Chilean Wine

Me, I'm no wine expert, but I like to think I have, at least, good taste. And it's nice to make a discovery on one's own, not guided by a book or anyone else. I mean, tons of people already know about the Colchagua Valley in Chile, but when you taste something for yourself, you remember it better.

Two wines clued me into the fact that Chileans can throw down with France and California. First, Los Vascos used to be such a bargain back like 8 years ago when nobody was really paying attention to Chilean wines (ie, I got it cos it was dang cheap but real good), and more recently, I was reminded of how awesome Chilean wines actually were when I started drinking this wine called Laura Hartwig (it's named after the vintner's wife, kind of like a Chilean Aunt Jemima, but, uh, white, and uh, wine instead of syrup -- ok, bad analogy). First the chardonnay got to me, it was so buttery and had a beautiful finish. Plus it had this pretty wrapping paper around each bottle. And tonight I got the CabSav which was (and still is) excellent -- rich, well-rounded, a little jammy, nice to drink alone or with Mona and Heather's new chocolate, Vere, because it (the chocolate) has fructose instead of sucrose so it doesn't leave that aftertaste. Anyways, nice wine, nice chocolate.

Here's more on the history of Chilean wine:

"Grapevines were planted in the north of Chile in the 16th century, in the wake of Spanish conquistadors.

Production expanded rapidly and the country was soon exporting to Peru, challenging imported wines from Spain. The Echenique family, of Basque origin, planted vineyards in the Peralillo area of the Colchagua province around 1750 and in the 19th century, the same family was part of the rapid expansion that took place in Chilean wines, at the initiative of a handful of pioneers who were inspired by the French model.
The first French grapes were planted in the Cañeten Valley of Colchagua in 1850 but when phylloxera ravaged Europe’s vineyards, Chile’s production increased dramatically. The vinerie area went from 9,000 hectares in 1870 to 40,000 hectares in 1900. The first exports of wines to Europe took place in 1877.

...Domaines Barons de Rothschild-Lafite took over the Los Vascos estate (Los Vascos meaning The Basques, in honour of its Basque origins) in 1988."

(From the Lafite website.)

I think also that there's something about Chile being in the same climate zone as the best grape-growing regions in France.