Report from - Wines of Chile 2010 ... October 5, 2010
02 Nov 2010- Details
- Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy
This year, hosted at the Royal Ontario Museum, the wines of Chile annual event is always a must attend to see (and taste) where Chile is going – because we all know where they’ve been. Never on top of the world of wine, but always somewhere near it, Chile has been the perennial bridesmaid, to Australian and now Argentina. Chile is known for value, excellent weather and juicy Merlots, which later became Carmenere, once they discovered it was there. Some of my favourite wines have come from this long, narrow country and in fact my first love of red wines came at the hand of a bottle of Chilean Merlot – so they have a special place in my heart.
Chile still offers up excellent value, though their wine prices are rising, and they still offer excellent wines from any grape variety they decide to put their pressers to. Today 35 wineries filled the hall with wines ranging from crisp whites to big tannic reds and everything in between.
Chile by the Numbers …
For a country that’s 4300km long and 177km wide, Chile has quite a diversity of regions: 14 regions spread throughout the entire length of the country from the Elqui Valley in the north to the Malleco and Bio Bio Valleys in the south; Chile is the perfect place to grow grapes.
28,031 hectares of white grapes, of which Sauvignon Blanc (34.9%) rules the roost, followed closely by Chardonnay (30.6%). But Chile is a red grape paradise with 88,762 hectares planted – Cabernet Sauvignon is king at 43.6% with Merlot (16.6%) and its signature grape, Carmenere (9.5%) coming a distant second and third respectively.
The Wines by Variety …
There were many wines to taste – here were the standouts from the ones I tasted: (to see my favourite wines, click here)
