South America Wine Region Guides

The rediscovery of Carménère is a fascinating story. While many different grape varieties have been brought back from obscurity in different periods of time, none have made such a fantastic reappearance as Carménère. Believed to be extinct for centuries, Carménère truly came back from …

There was little talk of Chilean Carignan before Vigno exploded on the wine scene in 2010. The first association of its kind in Chile, Vigno appeared as a small but formidable army of Carignan-fanatics ready to put this underappreciated variety on Chile’s wine map. …

There’s no lack of a good fiesta in South America… The Carnival continent certainly knows how to throw a party and the harvest season is no exception. There are several harvest festivals (known locally as the Vendimia) worth visiting. Here is my round up …

What are the soils and climate of Maule, and essentially what is Maule terroir? Eduardo Jordan, winemaker at De Martino, discusses this unique Chilean wine region and shows us exactly why the soils are ideal for dry-harvesting Carignan. There’s also a little surprise living …

Argentina is on the cusp of developing its new appellation system with the emerging Geographical Indications of Paraje Altamira GI, Gualtallary GI, El Cepillo GI and Los Chacayes GI. This in depth feature looks at how the Uco Valley is leading the way in …

When you think of Argentine wine, you most likely think of Malbec and probably from Mendoza. While Mendoza still has the lion’s share of the market (with a whopping 70% of national wine production), Argentina’s wine regions go far beyond Mendoza. And they are …

The Uco Valley in Mendoza has become synonymous with excellent quality wine and that is because of the combination of climate, soil and winemaking skill. Amanda Barnes interviews one of Argentina’s leading young winemakers, Sebastian Zuccardi from Zuccardi family winery, about the terroir of …

Aurelio Montes is a second generation winemaker for Viña Montes in the heart of the Apalta valley in Colchagua, Chile. In our interview with him in the vineyards, he discusses what is particular about Apalta, its conditions, soil, climate and history. He discusses how …

Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo, must be one of the most laid back capital cities in the world. Life passes by at a walking pace, people still smile at you on the street and, although over a third of the country’s population live here, you can …

Serra Gaucha is the main wine production area in Brazil and has over 15,000 producers, many of whom are very small, with less than 2 hectares. It became a wine region because of the Italian immigrants who settled there over 100 years ago, planting …