Category: Blog

I can’t picture the face of Chileans when after calling what it was Carménère grapes “Merlot” for years and years, they finally discover they were mistaken this whole time!

We can say that the story of Carménère in Chile starts with a mistake. Brought by European winemakers who migrated to Chile around 1850, Carménère was planted next to Merlot and Cabernet plants. For some reason, it was confused with them until 1994 when a French winemaker, after some DNA tests, revealed the truth to the world!

But what is this Carménère? Also known as “Grand Vidour”, it was first planted in France but became extinct after the phylloxera epidemic in the 19^th century. The name comes from “carmine”, a type of red.

It’s infact a red grape variety, with aromas of raspberry and plum, bell pepper, paprika and vanilla in its oaked version.

It’s a medium body wine, normally fresh and fruity when young, with moderate acidity, tannins and alcohol. With Cabernet shares its green, spice and peppery notes, with Merlot the red fruit notes. Carménère can also become very earthy and leathery with age. 

Carménère representes the 10% of the Chilean wine production and the 85% of the Carménère in the world comes from Chile. A fun fact is that the second producing country of this grape variety is China, where it is named “Cabernet Gernischt”.

When I traveled through Chile in 2023, I had the chance to visit the two main wine regions where Carménère is grown: Colchagua Valley and Maipo Valley. In general, the wines from Calchagua Valley are greener and with more spices thanks to the altitude whereas the Maipo ones are fruitier.

When in Maipo, I went to one of the oldest wineries in the country, Viña Santa Rita, and after a short carriage ride among the vineyards, we got to the plaque that marks the place where Carménère was re-discovered.

I then tasted 4 different kinds of Carménère, mostly from their premium collections (including their top notch Pewën).

I personally feel that, wine speaking, Chile is a misunderstood country. The country is the 4^th largest wine exporter in the world but what they export is definitely not their best expression.

If you are interested in knowing where to find the best wines in Chile and which are the places to avoid, write me an email: sipwithcarlotta@gmail.com

Salud!

[all pictures were taken during my Carménère tour at Viña Santa Rita on September 2023. For more info about the tour: https://santaritaonline.com/tour/carmenere/]

 

I have recently been in New Zealand, where 90% of wine bottles is sealed with screw caps. Not only in supermarkets or cheap bars, but also in top notch wineries and fancy restaurants. So, I started asking questions around during my stay and also read some literature on the Internet about this topic.

Are screw caps good or bad for wine?

What is certain is that screw caps are more sustainable, more cost effective, easier to open and close and also prevent some wine faults like cork taint (a sort of disease that affects corks and causes bad aromas in wine).

Pioneers of the screw cap movement were the Australians back in 2000 when a group of winemakers from Claire Valley decided to bottle their entire Riesling production with screw caps only. A year later, a bunch on New Zealand winemakers followed their path by establishing the New Zealand Screwcap Wine Seal Initiative.

After scientific studies and blind tastings they realized that wine sealed with screw caps not only tasted the same of the wine sealed with corks but in most cases more fresh, consistent and with no faults.

The main concern around screw caps has always been maturation – that period of time when the wine matures and changes in the bottle to develop new flavors and soften up.

According to the cork supporters, cork is better because it lets the wine “breathe”, that’s to say allows oxygen in the bottle and oxygen is needed for a better maturation and desired flavor profile. According to the screw cap supporters, though, you don’t need oxygen for a wine to mature well but the absence of it. The seal seems to help the wine to stay stable and fresh for ages.

For sure, such young wine industries like New Zealand or Australia are paving the way. Looks like the United States and Europe are still a little skeptical, especially for the aesthetic part of it and how it will affect service at the restaurant for instance.

But there are good signs. According to researchers, at least 30% of wine in the world is sealed with screw caps and we will see this trend grow more and more in the future.

[Picture taken at Ata Rangi in Martinborough, NZ, during my Pinot Noir tasting experience]