Unit 15 of 26 · Online wine course

Chilean Wine Course

Carmenère, the Central Valley and the cool coast. 6 lessons · about 46 min

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The 6 lessons

  1. Chile at a glance: Carménère, the Andes and the sea

    A thin country between the Andes and the Pacific, where cool sea air and cold mountain nights make clean, fruity wines, and Carménère is the signature red.

    You will be able to:

    • explain how the Andes and the Pacific cool Chile's vineyards
    • describe how Chile's natural walls kept out phylloxera
    • tell how Carménère survived in Chile but not France
    about 8 min

  2. The grapes of Chile: Carménère and more

    Chile's grapes came in two waves: Spain's País first, then Bordeaux's Cabernet and Carménère, with crisp coastal whites, fresh Pinot Noir and old vines reborn.

    You will be able to:

    • explain how Chile's grapes arrived in two waves
    • name Chile's key red and white grapes
    • match each Chilean grape to its typical style
    about 8 min

  3. The Central Valley: Maipo, Colchagua and Maule

    Chile's warm Central Valley makes ripe, generous reds: Cabernet in Maipo, Carménère and Syrah in Colchagua, and old-vine Carignan in Maule.

    You will be able to:

    • explain why the Central Valley makes ripe, generous reds
    • match Maipo, Colchagua and Maule to their signature wines
    • place Central Valley wines on a price ladder
    about 7 min

  4. Cool Chile: the coast and the south

    The cold Pacific keeps Chile's coast cool for crisp whites and Pinot Noir, while the wetter south holds very old vines that small producers are now reviving.

    You will be able to:

    • explain how the Pacific cools Chile's coastal vineyards
    • match Casablanca, Leyda and Limarí to their clues
    • recognise the south's old vines and pick a cool-coast bottle
    about 7 min

  5. Reading a Chilean label: place, grape and Reserva

    A Chilean label shows place, grape and year, and its Reserva words mark extra alcohol, and sometimes wood, not years of ageing.

    You will be able to:

    • explain what Reserva and Gran Reserva really promise
    • follow Chile's D.O. boxes from region down to area
    • read a Chilean front label line by line
    about 8 min

  6. Argentina and Chile: wine on both sides of the Andes

    Height shapes Argentina's wine and the cold Pacific much of Chile's: how to choose, read and pair bottles from both sides of the Andes.

    You will be able to:

    • explain why height and sea shape these two styles
    • choose an Argentine or Chilean bottle for your taste
    • read Reserva correctly on both countries' labels
    about 8 min

Related reading on Winelingo: Wine of Chile