By Joseph Temple

Ranked sixth amongst wine producing nations, the Republic of Chile has had a treasured past when it comes to winemaking.  From the first Spanish settlers who arrived and began planting Listan Prieto in the 16th century to the present day where over 200 wineries have cultivated more than half a million acres of vineyard land spanning numerous climate zones, its wine industry has seen plenty of peaks and valleys.

As mentioned in last week’s blog entry, Chile is set to lose about a fifth of its wine output this year due primarily to El Niño.  It is ironic considering the fact that while other countries have battled everything from phylloxera to devastating droughts, Chilean wine has been largely immune to these disasters.  In fact, due to its location, there have been few diseases and pests, which have eliminated the need for sprays and other chemically induced treatments.

About to go through some drastic changes, exports are expected to rise while many are wondering how this crisis will impact the domestic market as the average Chilean drinks approximately five gallons of wine per year.  So if you need to get up to speed with this country and its wine history that is unique to say the least, here are ten interesting facts.

1. Spanish missionaries and conquistadors established the first vineyards in Chile during the mid-16th century.

2. Despite the country’s Spanish influences, France has had a much greater impact on Chile’s wine industry. When phylloxera ravaged Europe in the 19th century, many unemployed French winemakers moved to Chile, bringing their knowledge, techniques and grape varieties with them.

Simon-sake from nl [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

3. Although known for growing Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, Carménère is considered to be the country’s signature grape. Indigenous to Bordeaux, it grows exceptionally well in Chile due to the long growing season.

By Elemaki (Own work) [GFDL or CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

4. Unlike neighboring Argentina, Chile’s main wine regions are low in altitude and close to the sea.

5. Chile’s vineyards are protected from extreme maritime weather by a low-lying range of mountains known as the Coastal Range.

6. The snow that melts from the Andes provides vineyards with a constant supply of water, which is used for irrigation.

7. With the Humboldt Current bringing cold water and air up the coast from the Antarctic, temperatures rarely rise above 90 degrees in Chile’s vineyards.

8. Due to political instability, social unrest and a domestic population satisfied with cheap and lackluster wine, Chile was not known worldwide for its wine industry for most of the twentieth century.

By Anakena Winery (Anakena Winery, Chile) [GFDL or CC BY-SA 4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons

9. This began to change in the late 1980s, as foreign investment started to pour in while Chile started to become known for its low-priced wines.

10. Today, approximately 70% of Chilean wine is exported, rising from $50 million in 1990 to $1.5 billion in 2010 with the United States and Great Britain being two of the biggest customers.

Sources:

Goldstein, Evan. Wines of South America: The Essential Guide. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2014.
Henderson, J. & Rex, Dellie. About Wine. Clifton Park: Cengage Learning, 2011.
MacNeil, Karen. The Wine Bible. New York: Workman Publishing, 2015.
Robinson, Jancis. The Oxford Companion to Wine, 4th Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015.

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Question: In wine notes I quite often see the word closed being used. What is this?

Answer: Obviously it means that the wine you are drinking is closed up. In other words shut down and not openly expressing itself sufficiently to give you access to it. This can be especially noted on the nose where it may seem rather introverted or dumb and not very aromatic. Also on the palate the key elements of fruit, acid and tannin may be at an awkward stage in their development not yet coming together in a harmonious balance that may be helped by more bottle age. There can be many different reasons that cause this from a recent bottling to a reductive style of wine making – or it may be just because the wine is merely simple cheap plonk! A good possible solution to this issue helping the wine open up more is to give the wine some air by pouring it into a decanter. Try it.

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Logo courtesy: mascotavineyards.com

Experienced master winemaker Rodolfo “Opi” Sadler of Mascota Vineyards in Mendoza Argentina is producing some interesting wines at reasonable prices. This has been recognized already by The International Wine & Spirit Competition in London selecting them as Argentine Wine Producer of the Year 2014. Their portfolio of wines uses estate grapes from vineyards in Lujan de Cuyo, Maipo, and Uco Valley. Following on the heels of their Decanter Gold winning Cabernet Franc 2012 is the excellent 2013 from one of their best Estate vineyards Finca La Mascota in Cruz de Piedra of the Maipo Valley in Mendoza, Argentina. When you speak of Argentina you immediately think of Malbec but this vineyard provides amazing fruit for both Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The latter from an old vineyard averaging 40 years of age (some 70) provides cool fruit yet with a good ripeness aged 12 months in used big barrels (preferred by Opi over smaller 225 litre) that results in a smooth textured structured elegant touch of licorice impressive wine. It is also really excellent value at $15.99 in the Vancouver BC market and worth seeking out as a bargain for the quality delivered wherever you live. Enjoy.

Opi is 3rd generation with his grandfather Austrian who did viticulture in Italy followed by his father buying a winery in Argentina initially for Italian varieties of Nebbiolo and Pinot Grigio. The name OPI is becoming a well known acronym on line for Other People’s Incompetence but that certainly doesn’t apply here where it is affectionately meant as Grandfather in German.

At the same price as the superb 2013 Cabernet Franc are individual varietal wines to check out produced from Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Shiraz (Opi says it should be called Syrah). Check out the popular $14.99 oaky 2014 OPI Chardonnay (French & American oak of 2nd/3rd use). Prefer at $16.99 their first effort at Sparkling Champenoise Method 12 months on lees from 100% Pinot Noir Extra Brut (4-5 grams dosage) from a cooler windy region of Mendoza at 800 metres on clay soil with lots of stones. Labelled non-vintage but it all comes from the 2014 year. Some 2000 bottles are left in the winery still on their lees receiving more bottle aging. I encouraged them with this quality to do some magnum size next time. The 2013 Unanime Grand Vino Tinto Red ($28.99) shows Opi as a brilliant blender from deep stony San Carlos in the Uco Valley fruit of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Malbec and 15% Cabernet Franc spending 20 months in new French oak barrels. The Malbec provides a “bigger mid palate” juiciness to the tobacco chocolate cassis flavours. There are also 30 cases of 2013 Big Bat a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon ($61.99) from sandy Altamira at 1100 metres in the Uco Valley with 20 days skin contact spending 18 months in 3000 litre French oak resulting in dark fruits full bodied that will be better with further aging but already received 94 points on JamesSuckling.com

This is a winery from Argentina worth checking out now. Particularly so as our last blog posting of October 28 pointed out that projections this year show Argentina wine production down 35% due to El Nino droughts and flooding. Have you tried any of the Mascota Vineyards wines?

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By Joseph Temple

Attention all fans of South American wine—you’ve been warned!

That’s because the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) just released its annual report estimating that global wine production is expected to fall to 259.5m hectolitres (mhl) this year.  This represents a drop of approximately 5 percent making 2016 one of the smallest vintages over the past two decades.  Climate change combined with violent and erratic weather patterns are the two main reasons for this year’s slump, which is resulting in a disparate impact globally. As countries like the United States, Australia and New Zealand see increases in their output (New Zealand is reporting a 35 percent increase), other nations are not so fortunate.

In France, the world’s second largest producer of wine, they are anticipating a staggering 12 percent decrease this year.  The reasons vary: drought, fruit rot, hailstorms and spring frost are all listed as culprits for this year’s decline, which has led to an output of 41.9 million hectoliters—nearly seven million less than Italy, the world’s top producer.  However, this may be just the tip of the iceberg as the Burgundy region bears the worst of these changes.  Two years ago, some winemakers lost up to 90 percent of their crop while chardonnay and pinot noir were down 30 and 50 percent respectively in 2013.  If this situation becomes the new norm, some are even questioning whether Burgundy’s climate can produce its signature grapes anymore.

Another country expected to take a gigantic hit is South Africa, which will lose about 19 percent this year.  But this pales in comparison to South America whose two top wine producing nations, Chile and Argentina, are set to lose 21 and 35 percent respectively.  In addition to the warmer temperatures, the El Niño phenomenon, which is one of the strongest ever recorded, has caused massive droughts and flooding throughout the continent with Argentina’s famous Mendoza region experiencing four times more rain than the average in April, resulting in massive crop losses. Unable to adapt (Brazil might lose up to 50 percent of its vines this year), fans of Malbec might want to stock up as Latin American winemakers enter a very tumultuous time.   According to one Chilean wine executive, “This drop in production will affect the supply of Chilean entry level wines, and will speed up the premiumization process of our industry for export. We should also see an increase in the price for top Chilean wines.”

Overall, with annual demand between 239.7 million and 246.6 million hectoliters, unless you are a fan of the regions mentioned above, these recent events shouldn’t tip the scales too much.  However, this report is a stark reminder of just how weather intensive the art of winemaking is.  “If there is one product that is vulnerable to weather events, it’s wine,” said OIV Director General Jean-Marie Aurand.

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By liz west from Boxborough, MA (port) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Question: Should I serve my Vintage Port and Tawny Port at the same temperature?

Answer: You could but I wouldn’t. Both types should be served not too cold to mask the bouquet and the flavours nor too warm as the alcohol of 20 degrees will show too prominently. It is a personal choice as to the exact temperature that suits you best for both but most of us prefer Tawny port to be served at a couple of degrees centigrade cooler (say around 10-16) than our Vintage Port (between 12-18). I prefer the lower end of the range for both. Enjoy.

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