Author

Amanda Barnes

Amanda Barnes is a British journalist who has been living in the Southern Hemisphere since 2009, has tried over 500 Malbecs, eaten over 600 Chilean oysters and still has a functioning liver and kidneys (as far as she knows).

escaleras de empedrado vineyard in coastal maule, interview with winemaker Eduardo Jordan of Miguel Torres

Exploring Miguel Torres’ Escaleras de Empedrado in Maule

by Amanda Barnes April 30, 2022

written by Amanda Barnes

Escaleras de Empedrado is one of the most unique vineyards in Maule: planted on steep slate slopes just 21km from the ocean. We talked with Eduardo Jordan, winemaker at Miguel Torres, all about this exceptional vineyard and terroir which is one of the most extreme vineyards in Chile.

Originally the vineyard was planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha and Cariñena, but after years of experimentation it was replanted with Pinot Noir. So cool is the coastal climate, that it suits this early ripening variety best. We also taste the recent vintages of Escaleras de Empedrado Pinot Noir to give you the full lowdown on this iconic wine in Chile.

About Miguel Torres Escaleras de Empedrado vineyard in coastal Maule

Highlights of the video

Eduardo, we are here in the incredible Escaleras de Empedrado vineyard of Torres which has to be pretty unique in the world and definitely quite unique here in Chile. Can you tell us all about this vineyard?

We are located here in Empedrado, which is a coastal area. We are very close to the sea, in coastal Maule, 21km away from the sea. We have incredible soils here, there aren’t too many places with this kind of soil. It is pizarra or slate. This type of soil and rocks give wines some special characteristics in the nose and mouth, the wines have a more mineral profile.

April 30, 2022 0 comment

Beyond Wine Brazil Wine Guide

The ultimate guide to Viognier in South America

by Amanda Barnes April 29, 2022

written by Amanda Barnes

As we get celebrate Viognier Day today on 29th April (and for some on 30th April too!), we take a look at some of the most exciting wine regions for Viognier and Viognier wines in South America. Chilean Viognier is a little easier to find, as the top Viognier producer in South America, although we’ve got you covered with recommendations from Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay too!

Ultimate Guide to Viognier in South America

Viognier key descriptors

Medium lemon in colour. Aromas of peach, white blossom & mango. Dry with soft acidity (low) and medium body.

Viognier winemaking styles

South American Viognier is usually a monovarietal wine but sometimes used in white blends. Both youthful and oaked styles are common, and alcohol is normally around 13.5%.

Viognier in Chile

Hectares planted: 761 hectares

I don’t think we’ve really seen Chilean Viognier show its true potential yet, and there’s certainly no defined style or identified top terroir. There’s plenty planted around Chile — from the Atacama Desert down to the Lakes region, and between the mountains and the coast — but there are relatively few serious wine endeavours with the variety so far.

As winemakers have turned their attention to red varieties from the Rhône, however, they have also started to show a more interest in the white Rhône varieties, and some exciting Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne blends have emerged. These varieties can certainly find an ideal home in the alluvial and granite soils of both the Andes and the Coastal mountain ranges. A dash of Viognier also often makes its way into the blends of a few of the country’s top Syrah wines. Chilean Viognier has potential, but so far it is rather unexplored.

Favourite producers

Tabalí, Ventisquero Tara, L’Entremetteuse, ViuManent, Von Siebenthal, Emiliana, Cono Sur, Casas Patronales.

April 29, 2022 0 comment

Travel Argentina Argentina Features

Travel guide to Argentina

by Amanda Barnes April 25, 2022

written by Amanda Barnes

Visiting Argentina can be a once-in-a-lifetime experience — there are few countries quite so large and diverse as Argentina. Here’s our travel guide to visiting this big and beautiful South American country.

Argentina is an immense, intoxicating and invigorating country. It’s hard not to fall in love when visiting this diverse and passionate land. The sexy beat of late nights in Buenos Aires, the hedonistic rush of the Iguazú Falls or the slow and steady rumbling of the Perito Moreno glacier in Patagonia, Argentina is sure to seduce you, one way or another.

Travel guide to visiting Argentina and discovering its wine in situ

A cosmopolitan capital in many ways, Buenos Aires is the most important city in terms of domestic wine consumption and volume but, more interestingly, also in the range of wines available. An increasingly sophisticated and discerning wine scene is demanding the most interesting releases from around the country, making Buenos Aires a great place to do a few tastings before heading to the wine regions.

April 25, 2022 0 comment

Cheval des Andes and Cheval Blanc agroforestry, agroecology, manifesto, trees in vineyards, biodiversity, organic

Luján de Cuyo Uco Valley Mendoza Argentina Features Wine

Cheval des Andes goes ‘back to the future’ with agroecology

by Amanda Barnes April 24, 2022

written by Amanda Barnes

In a region where water resources are sparse, it might seem like an unusual choice to plant a host of cover crops, fruit trees and forestry trees in amongst the vines. But that’s just what Cheval des Andes is doing in its vineyards in Mendoza, as part of their radical agroecology manifesto.

Following in the footsteps of Cheval Blanc, their parent estate in Bordeaux who published the manifesto last year, the team at Cheval des Andes are also implementing an innovative agroecology plan to bolster biodiversity, enrich the soils, mitigate climate change and create more complexity while retaining freshness in the wines.

“There are several parts to the plan,” explains Cheval des Andes’ Technical Director Gerald Gabillet. “The first is no more tilling of the soils and planting cover crops, to allow them to create greater networks of micilliim in the soil and richer nutrition. The cover crops will actually give us more efficient retention of water in the soils we think, rather than compete with the vines. And then the planting of trees is also so that they act like a water pump in the soil, but also the trees give us another level of housing for birds and insects, as well as creating some shade for a cooler microclimate.”

April 24, 2022 0 comment

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