ARCHIVE TASTER: Chile Gets Cool

NB: This is archive material first released September 2020 and re-published here as a teaser for Wine Blast Season One, which is available in full to Wine Blast PLUS subscribers. To find out more or sign up to enjoy the full range of member benefits, including archive access, follow this link to Wine Blast PLUS. Cheers!

Chile is a wine scene stuck on fast forward. Many of the most exciting projects lately have been developed in the country's deep south, where the cooler conditions mean more elegant, refreshing wines (and respite from a decade-long drought).

And these aren't projects for the faint-hearted: we visit a new vineyard on a remote island 1,200km south of Santiago - and another on the side of a smoking volcano.

It's not just about terroir, either - southern Chile is home to indigenous Mapuche communities, where poverty and disputed land rights (among other issues) have long been bones of contention with the Chilean state and industry. But now, alongside pioneering vineyards aiming to champion the south's remarkable terroirs, wine is providing new hope of social unity as a new project is launched by Viña San Pedro Tarapacá in association with the local Mapuche community in Buchahueico.

It all makes for a compelling and intriguing future - one we explore in this episode. (We also announce the winners of our WineGB giveaway!)

Wine Blast Season 1 Episode 25 (originally published 22 Sept 2020)