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South American Wine Guide

The wine producing nations of South America are making great strides in improving the quality of their product. The wines of Chile are the most predominant on the foreign market, but Chile's larger neighbour, Argentina, is increasing quality, and consequently is also making an impact. As well as these two countries, there is also a small amount of wine coming out of Uruguay.

Chilean Wine Guide

West of the Andes, Chile's climate varies from the heat of the arid, rocky, mountainous desert to the north and the icy, Antarctic expanse in the south. Midway between the two are the warm, fertile valleys that are home to this nation's vineyards. Although, like many New World nations Chile has only made an impact on the foreign market in the past decade, viticulture has been established here for centuries. There are a wide selection of international varieties planted, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and others. In truth, much of what was once thought to be Merlot has recently been identified as Carmenère, a rarely planted variety of Bordeaux. Many wineries are offering varietal Carmenère, although many also continue to blend it with the correctly identified Merlot.

In the early part of the 1990s the red wines of Chile often had an unappealing, green, herbaceous element to them. I'm glad to say this has now changed, and there are now plenty of tasty, superb value wines to be found. As with other New World countries, the Australia being a prime example, once the value wines grab a market sector the premium wines begin to appear. Chile already has a number of such wines, often produced by joint ventures between Chilean wineries and foreign investors. Prices match those of classed growth claret, but without the track record to back them up. Only time will tell whether or not the wines have the potential to develop with age.

The northmost region is Aconcagua, and being this far north it is Chile's warmest. The hot and dry conditions mean that there are few wineries of note here. In the intermediate region Panquehue, however, conditions are better, and here there can be some interesting wines produced. Nearer the coast is the subregion Casablanca, and consequently this is one of the cooler regions. There are large plantings of white varieties, including Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
My top wines: Errazuriz (Panquehue). Their reserve wines are variable but can be very good, and they produce Sena, a premium red wine, in a joint venture with Mondavi (California, USA). Viña Casablanca (Casablanca) make some great value wines from Casablanca fruit, including their Santa Isabel Estate Label. Their red wines are made from Rapel and Maipo fruit.

Inland again is Maipo, Chile's oldest wine region, which is divided into a number of subregions. Red varieties are favoured, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon, and some of the wines produced are very good.
My top wines: Concha y Toro has vineyards all over Chile, but Maipo is the site for production of their premium wine Almaviva, in a joint operation with Mouton-Rothschild (Bordeaux, France). Viña Porta, Santa Carolina.

South of Maipo is Rapel, with it's subregions Cachapoal and Colchagua. There are some wines of interest produced here, and also further south at Maule. This latter region is also subdivided, the most significant region probably being Curicó, which also includes Lontue. Nearby is Chimbarongo, responsible for some interesting Pinot Noir.
My top wines: Casa Lapostolle (Rapel Valley) produce Chile's finest Merlot, the Cuvée Alexandre. They also produce a number of other styles. Cono Sur (Chimbarongo) has produced some good value wines. Mont Gras (Rapel), Montes (Curicó). Located at Lontue, Valdivieso produce good value wines as well as their top cuvée Caballo Loco.

The southernmost region of interest is Bío Bío, a relatively wet region. This has been a jug wine region for too long, and plantings of quality varieties such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are increasing.

Argentinean Wine Guide

Eyeing up the success of Chilean wines on the foreign market, and faced with a drop in consumption by the home market, Argentinean winemakers have been keen to increase their exports. The slow arrival of Argentinean wines abroad does not signify a lack of produce, however, as few countries have more land committed to viticulture. Until recently, though, the vast majority of the somewhat questionable wine produced was consumed by the thirsty Argentineans. The pulling up of perhaps a third of the vineyards in existence, followed by some selective replanting of quality varieties was the first step towards the production of quality wine suitable for the wine drinkers of North America and Europe.

Argentina has one other significant aide to an increase in exports. Like Carmenère in Chile, Argentina has its own French variety, Malbec. This grape, historically thought of as a minor Bordeaux variety, as well as playing a role in the appellations of the south-west of France, such as Cahors, is behind some of Argentina's top reds. Argentina has another interesting grape, Torrontés, a white variety with some character. With good winemaking this variety can produce fresh and aromatic wines, not unlike those made from Muscat.

Accounting for roughly three-quarters of all the vine plantings, Mendoza is situated in the west of the country. The vineyards extend from the foot of the mountains up to about 4000 feet above sea level, with the highest, cooler vineyards being more suitable for white varieties. The majority of wine, produced from low quality vines, is destined for jug wines or grape concentrate, but there are more and more plantings of internaional varieties. Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Tempranillo lead the way, and it is the wine produced from these that can increasingly be found on the foreign market.
My top wines: Bodegas Weinert, Bodegas J & F Lurton. Some good value drinking from La Agrícola. Nicolas Catena produces a range of good value wines (Alamos Ridge) as well as top reds (Catena, Alta Catena).

Other areas are of less importance. North of Mendoza are San Juan, Córdoba, La Rioja, Salta, Jujuy and Catamarca. To the south are Río Negro and Neuquén.

Uruguayan Wine

There are a few Uruguayan wines to be found. To continue the theme, Uruguay's top grape is Tannat which, like Malbec, also has it's home in the appellations of the south-west of France, this time principally in Madiran. Wines made from Tannat can be rather tough and demand long ageing, so many producers blend with other varieties to make a more approachable wine.
My top wines: H.Stagnari, Castel Pujol.