Vine romance with new grape varieties
As the Old World tries to regain lost ground, countries such as Chile are mixing and matching to get ahead
Saturday September 26 2009
Chile accounts for more than one-fifth of Irish wine consumption. True or false? True, but about half of it is accounted for by those pub-sized bottles and the cheaper end of the market generally. The other half is above €10, where wine starts to become more interesting. It is between €10-15 that Old World countries like France Spain and Italy are fighting to regain ground lost to New World easy-drinking style from places like Chile and Australia over the past 20 years.
Old dogs can learn new tricks and the Old World is reworking grape varieties, some well known and some unfamiliar, with the benefit of modern vine-growing and wine-making knowledge to great effect.
So is the New World is in retreat? Chile, for one, became tired of its cheap and cheerful tag and is paying more attention to the market above €10: exploring new regions, playing to the strengths of different varieties, and getting better matches between the two. So, it's not just the same old same old.
At one recent tasting, there were about 100 Chilean wines on offer. No, I didn't get around to them all, but I did my best.
Faced with such an array, it helps to plan a theme or themes, to narrow the choice to what time and taste buds allow, and hope you don't miss too much.
So, dinner party reds were a focus. Wines I would be happy to serve or be served on some Saturday night soon. It's a dinner party, so let's make it even more interesting and look for a conversation piece.
"What's this then?" "It's from Chile". "Merlot, I suppose?" "No, it's Carmenere, the grape they thought was Merlot for years." "This one's nice, is it a Cabernet Sauvignon?" "Actually, it's one of its parents, Cabernet Franc, more usually associated with the Loire Valley or the Bordeaux."
Oh, there were some lovely Cabernet Sauvignons too, and great examples of Pinot Noir and Syrah, two of Chile's rising stars, but one dinner party at a time.
One word of advice, note the alcohol levels: Chilean reds tend not to be lower than 14pc.
W
email: weekendwine@independent.ie
- Katherine Donnelly
