Leisure time with Chilean wine

There are many ways to enjoy leisure time. Some people like to read, others like to meditate, others still like to go on adventure holidays. For many, nothing beats the simple pleasure of a glass of well-made wine. If you’re planning to visit Chile anytime soon, you can experience adventure during the day while getting to grips with local wine during your leisure time. You don’t need to be a wine expert to enjoy Chilean wine. Our handy guide will tell you everything you need to know.

Leisure time with Chilean wine

Since its return to democracy in 1990, Chile has been on a winemaking hot streak. There are wine regions spanning the entire country, from Elqui in the north to Malleco in the south. Quantity and quality have shot up in recent decades, and Chilean wine is a firm favourite internationally when the working day is done and it’s time to kick back. If you make it to Chile on vacation, visit a local bodega or wine bar and while away that leisure time. If a Chilean vacation is only a pipe dream, you can still enjoy the country’s wine.

Two unmissable Chilean wines

Chile is a very versatile wine producer. There’s lots of great wine at all price points and in a range of styles, and international grapes like Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc are incredibly popular here. If you really want the authentic Chilean leisure time experience, here’s what we recommend!

1. Chilean Carmenère

Carmenère is a red wine grape variety long associated with the Bordeaux region in France. In recent decades, Chile has risen to become the world’s premier producer of Carmenère wine. The grape barely gets a look-in in Bordeaux these days, but it’s now a Chilean national speciality. Despite its fame now, Carmenère was only identified in Chile during the 1990s. It had been planted long before that, but it was long confused with other grape varieties, notably Merlot.

Kick back with a Chilean Carmenère and you’ll find delicious black fruit aromas, along with some spicy pepper and herbal notes. There’s a reason this one is so popular in Chile, so don’t miss it. You’ll find particularly good bottles from the Aconcagua and Central Valley regions, so look for these terms on the bottle.

2. Chilean Chardonnay

Chardonnay has a sketchy image in the mind of some wine consumers. When it comes to picking a white wine at leisure time, many folks, unfortunately, think “ABC” – “anything but Chardonnay”! Some people associate Chardonnay with excessive oak flavours and want nothing to do with it.

The truth is that Chardonnay is one of the world’s most versatile wine grapes around, and there is no single “style” of Chardonnay. Whether there are oak flavours – and the extent to which they are balanced or unpleasant – depends on how the wine was made and, possibly, matured. Don’t tar it all with the same brush, particularly in Chile!

Chilean Chardonnay tends to show mouthwatering fresh fruit flavours, and some of the best bottles come from Casablanca and Limari.