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Chilean Wines
Rich soils, rainy winters and warm, dry summers are the perfect combination for producing some of the best wine grapes in the world. Europe and California are not the only places to find this combination. Excellent wine grapes are being grown in Chile, a place very much like California in that it is defined by the Pacific Ocean on one side, and a mountain range (the Andes) on the other. Due to these geographics, the region south of Santiago, which includes the fertile Curico Valley, remains cooler and cloudier – an ideal location for growing the popular Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah and Merlot, as well as the lesser-known Carmenere and Malbec.
Carmenere is an old Bordeaux varietal now rare in France. Unlike Europe in the late 19th century (and more recently California), Chile was spared the ravages of the phylloxera root louse, which wiped out most of the world’s Carmenere. Only recently did Robert Mondavi recognize the Carmenere vines misidentified in some Chilean vineyards as Merlot.
Carmenere is a fruity, lush varietal, similar to Merlot. Chilean winemakers originally blended it with Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon, but now are also producing Carmenere as a single varietal wine with great success. Chilean Cabernets, Syrahs and Merlots are also getting rave reviews, as Chile establishes itself as the greatest winemaking region south of the equator.
Malbec is also an original contributor to Bordeaux wines. When used as a blending varietal, Malbec adds intensity to medium-range reds like Merlot in order to produce darker, fuller-bodied wines. The softer, less tannic variety of Malbec grown in Chile is also being appreciated as a straight varietal, with no blending required.
Last spring, The Wine Room of Cherry Hill procured and processed Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Carmenere grapes from the Curico Valley in Chile, and these wines have proven to be fantastic – so exciting, in fact, that The Wine Room now invites you to join us for Spring 2005 Chilean Winemaking sessions! Call now to place your grape order (856-424-WINE) or visit The Wine Room on April 3 from 3:00 to 7:00 to taste some wonderful 2004 Chilean wines and to place orders for the 2005 Chilean grapes that will arrive in just a few weeks (50% deposit required).
The Spring 2005 Chilean Winemaking sessions are open to those who missed our fall California winemaking sessions, or any of our current winemakers who would like to add Chilean winemaking to their repertoire. It should be an extraordinary, south of the equator experience!
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