Letter to Chile
Meditations on South America’s prolific winemaker

February 01, 2012|By Bill St. John, Special to Tribune Newspapers

Dear Chile:

I am happy I came to see you again. You are one of my favorite countries to visit. Whenever I come to you — this was the third time — I always feel as if I am sneaking into a special place, hidden behind a secret panel.

You are the longest and thinnest country on the globe, topped by the fire of the world’s driest desert, your feet in the ice of glaciers and Antarctica. The impenetrable Andes are your eastern spine and your west is wetter than wet, a nearly unbroken expanse across the vast Pacific. You veil yourself so from the rest of the world, tucked away, unique and quiet. You are extraordinary.

I came for your wines, of course, to discover more about them. I had not seen you in 10 years; much had changed — but also much had not.

I will be blunt. Chile, you need to begin to tell a better and fresher story about your wines.

The old story — that Chile produces delicious red and white wines, especially red, at a very reasonable price — has become a boring story. You need to tell us about your more exciting wines, your up-and-comers, the distinctive sauvignon blancs from your north; unoaked chardonnay from your coast; electric, characterful syrah and carmenere from your hills.

I believe that there are two ways people learn to tell their story: by listening to others’ stories and comparing and contrasting your own with them, and by knowing deep down who you are and telling it so.

So, listen to stories about a country’s wines that do not have happy endings and learn from that. As we say in America, “go to school on somebody else.”

Yes, just as other people have gone to school on you.

I remember how in the 1980s Argentina watched you enviously as you sold lakes of inexpensive wine to the world. But then they also watched as you became the wine world’s bargain basement of low-end wines. (You’re just beginning to overcome that unflattering image.) Argentina avoided such a mistake by initially offering wines at several price points.

I hear people from Chile say they wish their country had “a malbec” the way Argentina has one, a wine that sells itself with no effort. But do not be resentful; Argentina’s current story soon will have its own not-so-happy ending.

Really, how much Argentine malbec — which all very much tastes the same and costs close to the same amount — can or will anyone drink forever? How much of any wine that is not distinctive or interesting can anyone drink forever? At whatever price?

You may also go to school on New Zealand’s soon-to-be unhappy ending: How much over-cropped, high acid, made-by-recipe, untextured sauvignon blanc will anyone drink forever?

Or you may learn from Australia’s sad story: Why blend wines, white or red, from regions separated by hundreds of miles to achieve a certain “style” of wine, instead of reflecting a large vineyard region’s sense of place?

What does anyone want a wine to say? That it is a style? Or rather that it comes from somewhere? The personalities of styles change; the personalities of places do not.

Argentina’s malbec bubble soon will burst; the tsunami of Kiwi sauvignon blanc soon will dry up. When and why? When something more interesting and distinctive, at a reasonable price, comes along.

Tannat from Uruguay perhaps. Or maybe sauvignon blanc from South Africa.

Something is bound to come along, something interesting and distinctive; that is what bursts bubbles or prevents people from yawning in the middle of a story. Can it be something from Chile?

Yes, if you tell the story about who you are and act on it. Your greatest strength is your diversity of terroir. Chile is replete with places that do or can make distinctive wines, red or white, such as Limari or Maule or Bio Bio — there are dozens.

People want to drink wine that speaks to them about where it was born. People do not want to listen to boring stories. Terroir is the way a vine tells us its story. The winemaker, the style-maker, the marketer, they cannot speak the place. Only the place has its voice and can tell its story.

Award-winning wines of Chile

Bill St. John was recently in Chile judging the ninth annual Wines of Chile competition. Among the hundreds of wines entered in the contest, here are three that took a Best of Category honor this month:

2011 Vina San Pedro Castillo de Molina Sauvignon Blanc Reserva Elqui Valley: Sancerre from South America; an amazing value for all the fruit it delivers, neatly tightened by tingling acidity and the northern vineyard’s characteristic chalky undertone. $10

2010 Tamaya Chardonnay Reserva Limari Valley: Remarkably fresh and linear, with verve and focus; juicy yellow fruit flavors (pear, apple, tropical) with seductive whispers of minerals. $15-$20

2009 Cono Sur Syrah Limited Edition “20 Barrels” Limari Valley: Cool-climate syrah that doesn’t skimp on concentrated, near-jammy dark fruit flavors, but also adds scents of the earth, dusty, chalky tannins in moderation, and a terrific hint of mineral. $22-$25

Bill St. John has been writing and teaching about wine for more than 30 years.

UNCORKED

Puro Chile Announces a Discussion Series Called, “Puro Talk”,Former President

Lagos Will be the Speaker at the First Event

New York, NY, USA – January 27, 2012 – Puro Chile, the business platform aimed at promoting the best from Chile in the heart of New York, has announced former Chilean President Ricardo Lagos Escobar as the speaker at the first event in the new “Puro Talk” series.

The “Puro Talk” series was developed to create and expand the Chilean conversation in New York. These discussions will cover the progress of the country, where it stands today, and what the future might hold, focusing on innovation and entrepreneurship. Specifically, the series aims to discuss the role of Chile as its global presence grows, and the potential opportunities and challenges that this growth brings.

Former President Lagos is the first speaker in this series; the calendar of events for the remaining speakers will be released shortly by Puro Chile. The list of upcoming speakers represents a wide range of views, topics, people, and subject matter and will include leaders in the artistic, business, political, scientific, and professional fields.

Puro Chile and the “Puro Talk” series seek to represent and welcome all ideas to enrich and enlighten the conversation. For more information, and all who are interested in attending these events please contact info@puro-chile.com.

Puro Chile is located at 221 Centre Street, and is open seven days a week to the public.

Contact

Jorge Pizarro Cristi

info@puro-chile.com

221 Centre Street

New York, NY 10013

+1-212-925-7876

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Puro Chile Announces Former President Lagos as the Speaker in the First Event of a Discussion Series Called ”Puro Talk”

]]> http://www.puro-chile.com/press-release-for-puro-talk-series/feed/ 0 http://www.puro-chile.com/adventures-in-chilean-patagonia/ http://www.puro-chile.com/adventures-in-chilean-patagonia/#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:06:20 +0000 admin http://www.puro-chile.com/?p=899 A tourist attraction from Chile continues to captivate the American mind. Sara Clemence, Wall Street Journal Travel editor and friend of Puro Chile, writes about the experiences and the adventure of Patagonia for The Wall Street Journal. Click through the article (Click on the photo below) for some great travel tips, excellent photos, and a taste of Chilean Patagonia!

WSJ Patagonian Adventure

The Chilote Shoe was designed to stimulate and help evolve local craft, in spite of the encroaching new industries in the region. Only local renewable resources and simple traditional techniques are used to produce the product, which has broad universal appeal.

Local wool from free range Patagonian sheep and tanned natural salmon skin are the only materials used to manufacture this product. The simplicity of the design is inspired by the amazing qualities of the materials used.

Buy this simple yet beautiful product, which is both culturally beneficial and environmentally responsible.

PRODUCT MATERIALS AND PRODUCTION

Natural wool:

• Insulates better than any other organic material
• Absorbs moisture and repels water
• Filters air allowing skin to breathe
• Self cleans
• Is completely biodegradable
• Is dyed with local roots, barks and flowers instead of aniline

Salmon leather:

• Is extremely durable and resilient
• Can feel as soft as suede and is very flexible
• Has aesthetic qualities with its natural scale patterns
• Is a repurposed by-product of the farmed salmon industry.

Completely hand made:

The whole process is simple and completely transparent providing balanced benefits for all parties involved.

• The wool is bought from local farmers (when available) or from organic providers nearby
• The wool is then hand cleaned and spun into the Chilota style yarn used to knit the shoe bodies
• The salmon skin is tanned and hand cut into a sole shape leaving excess salmon leather strips
• The excess strips that remain are homogenized and used to attach the sole to the wool shoe