Wine Blogger Wednesday #52 – Value Reds from Chile

(Edit) Evidently I have done a faux pas and I would like to correct it (and maybe apologize. it won't happen again, PWEASE don't ban me from WBW). Tim at CheapWineRatings.com hosted this week's Wine Blogging Wednesday and he chose Value Wines from Chile.

Woo hoo! Chile! I get to write about Chile. I actually know something about Chile’s wines, great country, great wines, very delicious!! Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Viognier, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Blended Red Wines, Late Harvest, Sparkling, Rosé, Elqui, Limari, Choapa, Aconcagua, Maipo, Casablanca, San Antonio, Cachapaol, Colchagua, Curico, Maule, Itata, Bio Bio, Malleco…

Wait… crap, conflict of interest. I work for Wines of Chile, I am on the PR team for the US program. Therefore it is completely suspect if I offer praise and probably not healthy for my job if I offer criticism. Therefore, I’ll offer facts!

Chile has great wine. Nope, not an opinion, or at least not my opinion. Chile was recognized this year by Wine Spectator as the Wine of the Year. Wine Enthusiast acknowledged one of Chile’s wineries as New World Winery of the Year. For more information on both go here.

The quick facts:
-Chile is bringing 2% more wine into the US than last year (almost every other country is bringing in less because of the economy. Must mean people are drinking more Chilean!)
-Most of the wine coming from Chile is Cabernet, next is Red Blends
-Chile is growing! Carmenere, Chile’s unique variety, is up 22%; Sauvignon Blanc up 26%; Pinot Noir up 33%; Syrah up a whopping 42%!

What is my job? To tell you the facts and give you a chance to taste the wine. Yes you, you there with the computer! You there reading this right now. There are too many people who know what they are talking about for me to give you any “marketing” speak. For instance, this blog post is part of Wine Blogger Wednesdays, which I hope to join in on more often for my own personal blogging. There is a group of very respected wine bloggers that have decided to write about the same thing and they do it on a Wednesday of each month and call it Wine Blogging Wednesday. This week the topic was “Value Reds from Chile” (for those that have a hard time reading the title of this post).

I contacted some of the bloggers, offering help and information. If I had known sooner I would have sent samples too (and am still going to send samples to some of them), but I only found out last week about this week’s topic (some PR guy I am…). If you are a blogger and you want more info on Chile, let me know and I will see what I can do. I promise to read your blog and add it to my growing list.

If you are curious and want to hear what other people, people who do not work for Wines of Chile, have to say, here is the list of all the people I know that have posted for this week’s WBW (updated as I receive/find them):

-1 Wine Dude

-Anything Wine

-Bloviatrix

-BubbleBrothers

-BubbleBrothers (Second Post)

-Cheap Wine Ratings

-Drink What You Like

-Drinks Are On Me

-Eating Leeds

-Gonzo Gastronomy

-A Good Time With Wine

-Good Wine Under $20

-LENNDEVOURS

-LusciousLushes

-My Wine Education

-The Passionate Foodie

-Ribbie’s Weblog

-sangre y pajas en flor: binomadic? because.

-Spittoon

-StrumErika

-Two Days per Bottle

-Under the Grape Tree

-Vinagoth

-Vinagoth (Second Post)

-Wannabe Wino Wine Blog

-Wine Blogging Wednesday

-Wine for Newbies

-The Wine Case

-Wine Peeps

-Wine Predator

-Winecast

-Winesleuth

Now the PR part: If you have any questions about Chilean wines, I am probably the best person to ask. I have access to information about almost every wine and know the contact information for each importer, export manager, or Chilean wine PR person. I cannot guarantee samples or access to winemakers, but I will try my best with either. My company also works with Wines of Germany and is starting relationships with Wines of Israel.



Salut!