For delicious, ready-to-drink, approachable wines, Chile is the place to look. Scroll down to learn a bit about them, check out our full selection here, or our top 11 to the right.
What’s on the Label
If you can tell Chardonnay from Pinot Noir, you can pick out a great Chilean wine. In Chile, the wines are most often labeled by grape variety – rather than by region, or appellation, or any other Old-World-inspired silliness – so there is minimal guesswork involved in choosing a bottle you’ll love.
What’s in the Bottle
Chilean wines have modern flavor profiles. They are made for today’s palates, and most Chilean wines are meant to be enjoyed right away (no cellaring required). Value-seeking wine lovers often head straight to our Chile section when they need something tasty to drink with tonight’s dinner.
…And Finally, the Grapes
Chilean winemakers are known for opening their arms to forgotten European grape varieties, nursing them back to health, and then releasing them back to the rest of the world. We can’t thank them enough for it.
Of the many red grapes that now thrive in Chile – Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, Carmenère, Malbec, Merlot, and Pinot Noir, to name a few – Carmenère may have the most inspiring story. This grape was all but forgotten in its native Bordeaux (because of difficult cultivation and frequent low yields), but Carmenère came to Chile in the late 19th century and never looked back. It flourished under the South American sun, and now Chile produces some of the best Carmenère in the world.
Chilean Carmenère is made in many styles, from 100% varietal wines to Bordeaux-style red blends. If you’ve never had a wine made from 100% Carmenère, taste this one from Chono: it’s a hearty, dark, delicious red.
Chile also makes incredibly versatile red blends using Carmenère and other red grapes. Pour a glass of the “Neyen” red, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenère, and you’ll clearly taste the dark berry fruit that Carmenère contributes.
It will come as no surprise that the ever-popular Pinot Noir grape is also being grown quite successfully in Chile, and the Pinot Noir wines emerging from the region are exceptional. For proof, try the excellent Viña Aquitania “SOLdeSOL” Pinot Noir, a floral, earthy, Burgundian expression of the grape.
The most widely planted white grapes in Chile are two old standbys: Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Both are quite familiar to American palates, and both are delicious when grown in Chilean soils. This Sauvignon Blanc from Casas de Bosque is citrusy, fun, and easygoing: it’s just the thing for light summer meals.
They’re all on sale right now, so stop by the store today or shop our full selection online!
