Further Down South

The history of Chilean winemaking is inseparable from the history of the European invasion and colonization of South America, as that history starts in the 1500s with Spanish conquistadors hitting the shores of our neighbor continent to the south.

The Jesuit missionaries that accompanied the conquistadors brought the first grape vines to the land so that they could make wine for their masses. First they came to what would be Chile and then moved inland to what would become Argentina. Over three hundred years later, the late 19th century European phylloxera blight followed by WWI at the beginning of the 20th spurred another wave of European immigration to South America. Spanish, Italians, and French came both to Chile and Argentina and brought their winemaking knowledge with them, causing an energetic boost to the winemaking in both countries.

To this day, the grapes grown in Chile reflect this European heritage from Chardonnay to Sauvignon Blanc to Semillon to Moscatel to Carignan to Carmenère to Merlot to Cabernet Sauvignon and more. The closest thing to a native grape that Chile has is the Criolla grape (“Criolla” meaning Spanish in origin) País. Descended from Listán Prieto — a grape originally from Castilla-La Mancha but no longer found there today — País has become Chile’s most famous unique grape. Chile is also the land of old vine European wines, as it is the only winemaking country to be free of the evil phylloxera pest.

This Friday, please join guest pourer Michael Smith from wine distributor Native Selections as we focus on the wines of Chile. This is another of our much loved free walk-up tastings. You’re welcome to step in any time in the hour and a half.