“Chile has proven itself a producer of some of the finest Sauvignon, Riesling, Pinot Noir and Cabernet blends in the world,” writes Adam Lechmere of Decanter.com.

Other highlights from the event include:

• International Trophies for Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Noir and Bordeaux Varietals all went to Chile at a glittering dinner in the Floral Hall at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.

• The trophy for best Sauvignon Blanc Over £10 went to Undurraga’s TH from San Antonio, which judges described as ‘Crisp, herbal, grassy and zesty, appealing elegant and expressive.’

• Cono Sur’s Riesling won the Under £10 in that category, for its Bio Bio Valley Reserva 2008, with its ‘racy nose of lime, honey, grapefuit and ripe peach with hints of mineral and kerosene’.

• And for the fourth time in the past five years the Red Single Varietal trophy Under £10 went to an Argentinian Malbec: this year, the Malbec aka Rodolfo Sadler from Opi Sadler in Mendoza.

Click here for a full list of awards, including international trophy winners

Click here to read more about Decanter’s World Wine Awards from Adam Lechmere’s article “Chile triumphs at Decanter World Wine Awards,”

[Source] – Decanter.com

Chile and Argentina are unarguably the regional leaders in wine production, with their wines now common place in international markets around the world. Nonetheless, it would be unwise to overlook the potential of other up and coming producers from other countries in Latin America.

Of the many countries that do produce wine in South America, Bolivia is one country Mir Global Marketing is largely ignorant about. I stumbled upon this interesting from the Global Post this afternoon about Bolivia’s burgeoning wine scene and I must say I’m intrigued.

Here is a small excerpt from the article, A hidden high-altitude treasure; Bolivia’s Tarija region produces great wines — it’s just hard to find them outside the country.

Even the French will admit that Chilean and Argentine vinos can be as good as they come. But Bolivian wine? Well, just wait. If you haven’t tried a fine merlot, syrah, cabernet sauvignon, malbec or sauvignon blanc from this small but expanding wine-producing area in southern Bolivia, you’re in for a tasty surprise.

Bolivians long have had a passion for their national drink, singani, a grape brandy distilled from muscatel grapes, but as recently as a decade ago, locals turned up their noses at their own wines, preferring to buy excellent and inexpensive ones from their southern neighbors.

Today, however, Tarija’s major winemakers — Kohlberg, La Concepcion, Aranjuez, and Campos de Solana — are supplying the national market and sending their wines abroad, especially to Europe. Their secret: altitude.

…

Bolivia’s modern wine industry began some 40 years ago when Julio Kohlberg and others brought new varietals, mostly reds, to production. Nobody is really sure, but it is estimated that about 4,942 acres are under cultivation in the Tarija region. Producers began exporting about a decade ago but have been stifled by a lack of investment, marketing and stable access to markets.

Click here to access the complete article from the Global Post

As producers in North America and Europe watch their grapes ripen, vintners in Argentina, Chile, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand are preparing to sample their first bottles of 2009.

A healthy growing season is paramount in the process of ultimately producing a quality wine. This is of course why certain regions in the world excel in wine making. These regions are blessed with extremely conducive climates for growing grapes used in wine making. This is why regions like Mendoza, Argentina have historically been known to consistently produce high quality wines. Click here to read more about the region of Mendoza from Mir Global Marketing’s home page)

This article from the Winespectator.com provides links to the publications reports on how the 2009 grapes have turned out in Chile, Argentina, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Argentina: Heat spike hurts Argentine white wines, but reds weather the warmth

Chile: A warm and dry year leads to ripe wines and slightly higher yields

South Africa: South Africa’s wine regions enjoy a cool, dry season, producing quality across the board

Australia: Yields are down in most regions, but a cool, dry season may have produced elegant reds

New Zealand: A moderate growing season bodes well for the country’s reds and whites

To access complete country harvest and grape reports from the Winespectator.com, please click on each respective country link

WA winemakers look to Asia to beat industry downturn
By Georgia Loney of The West Australia

WA winemakers are turning to emerging markets in Taiwan, Nepal and South Korea to help the industry through the global economic crisis, as traditional markets in Britain and the US dry up.

Major wine importers from Japan, Nepal, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand toured WA wine regions this week in search of supplies.

The value of Asian markets is rising rapidly, with China and Taiwan buying 54 per cent and 23 per cent more of Australian wine over the past year, while the volume of exports to Nepal is up 97 per cent.

Taiwanese wine importers Shelly Wu and Winston Lin signed a deal last month to import Cullen Wines from Margaret River and said there was a strong market for Australian fine wine in Taiwan but it was overwhelmingly for red varieties. Ms Wu said WA shiraz was popular. “The market for (fine wine) has been developed over the last 20 years but they mostly used to drink French wines. Now there is stronger interest in new world wines,” she said.

“There is strong interest in shiraz from Australia and the cabernet sauvignon is beautiful compared to the European style. We are adding to our portfolio of WA wines because the wine style is very elegant and very approachable to the Taiwanese palate.”

Nepalese wine buyer Amit Agrawal imports wine from the Hunter Valley in NSW and is yet to buy any WA wine.

He said the tiny country’s thriving tourism industry generated demand for fine wine. “Because we like spicy types of food, sauvignon blanc goes well,” he said.

Britain and the US remain by far the biggest wine export markets but their value has fallen 20 per cent and 12 per cent respectively over the past year.

I must admit- a good quality beer, served cold, complements anything from a American BBQ to a Argentinean parrillada wonderfully.

However, there are wines that go with barbecue as well. Here are a few that were recently highlighted in this San Francisco Chronicle article:

2006 Earthquake Zin Lodi Zinfandel ($28)
This registers at least 7.0 on the Richter scale – with enough power, spice and jammy fruit to conquer most tomato-based barbecue sauces. Blended with a little Petite Sirah and Syrah… Click to read more

2007 Feudi di San Gregorio Sannio Falanghina ($16)
A meld of stone fruit, pear, golden apple and Meyer lemon; aromatic with more body than expected. The balance and tart, clean finish speaks to both grilled vegetables and shrimp. A Sauvignon Blanc like the 2007 Vina Robles Paso Robles bottling ($14) will also work… Click to read more

2006 Hess Collection Allomi Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($25)
Intense nose of dark berry, loam and creme brulee with similar berry, chocolate hints and supple tannins on the palate. A relatively inexpensive Napa Valley Cab that will pair well with grilled meats… Click to read more

2006 JC Cellars California Cuvee Syrah ($25)
This is blended from multiple vineyards and appellations, resulting in a deep, rich California-style Syrah. Ripe aromas and flavors of blackberry, loam and pepper with generous lashings of oak. Includes 21 percent Petite Sirah… Click to read more

2007 King Estate Winery Domaine Oregon Pinot Gris ($25)
Oregon’s organically farmed King Estate, founded in 1991 by the King family, produces Pinot Gris on 300 of its 465 acres. Lovely aromas and flavors of citrus, stone fruit and spice underscored with hints of mineral; rather lush mouthfeel… Click to read more

What really grabbed my attention was the last paragraph… During the past few years NYC’s restaurants and wine bars have increasingly been carrying more wine from Argentina.

Guillermo Garcia points out that the economic crisis has helped Argentine wine. This has been crucial in helping Argentina break the mold and get their wines onto tables, which would normally be occupied by a French, Italian or Californian bottle.

Due to climatic conditions, this year’s wine harvest in Argentina will be down 25% as compared to last year.

Mendoza, Argentina

According to Argentina’s National Wine Institute, hail in some provinces, and overall higher temperatures in February and March, are factors in the lower production output this year.

The lower production this year has occurred despite Argentina having a 12% increase in land under cultivation for wine grapes.

Guillermo Garcia, president of the National Wine Institute, said: ‘If there had not been an international crisis, we would not have been able to provide wine to countries with developed markets.’

Concha y Toro said consolidated sales rose 12.6 percent during the period to 68.458 billion pesos.

“In this quarter, we saw significant growth in the UnitedStates market,” CEO Eduardo Guilisasti said in statement, adding the company also saw growth in the United Kingdom and Japan.

Concha y Toro reported in February its profit for 2008 slipped 5.23 percent to 35.152 billion pesos.

The company said in November it planned to raise up to $189 million in a capital increase and bond issues on the local market to pay for future projects and pay down short-term debt.

[Reuters Article]