What Food To Pair With Chilean Wine
The relatively recent development of, and investment in the Chilean wine industry has led to the plantings of many international grape varieties, and it is these that dominate in Chile, ranging from Bordeaux and Rhone classics, through to the cooler climate aromatics from Germany. This guide will help you work out exaclty which dish will go best with your Chilean wine.
Chilean Chardonnay
Chardonnay loves the climate and soil types of Chile and produces some stunning wines, both oaked and increasingly unoaked. It is grown across the country, but performs best in some of the cooler climate areas, such as Limari Valley and, where it truly stars, Casablanca Valley and Leyda Valley.
Styles vary greatly, from the more traditional oak aged styles in the central valley, to the new wave, of vibrant, fresh, often unoaked, or lightly oaked styles made in Casablanca, Bio-Bio and other cool climate areas. The oaked styles are rich, bold, full of toasty, tropical fruit, and a creamy vanilla edge; the newer, fresher styles, celebrate the pure fruit quality, with lively, citrus-streaked white peach, creamy fruit, and have a distinctive streak of minerality and zest.
Food matching ideas: For your oaky Chardonnay, choose rich fish dishes (salmon, creamy fish pie), buttery roast chicken, pork in a creamy sauce, brie and other soft cheeses. For the lighter, zippier styles, choose lightly spiced dishes and seafood.
Chilean Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc has turned into one of Chile’s biggest success stories, and is perfectly suited to the cooler climate areas. Grown at altitude in the north in Elqui Valley, by the coast in regions like San Antonio Valley, and in the cool southern region, it produces whites which provide a viable alternative to those sauvignon Blanc drinkers who want to explore further than New Zealand.
The general style is different, and slightly tighter and edgy, but less herbaceous and grassy than many South African versions, producing, verdant, fresh, zesty whites, with a ripe, tropical edge and delicious citrussy character. Somewhere between the South African and New Zealand style is the way to look at it.
Food matching ideas: seafood, pan-fried fish, zingy green salads or goats cheese salad, asparagus, Thai and Chinese dishes, mild Indian curries.
Chilean Riesling
The native grape of Germany and Alsace, Riesling is perfectly suited to some of Chile’s coolest climate wine growing regions, producing seriously good wines from the southern regions of Bio Bio, and also some up in the Casablanca area - full of lemon zest, pungent, floral character, with a twist of lime and a minerally, pure fruit freshness.
Food matching ideas: dishes with powerful flavours: smoked fish dishes, spicy Indian curries and marinades, Thai chicken curry, fruit-infused meat dishes (roast pork with gooseberries, north African fruity tagines), rich washed rind cheeses.
Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon
The ripe, minty, blackcurrant characteristics of the Cabernet Sauvignon grape, are showcased to perfection in the Chile's Central Valley, where the climate and topography permit the grape to come to full ripeness. In the warmer regions, it produces top quality reds, full of intensity, complexity and longevity, with rich, intense flavours. Some Cabernet is now being grown in some of the cooler regions, where the style is edgier, with a herbaceous, restrained style.
It stars on its own, but is also frequently partnered with the national Chilean grape Carmenere, producing bold, spicy, powerfully rich styles of red.
Food matching ideas: roast lamb, roast beef, steak, rich lamb and beef stews, venison, oriental dishes, cheddar.
Chilean Carmenere
Considered the national grape of Chile, this dark-skinned grape is grown in most wine regions, but performs best in the hot climate of the central regions, since it requires sun, heat and a long ripening period for it to ripen fully. If not fully ripe, the wines have a tendency to a grassy, sappy character, but well made, they are rich, spicy, and attractive, full of scented, violet aromas, with warm blackberry, black pepper and dark chocolate character, with soft tannins.
Food matching ideas: barbecues, roasts and steaks, curries and other spicy oriental red meat and vegetarian dishes.
Chilean Syrah
Syrah/Shiraz is grown increasingly in the central valley region, producing rich, powerful, spicy wines for ageing, with dense fruit and an intense structure. It is also used in blends with either Cabernet, or Carmenere, giving spicy, rich, ripe, plum and mocha styles of wine.
Food matching ideas: seared steak, barbecues, hefty stews, spiced roast lamb, Indian red meat dishes, cheddar.
Chilean Merlot
One of the classic grape varieties in traditional Bordeaux blends, Merlot is extremely well suited to Chile, with its hot, sunny climate – the only danger is that the Merlot is an early-ripening variety, so needs to be picked relatively early, before the grapes over ripen. It’s rich, chocolatey, plummy, early-ripening fruit make for deliciously ripe, intense, velvety reds.
Food matching ideas: spicy food, rich, naturally sweet, meaty stews, meaty pasta, everyday dishes (shepherd’s pie, sausage and mash), spicy Indian food, Mexican fajitas.
Chilean Pinot Noir
Chile is a natural home for Pinot Noir, where it is thriving and producing world class wines in the cooler regions. The climate, soils and topography suit the temperamental and delicate nature of the grape. The very hot climate of the Central Valley does not suit this sensitive and temperamental grape variety, but a focus on the cool climate areas for this grape variety have resulted in some extraordinary wines, from Casablanca, Leyda Valley, Bio-Bio and other higher altitude cool regions; these wines are world class, and have all the vibrant, nervy, pure elegance of Pinot Noir at its best. Elegant and perfumed, these wines have a softness, yet a rich silkiness of fruit – gentle tannins, and rich, raspberry fruit flavours, together with a sublime elegance and generosity of fruit – probably the most seductive of all red wines.
Food matching ideas: most game (duck, pheasant, venison etc.), Asian red meat dishes, aged soft cheeses.
Chile is also producing an increasingly wide variety of other grape varieties, including:
- Gewurztraminer – a rich, spicy, floral, yet off dry, very aromatic white
- Sangiovese - a lighter, fresher style of red, full of herb dusted, black cherry fruit
- Tempranillo – this classic Spanish grape is doing well in Chile, with its ripe, soft, yet full on, red berry fruit style, and a vanilla, mocha edge.