Maule Valley Archives | Palate Press

1 min read

In case you haven’t noticed, I am irresistibly drawn to any chance to taste what our ancestors were drinking, whether it’s decades ago or centuries ago. In this case, it’s a few centuries. These now-wild Pais grapes came from Spain to the Canary Islands, through Mexico and then to on Read More

Chile off the grid: Finding artisanal wines amid huge production

W. Blake Gray

Features

5 min read

Big companies dominate the Chilean wine industry so much that I didn't think small artisanal wineries existed there. Yet there are terrific, unique wines being made in Chile: not points-chasing Napa wannabes either. You have to look really hard through oceans of solid, unpretentious wine. But imagine wines of such Read More

Champions of Carignan: Overlooked Grape Gets an Upgrade in Chile

Michelle Locke

Features Wine Spotlight

3 min read

Green, rough, bitter—for a hard-working grape, carignan shoulders an awful lot of insults. And it’s true the prolific variety, traditionally used in reds from France’s Languedoc region, has produced a lot of undistinguished wine. But lately, carignan has been coming-read more- Read More

2005 Valdivieso Eclat

Sonadora

Wine Reviews

1 min read

Aromas of black fruit, blackberry, earth, plums, and a touch of red raspberry on the edges. The nose seems quite dark and the Syrah showed through as the most prominent component to me, even though it only comprises 20% of-read more- Read More

What We’re Drinking: 2016 J. Bouchon Pais Salvaje

Chile off the grid: Finding artisanal wines amid huge production

Champions of Carignan: Overlooked Grape Gets an Upgrade in Chile

2005 Valdivieso Eclat

2019 Sassotondo Ciliegiolo Maremma Toscana, Tuscany, Italy

2019 Red Electric “Alpine Lily” Chardonnay, Willamette Valley, Oregon

2017 Valle Dell’Acate ‘Il Moro’ Nero d’Avola, Sicily

2018 Notturno Drei Donà Romagna DOC Predappio Sangiovese

2019 Jordan Chardonnay, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County