Being a huge wine fan, the prospect of visiting Chile immediately grabbed my attention. I truly believe that in order to understand a new culture, you have just dive in. In the past, that attitude has led me to eating unidentifiable sea creatures, smoking a pretty rough hookah in Palestine or eating more saurkraut than anyone should ever endure. In Chile, however, it means sampling premium wines and gourmet food.
Today's visit to Errazuriz didn't disappoint. If your local Trader Joe's sells Chilean wine, it's likely they don't stock anything of this caliber. I'm glad our guides chose quality over quantity.
The wines we sampled had body and texture that truly put them in the leagues with the big dogs of Europe and California. They said that they're a mix of old world and new, but I'd put them much further into the new. The carmenere, Chile's star varietal, was outstanding. But the highlight of my day was a sampling of the Don Maximiano Founder's Reserve. Wow. Forget sea bass. Fly to South America to try this wine. So smooth, it tasted like a big piece of red velvet cake.
All of the wines were paired with an incredible meal of seafood, meat and fresh pressed avacodo oil from the area. The food was just as good as the wine.
My favorite thing about this visit was the laid-back and easy-going nature of the entire experience. It was food that could stand up in NY with wine of Napa and Bordeaux quality but with zero attitude, expectation or drunken wine trollies. The Chilean wine experience may be one of the most underrated luxuries in the world. Muy bueno!!
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