Spotlight on the Red Wines of the America’s

Write up by Chris Nolan

The America’s, particularly Latin America used to be known of as a provider to the world market of reliable and affordable wine. Think back to the seas of cheap Chilean Merlot that suddenly appeared as the house red wine on every single pub and restaurant menu. Malbec burst from obscurity to being the height of red wine fashion. Argentine Malbec is still one of the varieties we get asked for the most in the shop to this day. Budget wine from Latin America is still all over the shelves of supermarkets and pub menus, a lot of it is absolutely fine with its only crime being mediocrity. Beyond the supermarket staples, there is a wealth of styles and varietals grown in the America’s and it is incredibly rewarding to explore the premium wines of the many countries from North to South, and East to West.

Vitis Vinifera, the species that all quality wine grape varieties belong to, is not native to the America’s. The America’s do have their own native vine species, but these are not considered suitable for quality viticulture, producing wines with off “foxy” flavours. All the serious wine grapes grown on the Western side of the Atlantic have been imported from Europe as far back as the 16^th century and the first colonisations by Europeans. The vines were transported to the America’s to provide wine for drinking & religious ceremonies. One of the most important reasons for bringing grapes over was for distillation into brandy, as a drink for the early colonists and also for the ships on their long journeys back across the Atlantic as it would not spoil.

Phylloxera, the pesky louse that decimated the vineyards of Europe by attacking the roots of vitis vinifera vines originated in North America where it had the same effect on the vines planted there. It was discovered that the native grape vines which produced such strange tasting wines, were immune to the phylloxera louse as their roots were tougher. It was very quickly discovered that the quality Vitis Vinifera vines could be grafted onto the root stocks of the hardy American vines, there by saving global wine culture! Phew!

A little background to show how old some of these wine industries are, The earliest experiment with viticulture was by the Portuguese in Brazil, but it was in Mexico where the first commercial winery was established, Casa Madero, in 1597. Peru was initially the largest producer, with extensive vineyards in the Ica valley by the 1540s though this title waned after a huge earthquake in 1687 and successive trade restrictions. Chilean wine production grew steadily over 300 years, with significant development in the Central Valley by the 18th century. Argentina's vineyards expanded from Santiago del Estero to Mendoza in the 1560s, quickly finding success at the Andes foothills.

With this long history of viticulture, the America’s have various varietals at their disposal that have become or have neared extinction in their European homelands or have simply fallen out of favour there. These varietals have become staples and even flagship varietals in some countries. Argentina has Malbec, Chile has Carmenere and Uruguay has Tannat as just a few examples.

Chile

Venateros Bravos Volcanico Pais

Our first stop on the quest to find the gems of Latin America is Chile. The country stretches a staggering 2700 miles from North to South and a tiny 100 miles East to West. Bizarrely, it is the East to West positioning of vineyards that have more of a bearing on the wine styles produced in the country instead of the North to South. This is down to 3 distinct zones running from East to West, Pacific/Coastal Zone, Central Zone, Andean Zone. These distinct zones all come with unique benefits and challenges. It is not until you reach the extreme North of the Atacama Region or the far South of Chile that the latitude begins to have more of an influence than the longitude.

Our first wine is from the Itata Valley, one of Chile’s Southernmost and chilliest wine regions. Itata is also one of the first regions in the country to have been tamed to the vine, with plantings going back as far as the 1550’s. The high-altitude Coastal Range, which moderates the weather conditions to many vineyards in the more Northern, and better-known valleys such as Aconcagua, Colchagua, Maipo and Maule, peters out to small hillocks and rises as it reaches the port city of Concepcion. This leaves the Itata valley, only 40 miles from the port, relatively exposed to the vast Pacific Ocean. This means that weather patterns moving from the Pacific to the Andes are unhindered, resulting in cold breezes, higher rainfall and cloud cover. Despite these wetter and cooler conditions, Itata still benefits from the intense Chilean sunshine, as a little proof to this, the main town here is Chillan, meaning "the place where the sun is" in the local Mapuche language.

So, here we find ourselves in one of the oldest wine regions in Chile, with a wine produced from one of the first planted grape varieties in the country, this is a wine made with the grape Pais. Pais, known as Mission in English, was a grape of great value to the early colonisers, it produces a bountiful supply of berries, perfect for slaking the thirsts of the new Spanish population of Itata, with much of the Pais harvest also going straight into communion wines.

The bountiful yields of Pais have never been renowned in history for producing quality wines. The vast clusters of berries have little concentration of flavour, they have low acidity and low amounts of colour. So to summarise, high yielding, bland insipid grapes, making bland, uninspiring wines, why do we first of all stock this and then why have I chosen to bring this wine to your attention? Well, Itata has some incredibly old vines which were never grubbed up. These older vines have naturally reduced yields leading to more concentration in the berries. The vine roots thrust deep into the bedrock, sucking up the minerals of the earth the vines are grown in and showing off the exceptional terroir of Itata. The Pais vines for this wine are well over 100 years old and are planted in volcanic soils of pure basalt, having a profound effect on the resulting fruit.

Venateros Bravos is a fully biodynamic producer, with a very holistic, minimal intervention approach to viticulture and can be considered a fully “natural” producer. The wine is aged in large wood vessels for 14 months, after which it is bottled with a very coarse filtration so it will kick a sediment. The result is a captivating wine with fresh vibrant berries, herbs and a distinct earthiness that builds to an almost ashy, cinder note very typical of the far more expensive red wines grown on the slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily! It is precisely this ashy, smokiness that makes this wine amazing with food cooked on coals, aubergine or meat, both work. Personally, I think this is great chilled down and served with a shawarma or doner kebab.

Shawarma, perfect for lighter reds

Errazuriz Alto Carmenere

For our second wine of Chile, we will look at what is considered the “national grape” of the country; Carmenere. The common thread that unites many of the famous red grapes that have become the bread and butter of Latin American wine, such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tannat, Malbec & this wines focus, Carmenere is that they all originate in the South West of France.

Today, Carmenere plantings in its home of Bordeaux are very rare. A few wines still use a very small proportion of Carmenere in their blend, but they are a minority. The grape was once a staple of the Medoc but by the mid 19^th century it had been wiped out by phylloxera and was thought to have been extinct. Luckily for us, one of the largest mistakes in viticultural history saved the varietal.

Before its extinction in France, enterprising Chilean viticulturalists took cuttings of Merlot, or what they believed to be Merlot, to replant in Chile. This was an easy mistake to make as the berry clusters and vine leaves are almost identical. The problem is, Carmenere takes at least two weeks longer to ripen compared to Merlot. The growers were doing nothing wrong, they were just working with the collective wisdom for growing Merlot instead of Carmenere, the result was varietally labelled Merlot’s that had a distinctive underripe, green note to them. The error was not realised until DNA tests were conducted in 1994. Since its identification, Carmenere grapes are now given the extra hang time on the vines it needs to fully ripen and has become Chile’s unique selling point being the only country with any significant plantings.

The internationally famous Errazuriz winery is based in the Aconcagua Valley. Here, they make wines across the three East to West zones of the Aconcagua, fresh vibrant wines in the Pacific/coastal zone, surprisingly good, more commercial wines in the Central zone and then some impressively expressive styles in the high-altitude Andean zone.

Climatically, the Aconcagua is a Mediterranean climate, with warm summers and mild winters. The majority of the rainfall occurs in the winter outside the growing season and most importantly, outside harvest time leading to more concentration in unirrigated vines. The wine selected for today is the “Alto Carmenere”. This wine is picked from vines grown in the higher reaches of Chile’s Andean range. This added altitude provides a larger diurnal swing to the grape vines. Hot sunny days lead into cool nights allowing the ripening and hang time for the grapes to be extended leading to riper phenolics in the grape skins and a wider flavour profile whilst retaining the grapes acidity. The vineyard soils have a predominantly silty texture and are of colluvial origin having descended from the heights of the Andean peaks. The special conditions of nutrition and drainage of the soils helps to control plant vigour, producing balanced fruit loads with small bunches and berries. A quote from Don Maximiano, founder of Errazuriz, encapsulates the growing conditions in the Aconcagua, “From the best land, the best wine.”

This Carmenere grapes for this Alto wine are handpicked and aged in French oak barrels, 30% of which were new, where it underwent malolactic fermentation and was aged for a total of 14 months. The result is a brilliant cherry coloured and cherry scented wine. The wine is savoury as all the best Carmenere’s should be with notes of black olive, tobacco, bell pepper and paprika. This wine is responsible for my all-time favourite food and wine pairing. If you have a spare 8 hours or so, you need to have this with the best damned goulash you’ve ever cooked. Bust out the slow cooker and add more paprika than you think is reasonable, then add some more... Holy cow it works so well with this wine!

Goulash, loaded with paprika this is Carmenere's best friend

Argentina

Altos Las Hormigas Colonia Las Libres Bonarda

Our next country in focus is Argentina, but this is not a Malbec! This wine is made with 100% Bonarda…well it isn’t technically Bonarda, but the Argentinian’s call it by that name. The official Bonarda variety is an obscure and incredibly rare Northern Italian grape called “Barnarda Piedmontese” which I have never actually seen. The Bonarda planted in Argentina is in fact a grape from Savoie called "Douce Noire” or "Corbeau de Savoie". You won’t see much of this coming from France though as they now only have around 1% of the world’s plantings, 90% of Douce Noire is grown in Argentina where they do call it Bonarda. So, is it now technically the actual Bonarda?

So, originating in the mountains of Savoie in the French alps, the grape has migrated to the lofty reaches of the Andes mountains where it has found its new home. Here in Argentina, Bonarda is the second most planted grape after the more internationally renowned Malbec, most Bonarda planted in Argentina is destined for fruity, medium bodied table wines for domestic consumption and never leaves the shores of Argentina. There are a few gems such as this one that make it out of the country. All of us in the shop, (other than the glorious leader himself), have a soft spot for this wine and recommend it regularly as it is outrageously delicious for its modest price tag.

In 2025 we hosted Alberto Antonini from this winery, Altos Las Hormigas for a “terroir of Malbec” focused tasting night where we examined the effects of different climates and regions on Malbec. One point Alberto said that evening that has stuck in my mind, “If you are not farming organically or biodynamically in Mendoza, you are doing it wrong. The climate is perfect, it is almost harder to not farm organically.”

Why is Mendoza so easy to farm then? Mendoza is one of the highest altitude vineyards in the world, reaching up to 1500m above sea level. This creates the all-important diurnal swing in temperatures, drawing out the growing season that allows grapes to reach their full phenolic ripeness while retaining their all-important acidity to keep the wines balanced. The Andean peaks, running up the Eastern edge of Mendoza create a rain shadow, with almost zero cloud cover the grapes can absorb all the suns energy. Mendoza is an arid a semi desert landscape so vineyard pests such insects and fungus are not an issue. Because of the mountains, water is not a problem either in this arid region. A historical practice, which some farms still use, is to flood their land every spring with the melt water that cascades down from the Andes. The more common and environmentally sound method is to capture this melt water in reservoirs and to use drip irrigation only when needed.

In this perfect environment, Altos Los Hormigas was set up by Alberto Antonini and Antonio Morescalchi with the help and guidance of Pedro Parra, widely regarded as the South American expert on soil and vineyard mapping. Here they take a biodynamic approach in the vineyard, as well as minimal intervention in the winery – including the use of natural yeasts, and a move from oak to aging in concrete setting a new trend in Mendoza for more elegant, fruit and terroir focused wines not swamped by oak. This Bonarda is a medley of spices with notes of pink pepper, olives, and eucalyptus complemented by fig and plum on the palate. Great for BBQ pork or lamb, or just a simple pizza night in. You can spend a lot more on Bonarda than this, don’t. I haven’t tried one that beats it!

Pizza and Bonarda, perfect simple sophistication

Kaiken Mai Malbec

Ok ok, enough obscure  grapes, this one is actually a Malbec. Kaiken are a producer that we have stocked for almost two decades for the sole reason that their wines are delicious.

The Kaiken winery is the Argentine wing of Chile’s Montes winery. A “Kaiken” is a species of goose that migrates across the Andes between the two countries, see what they did there? Founder, Aurelio Montes, set up Montes Wines to be fully sustainable in the 1980’s, in the early 2000’s he bought the winery that became Kaiken Wines and converted it and its vineyards to be again, fully sustainable.

Just like Montes, Kaiken produce wines to every price point. The Classico range is good, the Ultra level is a huge step up and is probably our bestselling Malbec for retail but why bother with good and great when instead we can drink exceptional? This is the flagship, the Kaiken Mai!

The Mai is produced from a single vineyard site in the Mendoza subregion of Lujan de Cuyo. Lujan de Cuyo is situated just South of Mendoza city itself and was the first recognised and delaminated wine region in Argentina. The vines are a whopping 100+ years old, if you consider Malbec’s home territory or Cahors in Southwest France, where vines are considered “old” at a mere 35 years old. The vines are planted in a soil that consists of an 80cm top layer of alluvial sandy-loam containing riverbed pebbles and the farming is fully biodynamic.

As a full B Corp certified company, what does this biodynamic approach look like? The four key points Kaiken try to address are regenerative agriculture, water conservation, increasing biodiversity, and reducing their carbon footprint.

Regenerative agriculture is about restoring the soil to its natural state, this involves using only organic fertilizers when strictly necessary and not using any synthetic fertilizers. Growing various cover crops protects the soil from erosion and also acts as a natural fertilizer when the cover crops are cut back, reintroducing vital nutrients.

Water conservation is achieved through drip irrigation only when needed. At the base of each vine there are sensors monitoring the soils water content at various depths, allowing irrigation to be applied at the direct point of need on a one to one basis for each vine, a far cry from the old-fashioned approach of flood irrigation!

Increasing biodiversity is important for many reasons. Setting aside land around the vineyard and in the vineyards themselves to promote native flora and fauna helps the land to self-regulate. One of the biggest benefits for us as humans with this natural balance in the vineyards, is that pests are kept in check, reducing and in Kaiken’s case illuminating the need for chemical sprays and pesticides which would accumulate up the food chain.

Kaiken monitor their carbon footprint, ever striving to reduce their impact on the environment around them. The aim it to optimise the efficiency of the winery and reduce emissions, one of the biggest changes at Kaiken was to reduce energy demands by switching the winery to be gravity fed, reducing the need for pumps.

The result of all this environmentally minded witchcraft is wonderful treat of a wine. At £60 a bottle you get a wine aged for 18 months in predominantly new French oak barrels, this wine smells expensive! Cherry and plum blend with cinnamon and tobacco. Certainly this is a treat wine, but it is on another level to any other Malbec I have ever come across!

Expensive wine and comfort food, Here we pair with Costillas a la Riojana (Argentine Pork Chops With Fried Eggs and Vegetables)

Uruguay

Bodegas Garzon Tannat Reserva

Hands up who has tried wine from Uruguay? Probably not that many people in the UK. Uruguay has been producing wine for over 250 years but until the last few decades, it was all drunk domestically. Exports from Uruguay are growing steadily, this is not the rapid cascade of growth that Chile and Argentina enjoyed but neither has the market been flooded with lower end wines instead focusing on quality.

Bodegas Garzon is arguably Uruguay’s winery with the largest global presence. Before embarking on a journey in wine, Garzon’s owner, Alejandro Bulgheroni, invited consultant winemaker, Alberto Antonini, to his 700 hectare olive farm to judge the suitability of the land for viticulture. If the name Alberto Antonini sounds familiar, you may remember this is one of the founders of Altos Las Hormigas in Argentina mentioned earlier! Alberto was reportedly stunned with how similar the climate and landscape was in this corner the Maldonado province compared to his native Tuscany. The question of suitability of the land for planting to the vine was of course, a resounding yes! Following proper analysis of the soil and conditions, it became clear that this site had huge potential to produce premium wines. Fast forward to November 2018, Bodegas Garzon was recognised by Wine Enthusiast Magazine with the "New World Winery of the Year" award.

What better introduction to Uruguayan wine than a top producer and one of their wines made with what has become Uruguay’s national red grape, Tannat. Originating in the Southwest of France, like so many other Latin American grapes, Tannat’s original home is little known region in the foot hills of the Pyrenees called Madiran. Tannat gets its name because the tiny, thick-skinned berries with their heavily pigmented skins create such a tannic wine, deep, dark, dry and rustic. So powerful is a lot of Tannat grown in its native region, that it cannot be drunk for 10 years or so after the vintage to give time the opportunity to soften the tannins present.

The Tannat vines growing in the Americas are subtly (but noticeably) different from those found in modern-day French vineyards. This is because the oldest of them are direct descendants of the pre-phylloxera cuttings taken across the Atlantic in the 19th Century. The effect of this is that Uruguayan Tannat is slightly lower in the tannins for which Madiran has long been known, the still ample tannins are also a lot riper and have a more velvety quality than those found in France.

Built on natural terraces, the winery uses cutting edge technology and operates using a gravity flow system to ensure quality and energy efficiency at every stage of production. Alberto has a light hand in the winery and is very careful with the use of oak. As with his other projects around the world, he has moved away from barriques in favour of concrete fermenters and large, untoasted oak.

The Bodegas Garzon Tannat has the classic intense, deep purple colour that is so typical of the varietal. The flavours are massive and all encompassing, beckoning you to dive into the glass, black plum, juicy blackberry, and a hint of spices, full-bodied and well structured with ripe tannins of pure velvet and a balanced acidity.

People in the UK often think of Malbec as the ultimate wine to pair with beefy proteins, fuelled by Latin grill house restaurants such as Gaucho, Fazenda and Estabulo. Malbec is of course great, but have you tried a Tannat with your T-Bone? Give it a go, pure decadent perfection! For the best results, salt your beef the day before and leave uncovered in the fridge overnight, set your oven to the lowest temperature you can and slow cook for 40ish minutes, remove when the internal temperature hits 50 degrees Celsius, then reverse sear over BBQ coals, thank me later.

Tannat is made for cow cooked on coals

Canada

Westcott Vineyards Pinot Noir

For our final wine of the America’s, we head to the Northernmost country on the entire landmass, Commonwealth member Canadia. Sorry, Canada. With all of the political turmoil in the world stemming from largest economy in the America’s, we have been getting asked more and more for non-US wines and fitting the bill, Westcott winery has been one of the winners of the boycott.

Canadia isn’t the first place you would think of for wine, but they do make it and what I have tried has been very good. Sorry, Canada, it just hasn’t got that ring to it. Despite its huge landmass, Canada only produces a volume comparable to 2% of the wine flowing from the US. A lot of the production is based on crisp Rieslings, punchy Cabernet blends and the ever rarer ice wines. We currently haven’t got any of these styles from Canada so the choices are limited, Here is a Pinot Noir that should scratch the itch for an Oregon or maybe even a leaner Santa Barbara style Pinot Noir.

Westcott Vineyards are based in Niagara, just across the bay from Toronto. This is the most prolific wine producing region in Canada, centred around the Great Lakes of Erie and Ontario. These large bodies of water are essential for quality viticulture, the climate here is continental with red hot summers and freezing winters. The Niagara Escarpment, where Westcott’s Vineyards are located, is a limestone ridge that runs through the area, shelters vineyards from colder influences from the south, and instead the vineyards enjoy a long, sunny growing season.

The Westcott operation was started up by Grant Westcott and Carolyn Hurst. This pair had previously been in banking and tech before making the transition to vineyards. Though this may sound like an odd switch, this is how a lot of North American wineries come about. Carolyn is from Ontario and is a self-described wine fanatic whereas Grants early years were spent working the land as a cattle farmer, so the pair weren’t complete strangers to the world of farming and wine. The original aim of the vineyards was to grow grapes to sell to other wineries which started with a vision of the type of wine they would love to help to create. It was not long until the pair were making their own wines instead with winemaker, Arthur Harder, joining the team and releasing their first vintage in 2012.

This Pinot Noir is sourced from Westcott’s Home Farm Vineyard with the fermentation carried out by wild yeasts, capturing the pure essence of the Niagara terroir. After fermentation, the wine was aged for 22 months in old French oak to preserve its elegance and structure. The result is a cherry tart scented wine with enough opulence to match BBQ ribs, the savouriness to match mushrooms and the acidity to cut through lamb fat.

Pinot Noir loves earthier flavours such mushrooms