Stainless tanks from Italy at Neyen wines in Apalta

Good Morning!

Instead of me describing a process in winemaking today, I thought I would share with you some stories and pictures of some other wines I had the chance to visit and try their wines!

I think one of the things I have to keep in mind when talking about each of these wineries is I have never been to a winery and not been inspired. Over the years and all over the world, I have been to massive production facilities, I have been to state of the art tasting rooms and some of the buildings have been as simple as a small barn or even a place that looked very similar to a storage unit.

I have met winemakers from all walks of life. Some were raised in a vineyard, some changed careers late in life, some are very hands on and some are just figure heads in the company. I love the diversity of personalities of the winemakers. Many have been quiet and just focused on the wine, others have been the kinda folks who go grab a couple of glasses and take me into the barrel room, we sample and I hear stories for hours and I am totally entertained. Chile, was no different.

I went to a total of 18 wineries while I was there. When my apprenticeship was finished, I took an extra week to travel to the three main wine growing regions (Casablanca, Maipo and Santa Cruz). Today, I want to discuss Neyen wines. Neyen is located in Santa Cruz. I had not tried their wine before, honestly, I had never heard of them before.

I went on a private tour with three of the top international salespeople from Moet. They folks make a living selling premier wines in all corners of the world. They taste wines and sell wines for a living and I was excited to see what questions they ask and how they taste the wines. We started out in the vineyard and our guide, Rodeo, was an excellent English speaker so I was really happy.

The main things I learned in this part of the tour was that Neyen had tons of damage during the last earthquake. They are located in the Apalta area of Santa Cruz. The two grapes they blend together to make their famous blend Espiritu de Apalta (Spirit of Apalta) is made of Carmenere and Cabernet Sauvignon. Carmenere is the principal grape in the blend. The vineyards were planted about 120 years and that creates a high density vineyard.

Then we walked through the fermentation building, it is really an international effort, the tanks come from Italy and the building has a cool design. On the mountian side of the building the windows are way up high to let the light flow in during the morning and on the opposite side of the building the windows are at ground level for light in the afternoon. There are only 9 lights in the entire building and the entire place is energy efficent and total green. They are also a gravity winery so the way it is laid out keeps the grapes at the ground level and as they ferment the wine flows lower into the underground levels of the winery to control the temperatures while it is aging.

Next we went over to the barrel room and it was beautiful. the building was rebuild in 1890’s and it is all adobe, it’s so beautiful and rustic. then we moved into the tasting area and it was AWESOME! So modern, sleek and over looks a huge white rose garden and veranda area. I have attached a photo of the tasting area, I have never seen a tasting set up like this, very cool.

Neyen lost much of their wines during the earthquake. Now we taste, the wine was elegant, rich and since it is made with Carmenere it had that boldness I expected. This wine has always scored high on the Robert Parker and Wine Spectator point scale, and I can taste why. It was beautiful and the experience of tasting with experts, I learned so much. My friends I tasted and where so quiet when they try wines, normally when tasting with others, people start discussing tastes, flavors, aromas, and what to pair with as soon as they finish their taste…these guys were still and started writing notes like crazy. They loved this wine also and when we jumped into the truck to head back to Lapostolle, they chatted on and on about the wine. When I said I have never waited so long to start talking about the wines, they laughed and said, you were quiet so we did not start talking! Hahaha

Other info about Neyen, you can easily find this wine in the US, they are owned by the man who owns the largest telecommunications and mobile phone company in Chile. You can take horseback rides and tours of the winery by appointment and there is still some construction going on to fix up after the earthquake. It is off the road a little bit and the road it takes to get you there….roll up your window…the dust is like Pig Pen on Charlie Brown.

I really enjoyed the wine Neyen produces Espiritu de Apalta. I loved hearing the stories of the winery and of the rebuilding since the earthquake. It you go to Santa Cruz, put this one on your list to visit. I brought bottle home and can not wait to find the right food to pair it with.

Tomorrow I will discuss Viu Manent and my trip through there vineyard and winery!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

The tasting area at Neyen winery in Chile

Neyen's label...Find it and enjoy the wine!