South America has gradually become one of theworld's largest and best-loved wine producers. Like Australiaand New Zealand,it has taken time to develop and grow its market, but it now makes up a huge proportionof the wine that is available to us through our supermarkets, retailers andwine distributors.
InLatin America, the two countries which produce the most wine by far are Argentina and Chile. Both have wine traditionswhich go back to the times when they were Spanish colonies and henceviticulture is very much part of the region's history. In this article, we willlook at both countries, both historically and as to their position in today?swine market.
Argentina now stands proudly inthe top five of the world's biggest wine producers. It has a high consumptionwithin the country itself, Argentines are very fond of red wine to go withtheir high consumption of local red meat, and exports have risen over theyears, making it one of the world's most exciting New World wine regions.Initially, wine making was introduced to the country by the Spanish, but theindustry has been influenced by immigrants such as Italians and Germans, whoselove of viticulture has transformed the Argentine wine making patterns andhelped make it a successful Export business.
Becauseof the extensive history of wine making in the region, Argentina has seen theevolution of many local grape varieties, including Torrorit??s (white wine),Malbec (red wine) and Corbeau (also red). Malbec is the favoured Argentinevariety, and it has also been found to be the most successfully exportedvariety. The other industry that has grown on the back of wine making is winetourism, which means Argentinais the place to go for a different kind of wine holiday than you get in California, France,Italy and Germany.
Winemaking in Chile has asimilar kind of provenance to that of Argentina. However in ChileBordeaux varieties arrived in a big way as early as the mid 1800s, and Chile is nowone of the top wine producers in the world. Traditionally, Chilean vineyardswere in semi-arid regions which are irrigated by water from the Andes, butthere has been a surge in interest in the cooler areas, for instance the LlegdaValleywhich is starting to become recognised for its Pinot Noir.
NewWorld Wines are generally grown in hotter climates than their more Northerlycousins. The grapes tend to get riper, and therefore the resulting wines tendto be more alcoholic ? something to keep an eye on when drinking these nectars.The wines are also fuller in body and therefore go well with highly spicedfoods and red meats.
For a great range ofSouth American wines, or just to browse wine in general, it is a good idea toconsult an independent online wine retailer. You can browse wines in yourchosen price range, and you can research before you buy.