah
Elqui, San Antonio
Chile produces two types of Syrah. It has plenty of the luciously big and juicy Syrah that the world loves, but it also offers an intriguing alternative that is drawing consistently rave reviews. In cool climates, such as Elqui and San Antonio, Syrah develops an enchanting black-peppery spiciness that melds with fresh fruit [...]Warm-climate Syrah
Rich and juicy, concentrated and fruity, big, fat, slurpy syrahs that can only come warm climes such as Apalta in the Colchagua Valley.
The beauty of Chile’s vast geographic and climatic diversity is the ability to produce high quality wines in many different styles.
