Wine festivals in South America
South Americans know how to throw a party, and almost before the first grape has been picked, the harvest is being celebrated with wine festivals across the Southern Cone. Traditionally the fiesta de vendimia (harvest festival) was a small celebration in the villages to celebrate the end of the harvest and a good vintage – […]
Pioneering island viticulture in Chile
Montes planted two hectares of vines this month on the small isle of Mechuque, on the eastern side of the Chiloé Archipelago, which lies more than 600 miles south of Santiago. It is one of the world’s southernmost plantings at a latitude of 42.6° S and a landmark experiment for island viticulture in Chile. Despite its […]
Santa Rita – A Clean Sweep: Producer Profile, Decanter Magazine 2018
CHANGE IS AFOOT in Alto Jahuel. First planted in 1850, the roots of Santa Rita’s historic 600ha wine estate run deep. This is a site of both viticultural heritage and cultural importance for Chile: it was once a hideout for 120 soldiers during the independence wars, and it was in this same vineyard that Carmenère […]
Mr & Mrs Smith Review – Explora Atacama
Published on Mr & Mrs Smith, January 2018 I realise that Mr Smith and I aren’t quite as adventurous as everyone else visiting Explora when, after the long, dusty road from the airport, we want to get acquainted with the barman before the mountain guide. ‘Of course,’ smiles the manager who greets us on arrival, […]
Cava’s new category – Cava Paraje Calificado
Following three years of paper pushing, Cava’s new, super-premium category, Cava Paraje Calificado (CPC), has been approved and will hit shelves in time for Christmas. This slimmed down Cava category presently includes 12 wines, all of which meet meticulously high standards in a bid to elevate Cava to a world-class sparkling wine category.
Chile’s Central Valley
While most of Chile’s wines come from the Central Valley, they have a reputation of being the least exciting the country has to offer. That is changing, however, with winemakers injecting passion into their products, writes Amanda Barnes in The Drinks Business. PDF: Chile’s Central Valley It is easy to become distracted by what is happening on […]
South America’s Top 10 wine hotels
South America used to be the domain of gap year backpackers and shoestring tourism. That isn’t the case any more. There’s been a boom in luxury adventure tourism across the Southern Cone, with five-star hotels nestled into the desert plains of the Atacama and down to the waterfalls and glacier lakes of Patagonia. In the […]
Exploring the future of cork closures
The multilingual vocabulary of wine can make people feel tongue-tied, but the pop of a cork transcends all language barriers. There are few other sounds in the world quite so synonymous with celebration. Whether you’re opening a fine bottle of wine, a well-aged port, or even a cheap bottle of fizz, that pop announces the […]
South America’s top sommeliers share the next big thing
Written for Decanter magazine, October 2017 NOT SO LONG ago, restaurant diners in Buenos Aires and Santiago would be offered a choice of two wines – red or white – and no one could tell you much about either. But since the first sommelier school opened in 1999, the rise of the somm in South […]
Why Chile is more exciting than you think
Written for The Tasting Panel, August 2017 Chile sometimes gets pigeonholed as a safe, New World producer with good, simple wines at a fair price point. It’s not a bad rep, but it isn’t exactly riveting either. However, boasting both the oldest vines and the newest wine regions in South America, Chile is plump with […]
