Search Results for: chile

Weekend Wine Recommendation – Chilensis Pinot Noir

As the weekend rolls in, many of you are looking for a nice bottle of wine to unwind with. There are many options of course, and almost every one of them is a good one. If you are looking for something new to try, and are a fan of red wine, then I have a…

A Look a Red Wine Blends from Chile

Tasting Wines of Chile As a wine writer, it is sometimes difficult to know exactly what your audience will want to read. Do they want to know about wines that are fruity, jammy and just easy to drink? Do they want to know about complex wines that have multiple layers of flavors or perhaps need…

A video review of great red wine from Chile – Los Vascos 2006 Reserve

Los Vascos Reserve Chilean red wine from Matthew Scott on Vimeo. I love it when people drink the same wine across the world to compare notes, and the Wines of Chile blogger event in May 2009 was amazing for that opportunity. You’ve probably seen my posts on some of the wines we enjoyed that night,…

Lets drink some Chilean organic wine – Pinot Noir from Cono Sur

Cono Sur Pinot Noir from Matthew Scott on Vimeo. Pinot Noir from Chile? You’ve got to be kidding, right? Everyone knows Pinot Noir comes from … well, a lot of places. Which is why it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise that Chile is putting Pinot on the table. While not it’s primary red…

Wines from Chile are great VALUE wines

I was quite fortunate to participate in the first ever Wines of Chile blogger tasting event last night.  And while I was not as quick as John, who managed to get a post on the event this morning, I wanted to touch on one important thing about Chilean wine. Chile offers some very nice wine,…

Natura Sauvignon Blanc from Chile – an organically grown wine

Natura Sauvignon Blanc from Matthew Scott on Vimeo. There’s no doubt that I’ve been drinking a lot of wine from Chile lately. Well, on Wednesday May 20th, I was given the opportunity to not only drink some more, but virtually drink with with a gaggle of wine bloggers, and the wine makers themselves. The PR…

Chilean Carmenere from Santa Carolina

It’s no secret that I am having a spring love affair. I’m loving wines from Chile and they’re loving me back!  I of course thank Rob Bralow from Wines of Chile for sending me 12 wines to review at my leisure and this wine is one of those wines. Rob made it clear that I…

Chillin with Chile – Caliterra Reserva Sauvignon Blanc

There is no doubt that I feel wines from Chile offer tremendous value. While many of you probably cut your “Red Wine Teeth” on Merlot or Zinfandel as first red wines, I was purchasing Chilean Carmenere two or three times a week when I first started drinking red wine. I always felt that for the money, you got a great wine with complex flavors while being very approachable.  That’s why I am very excited that I’ve got a shipment of 12 different wines from Chile to drink and discuss with you.  The first wine I had was Caliterra‘s Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2008, and I’m excited to talk about it!

The name Caliterra is a fusion of words, calidad which means quality and tierra which means land.  Additionally, the winery was a fusion of the Robert G. Mondavi family and Viña Errázuriz, in 1996.  In 2004 Viña Errázuriz acquired the Robert Mondavi family’s 50% share in Caliterra, with the goal to craft premium environmentally friendly wines from one of the world’s most important winegrowing regions. It looks like the Caliterra Blog is just getting started, but it’s one I expect to visit.

Chile is the South American country occupying a long and narrow coastal strip wedged between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean. This wine hails from the Casablanca Valley, which is closer to the Pacific ocean than the Andes, approximately midway between the northern and southern boarders. During the “vegetative period” in the growth cycle, the temperature maxes out at 68 degrees (F) which helps create excellent growing conditions for Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. The US brought in over 6.2 million nine-liter cases of Chilean wine in 2008, making it the 4th largest imported wine in America. Ahead of Chile (in order) are Italy, Australia, and France. The next closest countries are Argentina (3.8 million nine-liter cases) and Spain (3.6 million nine-liter cases).

My tasting notes on this Chilean wine are in the short wine vlog below, but I’d like to make one small comment before you watch it.  It occurred to me that using words like “acid” in describing a wine may cause a negative reaction in someone who’s just being introduced to wine.  When I mention the acidity of the wine, please think of the acid you’d find in a pineapple, or citrus. It’s not battery acid, at least not in this wine! While some Sauvignon Blanc wines will have bright citrus fruit, the Caliterra definitely has more of a minerality to it than fruit, but it’s really nice.  With 13% ABV, it’s made of 100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes, the wine is cold fermented and unoaked, aged on yeast lees. It’s similar in some respects to the Secreto Sauvignon Blanc, which is also from the Casablanca Valley in Chile.

Chillin with Chile – Caliterra Reserva Sauvignon Blanc from Matthew Scott on Vimeo.

In trying to help you with food and wine pairings, we had the Caliterra Reserva 2008 Sauvignon Blanc with a chicken ceasar salad. It was a nice compliment to the meal, and actually the wine overshadowed the meal.  For about $12 retail, I’d have no problem serving this wine at a summer party. I can see a bucket, brimming with ice, and loaded with this great value wine from Chile in my backyard sometime soon. We’d probably serve cheeses and maybe shrimp cocktail  or grilled shrimp with a citrus/garlic marinade. And you can be sure, everyone would have a good time with wine!

Cheap Chilean Reds WBW52

Wine Blogging Wednesday 52 is upon us, and I couldn’t be more excited. This installment of WBW is hosted by Tim from Cheap Wine Ratings. Tim asked us to taste, and write about, inexpensive Chilean red wines.  I happen to love cheap wine, when it’s good, and cheap Chilean red wine often is too good to pass…