| The idea of quality wines coming out of South | | | | introduced the Malbec grape found in the |
| America would have been laughable a mere 40 | | | | Bordeaux region of France. The grape is actually |
| years ago. That is no longer the case. The | | | | not a great match for Bordeaux as the humidity |
| continent has two countries that produce both | | | | leads to mold problems. The arid, fertile slopes of |
| top quality varietal wines and excellent wines | | | | Argentina at the base of the Andes present a |
| unique to their history. | | | | perfect climate for the grape vines and the |
| Argentina and Chile are the two wine producing | | | | quality of wine produced is world class. At the risk |
| regions in South America that are worth a visit. In | | | | of being shouted down, I would suggest it is |
| truth, they would be worth a visit even if there | | | | better than what is produced in France. |
| wasn’t any wine! Buenos Aires is one of the | | | | If you enjoy wines from California, you’ll |
| great cities in the world. Chile is much more laid | | | | enjoy wines from Chile. The country is known for |
| back, but has countryside and mountainous | | | | producing quality, low price reds. Wine production |
| regions that are simply stunning. Still, the wine | | | | in California has become costly to the point where |
| production is excellent and reason enough to visit | | | | $10 to $15 bottles are hard to find. Chile is filling |
| either country. | | | | this gap using vines from France. The wine region |
| Argentina has been in the wine production | | | | is located about an hour to the south of the city |
| business for a nearly 200 years. The primary | | | | of Santiago. Chilean wine is excellent for the price, |
| wine, however, was a Criolla white grape wine | | | | but finding a very high quality, expensive bottle is |
| that was very heavy. 100 years ago, the French | | | | difficult. |