Tag: Montes

The history of the Carmenère grape is a tale of rediscovery and revitalization, with its roots deeply intertwined with the viticultural landscapes of both France and Chile.  Carmenère faced near-extinction in France due to the phylloxera epidemic in the 19th century. Unbeknownst to many, some vines were transported to Chile before the devastation, where they thrived in the climate and…

In conjunction with TED2016, held here in Vancouver, the Wines of Chile participated by bringing some wines for us to try.  These wines though represent sustainable initiatives taken by these wineries. In Chile there is a sustainability code that a winery can be certified for through a 3-tier qualification process.  While not all Chilean wineries are sustainable, the goal is…

A Bit of Argentine Wine Background Argentina is a large country that can boast over 300 sunny days a year and a dry semi-desert climate, and irrigation canals from the Andes mountains which helps them to be the 5th largest wine producer in the world.  Grapes were brought over by French, Spanish, and Italian immigrants. Believe it or not, nearly…

Chile is a fascinating country, with climate and terrain that vary from the Atacama desert in the north to glaciers in Patagonia to the south, and everything in between!  From Wikipedia I learned that by surface 80% of South America’s glaciers lie in Chile.  Then there are the Andes Mountains, which controls/modifies the weather coming in from the Pacific Ocean.  With…

Last week the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival finished, and more work began for me.  Last week was about tasting the wines from Chile and from many other wineries around the world.  This week starts my writing my experiences in seminars and in the International Festival Tasting room. I made the following recommendations for Chilean wines that I had tried…

In case you didn’t know, Chile is the Theme Country this year at the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival.  But you may not know which wineries will be there?  The Remedy… I have the list here for you.  With my many years past association with the South World Wine Society I can let you know that there are many very…

In my previous article about preparing for your Summer Wine Trip in the Southern Hemisphere, I outlined most of the wine producing countries and some airline ticket prices from Canada to those countries.  This is Part 2 of this article, where you will get to know a bit about the signature grapes of Chile and Argentina and a few (not…