Good Morning!

Alright I have kinda been focusing on the places and not the wine…my bad! Today let’s talk about some of the wine! In total while in Chile I went to 18 different wineries. I tried anything food or wine wise that was put in-front of me.

Tasting wine first thing in the morning is always tricky for me. I like to taste everything, I rarely spit and I love a buzz first thing in the morning, but only if I can have a nap later. I would not be napping later, so I had to pace myself. The folks at Lapostolle wanted me to get a real feel for the wines of Chile. So they wanted to expose me to as many different wines as possible.

Concha y Toro….this wine has always had a negative place in my brain because of something that happened years and years before I even made wine. I have a good friend would would always show up with two massive bottles of Conch for every party at my house and the next morning we would all have banging hangovers.
But last year, I did a ton of research and started trying all the different “brands” of Concha y Toro and I have fallen in love with many of their wines. Actually, if you follow my blog, you know that the Don Melchor was my personal winner of the March Madness of Wines!

So anyway, I arrive at the winery and I got a personal and all english speaking tour by one of the most knowledgeable tour guides ever. We toured the vineyards and home and then went into the winery. I heard the story of the Castillo de Diablo, back in the day the locals would sneak into his cellar and steal his wine. So he started the the rumor that the devil was living in the cellar, to stop the robbers. I will not tell you what happens in the cellar, but if you go to Chile, take the tour…fantastic wines, fantastic tour, great fun in general. Concha y Toro is the largest producer of Chilean wines and if you have a chance pick up a bottle or two of their wines and give them a second chance…it you were jaded like I was…re-educate yourself and your palate.

Their new Trio wines are light, lovely and perfect for this summer! Their Marques Casa Concha Cabernet is rich, full and velvety. And of course the Don Melchor is really worth the cash for a night of elegance.

Next, we were headed to Cousino-Macul. This is the oldest winery in Santiago….originally they were build in the country, but as the city built up, it became part of the outskirts of town. I was led by a young sommelier named Martin (pronounced Mart-een, ) He loves wine and loves the story of Cousino-Macul. I could have listened to him for the entire day. So smart and educated about Chilean wines in general. after a grounds and winery tour, he prepared a tasting of 5 wines. We started out with Rose’, I was blown away by how “full” and “rich” this rose’ was. I love Rose’ but this was special. Try it, you’ll like it!

Next, we tried 3 reds and all had wonderful structure (meaning tannin balance). Also, he discussed pairings and how the country of Chile loves grilled meats. He was right, I will discuss the foods of Chile in a few days, but they might be the best grillers in the WORLD! Then he poured a Riesling…yea, Riesling…I had no idea anyone in Chile was even working with this grape. I guarantee this wine will be in my top wines of the year.

This was not like Riesling I have ever had. This wine was full of flower aromas and so huge on the the nose. Then the straw colored, chilled wine hit my mouth and it was fresh and clean but finished with almost and oily texture. It was a ROCKSTAR in my mouth. I kept sampling and I could not find in my little brain a strong enough vocabulary to describe this wine. I ended up buying a bottle to bring back with me. I did not care how, I was not leaving without this wine.

I will review all of the wineries I visited in the coming weeks in this blog. Cousino-Macul and Concha y Toro set a very high bar. The places were beautiful, the guides all spoke english and the wines were impressive and of course the stories behind the wines and winemakers are historical.

Put these two wineries on your bucket list for Chile.

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Tomorrow, Jerome takes me through the Clos Apalta winery on horseback and teaches me how to tell the grape varietals in a glance.

This is the Riesling of Cousino-Macul, OUTSTANDING!

The beach in Vina del Mar, Chile

Ok so day 3 in Chile was my “touristy” day. On this morning the driver and the interpreter came to pick me up and they informed me it would be yet another day before I would have my luggage. I was getting tired of the 3 day jeans and I did want some hair products at some point but I jumped in the van and off we headed from Santiago northwest to the port area called Vina del Mar. it was a short hour and 30 minute drive and we stopped at a winery on the beautiful drive over.

I had been told by a friend that Valparaiso might be the most colorful place they had ever seen. He might have been right. All the houses where painted bright colors and they were wedged together even more tightly than in San Francisco. The areas we drove through had lots of graffiti and it was apparent that if you lived there, you were either very wealthy or not. It seemed to not have a middle class at this point.

But later as we drove around and found a mall so I could purchase some undies and a clean shirt or two, I could have been in any mall in the states. Everyone in Chile is very friendly and Valpo was no exception. We next head a little further north to Vina del Mar. Beautiful beach front, much like So Cal in the Santa Monica area, but the houses were again more closely packed together. It was a bit overcast but very beautiful. I would easily go there again in a heartbeat.

This next part of my story is the only negative part of my entire trip. I was dropped off at my hotel and later was to meet folks for dinner. So I thought, I will walk into Vina del Mar and find some hair products and perhaps some wine to take with me to the dinner. I had a great walk and took tons of pictures. I found a wine shop got a great bottle of wine and then thought, I better get some pesos for the taxi ride later. I inserted my debt card and it was instantly swallowed and I was staring at the ATM. Easy fix I thought, I will call the bank and all will be well. I went to use my cell and seeing it was almost dead thought I better head to the hotel to charge it up…my adapter was in my luggage…UGH. no adapter..no store in the area sold them.

I get back to the hotel, made two calls that cost $86.00 dollars and was told my bank account had been compromised and they saw the overseas transaction and was sure my card had been stolen. So, I sat in the hotel room with a great bottle of wine, no cash, no clean clothes, no hair products. I did what any self respecting woman would do..I called and canceled dinner, and drank the bottle of wine and watched Spanish TV.

So, my learning on day 3 was this, I am happy I packed an extra shirt, undies and socks in my backpack. I was glad I bought wine before my debit card was gone and I was concerned that 3 checks I had written before I left would be bouncing around before they figured out how my bank account was compromised. I was also glad that the next day my luggage would final arrive and I would start working because 1 day playing tourist had worn me out.

By the way the wine was Cuvee Alexandre by Lapostolle the Cabernet 2008 from Clos Apalta….fantastic with the mini bar snacks like Pringle’s and Snickers, if you are ever in the same situation.

The next day started out with to winery visits and I will tell you about Concha y Toro and Cousino Macul in tomorrow’s blog.

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Casablanca, Chile Lapostolle vineyard pic

Good Morning!

So on day two of my trip to Chile, I was taken to the Lapostolle vineyards located in Casablanca, Chile. I was told there are 3 main grape growing and wine producing regions in Chile: Casablanca, Maipo and Colchagua. All have different reputations because of the types of wines and or weather, just like Napa and Sonoma.

When I arrived in Casablanca, I met Igor the vineyard manager and we got in his truck and thankfully I had Dani the interpreter with me, his English was about as strong as my Spanish. But some things I already knew about Lapostolle is they are a totally bio-dynamic vineyards and winery and it is no small task getting certified and keeping all aspects of biodynamic growing of wine grapes in place.

It was beautiful and sunny and when you see the photos you can see the rural setting. I was surrounded by vines and the day I arrived they were about 2 days from starting to pick in many of the blocks. They grow merlot, syrah, cabernet, chardonnay and carmenere. They had buildings filled with equipment but I think the composting area surprised me most. They recycle everything and everything is done by hand. They also made many animals on the vineyard and baby lambs and goats were just born before I arrived. Geese, chickens, horses etc. Each animal has it’s reasons for being there to keep the bio-dynamic cycle in place.

I also noticed how hilly and and steep many part of the vineyard was and he explained how the picking cycle has to work to get all grapes picked at proper sugar levels and maturity. We tasted grapes all along the way. he walked me through how he tastes for maturity and then walked me through the lab work they do to ensure his mouth was correct. he was spot on with every test he ran…pretty good taste buds!

Then we discussed how dry it is there and how the drainage works in the sandy and stony soil. He talked about the process of tilling up the rows and hand shoveling compost into the rows to put nutrients back into the soil for the root for next season and how labor intensive that can been on such rugged terrain.

By the end of the visit, I had such a great respect for how intimately he knows the land, the vines and how he does not stress about trying to “hurry” the process. Being a “Type A”, I was wondering if I had the discipline he has, to just let the grapes do their thing until I knew in my heart they were ready…..That is yet to be determined. But I learned a ton about patience, process and vineyard work and that was a day I will hold with me as I start planting my vineyards in the years to come.

Tomorrow, we will go to Vina Del Mar Chile and see the ocean and you can hear more about my missing luggage!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Good Morning!

First of all, I did not post blog updates while I was gone for the past month in Chile. I planned to update on a daily basis, but honestly by the time I got to my room each night, I was WHIPPED! I had no brain cells left from working and learning.

So, I let myself off the hook and promise to walk you through all steps of my trip when I returned. So here we go!

This opportunity is really a once in a lifetime chance to do everything any student of wine would want to experience. When Lapostolle posted they were looking for an apprentice, I had to go for it. I was selected from 1000’s of applicants. I like to think they could feel my passion and picked me out of pure destiny. (This total trip lasted almost a month, so to prepare you, I will discuss a few days each blog until I tell the entire trip experience).

The prep work it takes to be away from my day to day life took some planning, pay all bills or set up payments, get someone to hold your mail, water the plants, check the cat into the Palm Pet Resort and of course set up my cell service for Chile…(There will be more on this later).

My entire packing process was easy, working in the winery and vineyard…boots, jeans, fleece etc, but they had me set up for some very elegant events too. So, heels, slacks, blouses too. When I left Dallas I had on jeans a tee shirt and flip flops, a purse and a backpack. When I landed and was met by my driver Christian and my translator Dani, my luggage was still hanging out in Texas and would not catch up for 3 days!

Santiago was beautiful and reminded me of a much larger San Francisco. The biggest surprise was how clean the city was. Also, my first thought about the language was “this sounds nothing like I heard in Spanish class”. My tutor had warned me they spoke a very fast and different version of Spanish. She was correct! They even say they speak Chilean not Spanish.

Day one I took in many sites with Dani and she was awesome, showing me sides of the city I would have never found on my own. The energy of the city was vibrant and the taxis ripping through the streets, very exciting!

Later that night, I was picked up by Julian and his wife Lauren. (forgive me for leaving out their last name). We headed to the W Hotel for dinner and drinks. They might be the most interesting couple I have ever met up to this point in my life. They are from France and also lived in Japan for 10 years and then to Argentina and now they live in Chile. He is the VP of Sales for the Asian market for Moet Hennessy and she was with Verona Chocolate for years until they started having a family. Their entire careers have been submerged in the high end dinning and wine industry.

I could have listened to them for hours. Their travels, the foods, wines and industry knowledge they shared was so deep and generous. I had the good fortune to meet up with Julian 3 more times in the past month and all I can say is, he is my idea of the perfect gentleman.

While dining I tried anything that I was told that locals would eat and he pointed out a corn/crab/casserole dish and I ordered it, along with Lapostolle Sauvignon Blanc, perfect pairing! The night was a great kick off to the entire trip. We switched over to the Clos Apalta wine and had dessert, perfect chocolate and deep red Chilean wine combo.

Tomorrow I will walk you through day two of the trip! I will discuss buying clothes in Chile, my surprise with AT&T, and will discuss the wines at a much deeper level!

I will post a few photos each day also!

Much LOVE and wine,
Tammi

About to land in Santiago, Chile

Just before the flight, a quick glass of wine!

Good Morning!

I am writing this blog while packing and checking off all the things I will need while working the harvest on the other side of the equator. I have sunscreen, hat, gloves, flashlight, work boots and aspirin. I hope I have not over packed or under packed. I will be gone for at least 3 weeks and I have an open ended ticket so who knows when I will be ready to come back.

My trip starts out in Santiago, Chile and I will end up in the Santa Cruz area working with Lapostolle wines. I will be hands on involved in all aspects of the harvest. I plan on having purple hands, purple teeth and a huge smile at the end of each day! I bought a new flip cam so I can take videos, I hope I can figure out how to download the video’s to my blog or at least on my Facebook.

I love to travel and learn about cultures and eat with the locals and try all the local wines. It was my hope that when I went to France I would have had french food, but we were mostly in our group and did not get out to try the food. We did however try the wines! I also have been taking Spanish classes so the language might not be such a barrier. I have a big vocabulary and my tutor says I read and write spanish extremely well, but I am not a confident speaker at all….I have a southern accent, so I butcher most of the words and sentences.

I also have a week of seeing the country planned and will be taking in the museums, sites, vineyards, horseback riding, cooking class and of course a rodeo. Rodeo’s are great fun, I went to them as a kid growing up and I can not wait to feel the energy of the country.

I want to give a big shout out to my family and my financial adviser for all the love, direction and support for my dream to make wine as a full time gig. I will check in on Monday and you can follow my trip either here on my blog or friend me up on Facebook and watch the journey unfold!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

I was in France at our farmhouse, during the filming of PBS's The Winemaker's Season II