December’s Club Wine Is Here!

We (well, The Craig anyway) had to run down to South America to wrap up the December club offering. And we are going to have to share some pictures.

The trip was centered around Vina Santa Carolina. This historic winery has been in operation for 140 years. The original winery, which is now a national historic site, is in the heart of Santiago’s industrial center. As the city grew and industry moved in, the winery lost vineyard sites and eventually had to purchase new vineyards in the surrounding agricultural areas. However they had resources to research the best growing regions and choose regions that would produce the best Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, etc. This philosophy didn’t make their job easy, but it allowed them to produce amazing quality. The rest of the world of wine started to figure out what this winery was accomplishing and have been using them as a resource. There is now a partnership with UC Davis researching and developing vines and varietals that are relatives of the original pre phyloxera root stock brought to Chile from France in the 1800’s.

Side note on this winery before we get into the actual wines. Santa Carolina Reserva De Familia Cabernet made international wine news when in 1889, at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, they received a Gold Medal. This was the first Chilean and New World wine to receive such honors, and this wine was considered on par with Grand Cru Bordeaux! BTW, we have this selection at the shop. It is an amazing wine.

OK, we can keep going on about the winery, but you will have to stop in the shop and ask for more details. Now about those Club wines…

Santa Carolina Reserva Sauvignon Blanc
This Sauvignon Blanc comes from the Leyda D.O. in Chile. The Leyda region is one of the cooler growing regions in Chile. Cooler growing regions equal premium grape quality. *Key point*: hillside and cool climate growing regions create amazing quality. So if you are ever wondering what to buy and you find out the fruit is sourced from a hillside or cooler growing region, you will most likely be enjoying a good bottle! This bottle is an amazing value. The fresh, clean citrus notes on this SB are perfect for that first welcome glass of wine at a holiday party! This selection was also named a “best buy” from Wine Enthusiast. At the shop, we’ve named it a “must buy.”

Santa Carolina Reserva Carmenere
First lets talk about Carmenere (car-men-YAIR). This is the lost Bordeaux varietal, meaning that as Bordeaux was striving to become the wine mecca that it is today, specific varietals were standing out and passing the test of quality. These varietals, know as Bordeaux varietals, are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc…and Carmenere. Carmenere, however, was falling out of fashion (because Carmenere is a delicate grape and ripeness timing is everything when producing this varietal) in Bordeaux and then Phyloxera hit. And when Bordeaux replanted, Carmenere basically became extinct. Fast forward to the 1990’s in Chile. Merlot had been widely planted in Chile, but it was discovered that what was thought to be Merlot was actually Bordeaux Carmenere. In 1998, Chile officially recognized and renamed Carmenere plantings. Santa Carolina is ahead of the pack when it comes to producing the best Carmenere. In fact they product a tier of Carmenere that is considered the best in the world! This selection is not only a great value, but it was also named in Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100 Wines of 2015!

So there you go those are your… Wait… We are not done! Yep, you get a third bottle this month. We’d like to say thanks for being in the Club, and hey, its almost New Year’s Eve… So bubbles!

Segura Viudas Gran Cuvee Reserva Cava
If you think it sounds sexy, wait til you pop this on NYE! Segura Viudas is managed by the Ferrer family. This family is known for making exceptional sparkling wine. The Segura Viudas Estate was developed in the 1980’s and showcases a higher quality of Spanish Cava. The history of the Estate dates back a couple of years…as in back to the 11th century. We think they’ve figured it out by now!

Please enjoy these selections, and when you are drinking the bubbles on NYE, know that we will be doing the same and thinking about all the amazing customers/friends whom we have met so far on our journey through the Hidden Track.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Craig & Danielle