Guest Blogger: Five Southern Hemisphere New World Wineries

[Keith, from Amsterdam, writes the travel blog and website Velvet Escape. We enjoyed his recent post about a few less-know wine regions so much that we asked him if we could post part of it here. You can also read Keith’s complete article on Velvet Escape.]

Europe has many of the finest wineries in the world. Anyone who has visited Bordeaux, Burgundy, Tuscany, Veneto, or Rioja can attest to the stunning scenery and some of the most heavenly wines in the world.

In the past ten years, wines from the New World (including Chile, Argentina, South Africa, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand), have grown tremendously in popularity. I started “researching” (that’s a good word) New World wines quite a few years ago and since then I’ve become a huge fan of wines from, especially, Australia, Chile and South Africa. When I eventually got the chance to travel through these countries, visits to various wineries naturally became a part of the itinerary. What I encountered were gorgeous wineries in breathtaking surroundings, and wines that were truly sublime. For this article, I’ve picked five wineries in the Southern Hemisphere which I’ve visited in the past two years. These wineries produce a variety of delicious wines in beautiful settings.


Boschendal (South Africa)
This winery is located in the Western Cape, halfway between the historic towns of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. The lovely Cape Dutch buildings form a stark contrast with the rugged Groot Drakenstein mountains in the background. The scenery is indeed breathtaking. You can combine a wine-tasting here with a delicious lunch under the shady trees with a view of the mountains. One of the most intriguing wines produced here is a Pinot Noir/Chardonnay blend.

Montes (Chile)
The wines produced at this estate are arguably some of Chile’s finest. Located in the charming, hilly Colchagua Valley, this winery features a hyper-modern central building designed by a team of Chile’s most renowned architects, and an impressive cellar. The Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc are absolutely divine!


Domaine Chandon (Australia)
Situated in the Yarra Valley, just east of Melbourne, the Domaine Chandon estate (of the famous Möet & Chandon name) produces an exclusive selection of beautiful sparkling wines (you can’t call it champagne if it doesn’t originate from the region of Champagne in France). The verdant rolling hills form a gorgeous setting for this estate with its signature Victorian manor.

Errazuriz (Chile)
Errazuriz is one of Chile’s most prominent families and they own several high-profile wineries in the Aconcagua Valley. Fed by the molten snow from South America’s highest peak (Mt. Aconcagua), the historic Errazuriz estate boasts a variety of beautiful wines including the Merlot and Shiraz.

Bodega Ruca Malen (Argentina)
Ruca Malen is located south of Argentina’s wine capital, Mendoza. The scenery is truly magnificent: row upon row of vines with the awe-inspiring snowy peaks of the Andes mountains as the backdrop. This winery produces a selection of delicious Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. The Cabernet Sauvignon/Malbec blend is also noteworthy. You can opt to combine a wine-tasting with a gourmet seven-course lunch, whilst enjoying the breathtaking view of the Andes.

This is but a small selection of wineries that have made the biggest impression on me. If you’ve been to an amazing winery in any of these New World wine countries, please feel free to share your experiences with me.

Go-To Wineries

There are times when you need a bottle, yet can’t remember the specifics of wines you’ve enjoyed. We’ve also suggested that if you find a wine or two from a producer that you enjoy, keep trying that winery’s other wines. Following our own advice, here are the wineries that we feel we can buy any wine from without thinking, and we’ll almost always get a bottle we enjoy at a fair price.

• Rosemount, Australia
• Yalumba, Australia
• Beringer, California
• Cambria, California
• Ridge, California
• B&G, France
• Columbia Crest, Washington

House Wines

(We’re going to be traveling and away from computers for a week, and we aren’t going to even think about posting again until we return on February 17. Enjoy your wines and dining until then.)

If you’ve been wondering what are our House wines, here is the complete list. We have not indicated differing vintages (and there can sometimes be vintage variations), nor different bottlings within a winery’s offerings. In a few cases, we have specified a particular wine. (For example, Mark West is a California winery which sources grapes from around the world. We don’t care for their California Pinot Noir, but did hugely enjoy their wine made from Corsican grapes.) On this list, you’ll find wines from California, Washington, Colorado, France, Australia, New Zealand, and Spain. (Next up, we’re planning a concentrated effort to see what’s new and exciting in South African wines, as well as to revisit some of our old tastings from Chile and Argentina.)

This is the cheat sheet we take with us to the store, although we’re always sampling and trying new offerings from the shelves. Also, this doesn’t represent all the wines we enjoy – rather it is the ones we like that we find most reliable at a good price, without having to do any thinking. We do have a separate list of higher-end (and higher-priced) wines we know and love, but those are for special occasions and not for our House wines. With a few exceptions (such as some of the Colorado wines), these should be widely available, affordable (under $20; most are $10-15, or even less, especially on sale), and reliable year-after-year.

SAUVIGNON BLANC
Brancott, Yvecourt, Columbia Crest, Turning Leaf, Covey Run, Canyon Wind, Geyser Peak, Barnard Griffin

GEWURZTRAMINER
Villa Wolf, Meridian, Chateau St. Michele, Columbia Crest, DeBeque Canyon, Covey Run

TRAMINER- RIESLING
Rosemont

RIESLING
Covey Run, Clean Slate, Snoqualmie, Chateau St. Michelle, Beringer, Greenwood Ridge, Columbia Crest

CHARDONNAY
Peace, Stonehedge, Carlson, Penfolds Thomas Hyland, Cambria, Redwood Creek(France)

VIOGNER
Domaine de Caillan, Oxford Landing, Yalumba

CHENIN BLANC
B&G Vouvary, Beringer, St. Chappell, Yalumba

ROSE
Beringer, Buehler, B&G Rose Anjou, Le Ville Ferme

PINOT GRIGIO
Columbia Crest, Stone Cellars

MUSCADET
Clos de la Clemanciene, Remy Pannier

GAMAY
George DuBeuf Beaujolais-Villages

ZINFANDEL
Ravenswood, Rosenblum, Stonehedge, Ridge

PINOT NOIR
Castle Rock, Coyote Creek, Mark West(Corsica), Scarlett of Paris, Beringer, Redwood Creek(France), Parducci, Cambria

CABERNET SAUVIGNON & MERLOT (and Blends)
Barnard Griffin(C-Merlot), Columbia Crest(Merlot-C)

SYRAH/SHIRAZ
Columbia Crest, Castle Rock, Yalumba(S-Viogner), B&G Cotes du Rhone, Red Diamond, Los Planos, Rosemount(S-Grenache), Lindemans, Domaines Astruc(S-Viogner)

GRENACHE
Los Rocas

TEMPRANILLO
Penascal, Tapena

SPARKLING
Bouvet Brut, Cristalino, Segura Viudas, Domain Chandon, Gloria Ferrer

PORT
Sandeman Tawny

Rosemount Estate Shiraz Grenache 2004 – Australia

When we first tried this wine years ago, it was Grenache/Shiraz, probably indicating that the blend was more Grenache than Shiraz. Now it’s 55% Shiraz, probably because of Shiraz’s ascendancy in popularity. It’s pretty close in taste to a pure Syrah (see our Columbia Crest review), and has almost a beefy nose. Plumy tastes, fresh and fruity. A House wine for all these years, and still so. About $10.

Yalumba Shiraz and Quiche

On July 1, 2007
WINE
Yalumba Y Series South Australia 2005 Shiraz 94%, Viogner 6%
Classic Rhone blend, with Viogner giving some softness to the Aussie-style Shiraz (although I always think of it as “Syrah”). Some spice, bright acidity. We first had this in Banff, Canada, last winter, and enjoyed it enough to purchase again. Very good everyday wine, not quite there for our house-wine list. A Yes wine. $11 retail in our area.

DINNER
Whatever’s-in-the-frig Quiche. Arugula, wild onion flowers (from a hike today), thin sliced red peppers. 5 eggs, some half-and-half, Asiago and Fontina cheeses, sage, thyme, dash of nutmeg, Dijon mustard. All in a frozen pie shell. Good mix of tastes. Not one of our greatest Quiches (we do them somewhat frequently and fairly well), but very good.