Chile is a long thin country bounded by the Andes and the Pacific ocean. It is a very special wine region. Chile is the only country that has not been infested by phlyloxera, which means that vines can be grown on their own rootstock, leading to longer life and a taste nearer to that of the original grape variety. Additionally it has a very special climate due to a combination of high mountains, big rivers and a very cold sea current resulting in cool climate regions surprisingly near to the equator!
Special to Chile is the Carmenere variety. Elsewhere, including Bordeaux from where it came, it is a very minor variety used as a blending wine.
Chile has a long history of wine production, but was a minor exporter until the wines of Australia and California arrived on the scene. This resulted in a sudden demand for wines with the New World taste. Established wine companies identified Chile, with established vineyards, as a good place to invest, and wine production methods were quickly updated. But the vineyards were almost all on fertile soil, leading to high yields, low costs but few wines were in the premium category. But the search for low yield, high quality sites soon started. Now, some 20 years later, the wine maps are still changing, almost annually. And some of the new vineyard areas, where vines had not previously been grown, have sufficient maturity to be producing quality grapes. Some are producing world class wines. And from many varieties, all the way from white grapes native to Northern France, to Bordeaux and Rhone style reds.
This tasting is an opportunity to taste and learn about the current offerings from Chile.
As usual there will be a selection of quality breads and cheeses.
To help planning please book as far in in advance as practical.