Chilean Dinner and Wine Pairing

Every few months, we get together with friends and put together a gourmet dinner, based on a country, or cuisine, chosen by the host. This time around, it was my turn to host, and since my wife and I recently spent a few weeks in Chile (trip recap here), we decided to give Chilean Cuisine a go.

Since Chile is located in South America, most people would expect something similar to Mexican food, but you would be wrong.  There is a strong influence from traditional Spanish cuisine, but it is mixed with local ingredients, and more importantly, the influences of European cuisines, particularly from Germany, Italy and France. When we traveled to Chile, we experienced fresh fruits and vegetable, an array of seafood and meats. 

Chile and Peru have a long running argument over who is responsible for the potato. I will stay out of the argument, but will attest to the prevalence of the potato, particularly in the south around Chiloe. In the north, we experienced quinoa in multiple forms, but the most unusual was puffed quinoa. Corn, known as “choclo” was also abundant.

With the extended shoreline of Chile, seafood was found everywhere. Salmon farms in the Lake and Patagonia districts are very common. Hake was a particularly common fish in restaurants, but rarely found in my local grocery stores. Lamb cooked on a rack, set up around an open fire pit was a memorable tasting experience.

At almost every meal, we were served local “street bread” known as Pan Amasado. I would liken it to hard tack. It was a small, often tasteless roll or biscuit, always indented with the tines of a fork on top. The bread was served with a form of salsa, known as Pebre, and sometimes with as many as three different dipping or spreading sauces.

The goal for this dinner was to create a menu that represented the different regions of Chile. We incorporated all the main ingredients and searched for recipes in a number of Chilean cookbooks. In a few cases, the herbs or proteins were not to be found, or required some searching. But, what resulted was one of our better dinner/wine pairing experiences. And, the total cost (including wine) was only $50/person!

The first course was an appetizer course of seafood items: Merluza Rellena con Pimientos y Coulis de Ceboletta (Hake filled with Piquillo peppers with scallion coulis); and Salmon ahumado en tazas de pepino (Smoked salmon in cucumber cups). Hake was nowhere to be found, so it was substituted with Talapia. This was a wonderfully light opening dish that was paired with the 2013 Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc. The couple who made this dish smoked their own salmon and were able to source piquillo peppers for the dish. The wine had a crisp acidity to it, with fruit and mineral notes. It was a nice pairing, particularly with the smoked salmon dish.

Our second course consisted of a traditional ensalada (salad) course: Ensalada a la Chilena (Tomato and sweet onion salad) along with Humitas de Choclo (Corn tamales). For this course, we paired with the 2012 Bodegas Re "Chardonnoir". The salad was pretty standard, but the Humitas required some tamale making skills, as well as experimenting with the consistency of the filling. The couple who were responsible for this course watched a few youtube.com videos to hone their assembly techniques. Additionally, they were able to find Aji pepper paste at a local Mexican grocery store, to keep this dish authentic. The wine pairing was interesting, in that the wine was a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (not unusual for sparkling wine, but this was a still wine).  It had a pink/orange hue to it, and was fairly high in acid, and medium body.  On the nose, there were aromas of stone fruit, tangerine, and minerals. Again, a very nice pairing.

The main course was my responsibility, as the host. Since I don’t have an open pit fire, I resorted to a barbecue to make Cordero a la Parilla con Merquen y salsa menta (Grilled Merquen Lamb skewers with mint salsa). With this, I served Papas Rostizadas (roasted  multi-colored fingerling potatoes). The lamb marinated for about two hours in a yogurt and merquen  sauce. I was able to find the traditional Merquen pepper mix online, and it is worth finding. The lamb was put on skewers alternating with peaches and bay leaves, and slowly grilled, then served with a mint salsa. The fingerling potatoes were simply roasted with garlic and rosemary. With this course, I had two different red wines (I bought both while in Chile): 2011 Errazuriz Don Maximiano and 2008 Casa Silva Carménère Microterroir. Both wines are wonderful examples of what Chile can do. The Errazuriz was their founder’s reserve, and is mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, and has the typical Cab notes you would expect: cassis, currant black pepper, and clove, along with firm tannins. In hindsight, I wish I had held this longer, as I think it was still too young. The Carménère, on the other hand was perfect with the lamb. It was a powerful wine with sweet soft tannins. On the nose, black cherry and spice, with a long finish.

The final course was a dessert course, and this couple had more of a challenge, as the recipe really didn’t exist.  We had Tarta de Fruta con Quinoa soplada (Fruit tart with puffed Quinoa) along with Helado de rica-rica (rica-rica ice cream). After some searching, we found puffed quinoa to make the tart crust. The crust was then lined with a layer of chocolate, and filled with custard and fruit. The tart was served with “rica-rica” ice cream. I put the “rica-rica” in quotation marks, because it is impossible to find this herb outside of Chile (if anyone finds it, let me know where). We tried to recreate the flavor of rica-rica by combining rosemary, mint, sage and lemon zest. An unusual ice cream flavor, but it worked. With this course, we made Vaina, a blended drink consisting of Ruby Port, Cognac, Crème de Cacao, eggs, powdered sugar and ice, then topped with cinnamon. These go down too smoothly, so be careful!

There you have it, a four course Chilean dinner, including wine, for only $50/person. And, a fun evening with friends and fine food, made with your own hands. If you want any of the recipes, let me know in the comments section below.

A Visit to Chile - Part Three - Wine Country

The final segment of our 15 day trip to Chile brought all the pieces together. To understand why Chilean wine is what it is, my previous two article help to figure it out. The first segment of our trip took us to the south of Chile, into the Lake and Patagonia regions. The south has heavy forest, glaciers, fjords and thousands of islands. The second segment of our trip was to the far north, into the Atacama desert…one of the driest places on earth. As we flew from Atacama to Santiago (in the center of the country) we followed along the backbone of the Andes in the east, bordering Argentina. We passed the highest mountain outside of Asia, Aconcagua (22,837ft). On the west is the Pacific Ocean.

Mt Aconcagua

The wine growing regions of Chile are located in the numerous valleys located between the desert, Andes, ocean, and cold of the south. These barriers, in every direction, have prevented diseases found in other parts of the world, from reaching the vineyards of Chile. Most of the grape vines in Chile are ungrafted, since Phylloxera is not present.

Grapes arrived in Chile with the Spaniards, in the middle of the 16^th Century. But it wasn’t until the 1850’s that French vine cuttings made their way to Chile, including the grape that has become Chile’s signature grape: Carmenere.

Cabernet Franc

The last five days in Chile had us visiting four of the fourteen wine growing valleys, three of the oldest wineries in Chile, a bicycle tour of Santiago, beach communities, great meals, and lots of discussions of history, politics and wishing we could extend our stay.

Santiago, Chile

Santiago is a metropolitan city. The highway system rivals any large city in the United States. Metro lines connect the city. The financial district has the tallest building in South America. Our stay at the Marriott Renaissance hotel, was the first place we had internet in the room. Across the highway from the hotel was a modern mall with all the high end retail stores, as well as numerous American restaurants.

The day we arrived the temperature was in the mid 90’s. Chile has been suffering through a drought similar to California, and the addition of heat made the air hazy.

One of our finest meals was actually at the Catae Restaurant in the hotel. The grilled lamb with mint risotto paired with Morande Cabernet Franc, was something to remember. 

Casablanca Valley

On Tuesday we grabbed a quick breakfast at the hotel. The buffet was similar to other breakfasts throughout the trip. Those same runny eggs keep showing up. The selection of fruits included “tuna”, which is actually prickly pear cactus. The taste is something like a sweet cucumber with a lot of seeds. We met our guide and driver and headed northwest towards Casablanca Valley. The valley is a small bowl shaped valley with a highway running down the middle. There are currently 13 wineries in Casablanca Valley. The vineyards look similar to vineyards in other growing regions, except the rows and rows of pergola trained grape vines, which are actually only used for table grapes. All the vineyards are on the lower parts of the valley floor, and occasionally part way of the sides of the valley. The upper sides of the valley hills are planted with avocado trees. The vineyards receive their water through channels feeding from the streams and rivers that run out of the Andes. Many of these water channels were built by the Incas, and later by new transplants in the 1800’s.

Matetic Winery, Rosario Valley District

Our first stop brought us back down south a bit, to the northern end of the San Antonio Valley. The Matetic Winery is a biodynamic winery in the small district of Rosario Valley. Harvest had started on the Sauvignon Blanc, and pickers were in the vineyard in the middle of the day. A corral of Alpaca was located next to the vineyard. The Alpaca are used during the dormant season for weed maintenance. Once the fruit ripens, the Alpaca are corralled and chickens are released into the vineyard for insect control. Typically birds are one of the largest pests during harvest time, but there are so many hawks and eagles in the area, birds are not a worry here.

Valparaiso

After a long lunch (lunches in Chile always seem to go 1 to 1/1/2 hours) at the Matetic Vineyard, we headed to the coastal town of Vina del Mar, then over to the World Heritage section of Valparaiso. We walked from Merry to Concepcion Hill, admiring the street art, small cafes and hostels. This Bohemian section of town reminded me of San Francisco in the 60’s.

Wednesday was spent touring downtown Santiago by bicycle. Isabel was the daughter of the owner at www.biketours.cl. For 4 ½ hours we visited monuments, buildings, and unique communities around the capitol. One of stops was the original location of Concha y Toro, which is now a freedom of the press square. After the ride, we visited the Pueblito Los Dominicos, a commune of local artisans, where we found jewelry, paintings, textiles, and bird shops. We found some great prices on Lapis and Chilean silver. After massages at the hotel, we finished the day at the top of the hotel with ceviche in the outdoor bar, and comparing Chilean Pisco with Peruvian Pisco.

Tasting with Mauro von Siebenthal

Thursday morning, we left the hotel just in time to hit the morning traffic, and headed to the Aconcagua Valley. Aconcagua Valley is a small wine growing region about 1 ½ hours north of Santiago. There are only six wineries in the valley, which is fed by the Acongagua river. Our first stop was at the Von Siebenthal Winery. We were the only people at the winery, and met with the owner, Mauro von Siebenthal. The vines are cultivated using organic farming principles and the yield is drastically reduced to intensify the aroma of the grapes. We barrel tasted his Petite Verdot and Carmenere. All his wines take two years in oak and two years in bottle, before release….and it is worth the wait. I was fortunate enough to be able to purchase some wine from the owner’s personal wine library. The wines are seductive, and are a fine example of what a niche winemaker can do. If you see Von Siebenthal wines, buy them!

Errázuriz "icon" building

Our next stop was at the historic Viña Errázuriz winery. Where Von Siebenthal was small, Errazuriz (which is just down the road) is huge. We toured the original winery, built in 1870 by Don Maximiano, then toured the new modern facility used exclusively for their “icon” wines. One of the things we noticed about wineries in Chile, they haven’t figured out the gift shop opportunities like those in the United States. Their tastings usually include only three or four wines, and prices are lower if you buy at the winery versus a wine shop (now that is something I’d like to see in the United States). Lunch was at the Caja Los Andes, where we had Churrasco Italiano (a grilled, seasoned beef sandwich with tomatoes, avocados and mayo).

Bocanariz wine pairing dinner

Dinner was at one the top rated restaurants in Santiago: Bocanariz. The wine list contains over 400 Chilean wines. The servers are all sommeliers. The restaurant is not fancy, but is very trendy. The wine pairing menu was the recommendation of our server. He paired each course with wines from their list. We arrived at 9:00 on a Thursday night, and left at 11:00, and the place was still packed.

Cousiño Macul underground cellar

Our final day in Chile was spent in the Maipo Valley, just outside of Santiago. This is a flatland area, that is irrigated by the Maipo River. The first stop was Cousiño Macul. They claim to be the oldest operating winery in Chile, established in 1856, and still run by the original family. The walled vineyard estate is now surrounded by homes, and is one tenth the size it used to be. Located at the foot of the Andes, this historic winery is being surrounded by the expansion of the Santiago suburbs. The winery is a museum of wine history. The original underground cellars are still intact, even after some of the large earthquakes that this area is prone to.

Tesoros de Chile

Lunch was at Tesoros de Chile, where we were the only people in the restaurant. Here we tried a multiple course lunch of traditional Chilean foods. Across the street is the most popular winery in Chile, and most people go there for lunch, and miss this small gem.

Casillero del Diablo cellar

The Concha y Toro Vineyard was founded by Don Melchor de Santiago Concha y Toro in 1883. Conch y Toro is the largest wine producer in Chile, and they operate differently than the other wineries we visited. They have guided tours that leave the central meeting point, every 15 minutes. Tours of the “summer house” were not allowed this day, as there was a shareholders dinner being set up. The guided tour included a tour of the Casillero del Diablo cellar, which included an almost Walt Disney type show including stories about the devil in the cellar. Concha y Toro also had a huge gift shop, which matched the number of people touring the facility.

Vina del Mar

Unfortunately, every trip has to come to an end, and so did ours (but not before a 13 hour flight back to the United States). Luckily, I was able to bring back some great bottles of wine, that are just waiting for the opportune time to open, and plenty of great memories. I hope this series of three blogs has inspired you to visit the country of Chile. I know this won’t be our only trip there!

Carménère - The lost grape of Bordeaux

Have you tried a merlot from Chile in the past few years? If so, are you sure it was merlot? You may have been tasting carménère (car-men-YEHR).  Let’s take a quick look at Chile, and how carménère may be the “signature wine” of Chile. 

Spanish missionaries brought the first vines (pais) to Chile around 1549 (there are no native grape vines in South America). Between 1840 to 1850, French immigrants, brought with them, the vines from their homeland: merlot, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, plus many others. Chilean winemakers modeled their wineries after those in France and began planting in the valleys around Santiago.

Vine cuttings of carménère were imported by growers from Bordeaux, where they were frequently confused with Merlot vines. Carménère was part of the field blend, grown with merlot. So, when cuttings were brought from the merlot vineyards of France to Chile, carménère came along with it. In Bordeaux, carménère was considered as good as cabernet sauvignon, but it had irregular yields, so was not as reliable. 

Chile is a very isolated country. Bordered by the Pacific Ocean on the west, the Andes to the East, the driest desert on earth (Atacama) to the north, and the ice fields of Patagonia to the south….Chile is apart from everything. This isolation prevented Chile from the phylloxera louse (a serious vine killing organism).  In the 1870s, this louse spread all throughout France, and from there to other European and North American vineyards, destroying the vines at the roots. Among those displaced by phylloxera were winemakers, growers, and coopers (barrel makers). To this day, the wines of Chile come from vines that grow on their natural rootstock.  Most other growing areas in the world require that the vines be grafted onto phylloxera resistant rootstock. Can you taste the difference?

For a while, Chilean growers thought carménère was merlot and labeled their wines as such. Evidently “Merlot Chileno” was thought to have a distinctively green tasting characteristic for many years. Then in 1994, thanks to DNA testing, it was discovered that the reason for this was that much of the merlot production included, or was, carménère.

Genetic research has shown that carménère may be a distant relative to merlot. Carménère buds and flowers later than Merlot and the yield is lower. When young, carménère leaves have a reddish hue underneath, while the leaves of merlot are white.  Merlot ripens two to three weeks earlier than carménère.

As a wine,  carménère has deep red color, and low acidity. When ripe, it displays black plum, blackberry, coffee, grilled meat, soy sauce, and spice. The tannins are gentler and softer than those in cabernet sauvignon and it is a medium body wine. When produced from ripe grapes, carménère has a fruity, cherry-like, flavor with smoky, spicy and earthy notes. Its’ taste might also be described as dark chocolate, tobacco, and/or leather.


So, is this the “signature wine” of Chile? Give carménère a try, and let me know what you think of this lost grape of Bordeaux.