Chilean wines were on my pre-trip checklist … all things to do before I leave home! I decided to try a couple Chilean wines. Will I enjoy the coastal to mountain range wines or enjoy those from the foothills of the Andes Mountains? Must do my research!
Two wines were purchased at our local Total Wine store. A 2022 Carmen Gran Reserva -cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc and a 2021 Vistamar Bordevalle Reserva – malbec. My taste buds love these wine tasting opportunities!
The Carmen Winery is the oldest Chilean winery, named in honor of the founder’s wife in 1850. The Gran Reserva wine has grapes grown in the Maipo Valley which boasts a Mediterranean-type of climate and soils with great drainage and moisture retention. It appears to be a valley south of Santiago. The company does have 4 other valleys where their grapes are grown. The Maipo Valley is large. I liked the wine; smooth, not acidic, and tasty. Wonder if I will find this wine while on my trip. No doubt, I will be looking for it!
The Vistamar malbec is an easy-drinking wine. Thanks to the grape originally coming from the Bordeaux region of France to South America in 1850. This Bordevalle Reserva comes from the Maule Valley located between the Pacific Coast and the Andes Mountain Range. This valley appears smaller than the Maipo Valley. This grape is often a blending grape. I recall my 2013 visit to Argentina enjoying a glass of malbec wine with each meal. Now I’ll try malbec wine in Chile also!
Yes, To Visit a Chilean Winery!
Is there ever a wine I did not enjoy? Yes; however, I am hoping to find more good wines to enjoy and sip with a meal each night on this trip! We will visit a Chilean winery, Cousiño Macul. I checked their website and was fascinated with their sustainability efforts. Their liquid industrial waste plant uses bacteria treatment so the waste is transformed into irrigation water. Compost converts organic waste into fertilizer. They recycle plastic, cardboard, glass, paper and aluminum with local facilities. The installed solar panels mitigate the annual emission of 200 tons of carbon dioxide into the air … equivalent to them planting more than 5 thousand trees. Besides wine tasting while visiting here, I will want to hear about these efforts.
More to learn though. I need to discover more about the Carménère grape since it is no longer produced in Bordeaux, yet more popular in Chile. Anyone know anything about that grape? Or Carménère wine? Let me know, thanks! In the meantime, I will try to find out while in Chile! “Chao”! … is the standard farewell, not “ciao” … lots to learn!:)
Beginning December 1, my travel blog on trip begins…😃… will write more often then… adiós!