I’ll be asking for your patience over the next couple of weeks, as I continue the trend of upping the travel here on 1WineDude (hey, you told me you wanted more travel pieces, after all!).
This jaunt is going to feel bittersweet for me: for one thing, I’m stoked to be heading to Chile and Argentina (although I am not sure how warmly I will be greeted by the Chileans after my little mention here of their greener wines last October… let’s hope they have a short memory…); for another, it’s still time away from my family right on the heels of previous travel to the Left Coast for the Pro Wine Writers Symposium and Premiere Napa Valley.
The trade-off for your patience in indulging a bit of inconsistency (I’ll still be trying to connect and post from Chile and Argentina whenever and wherever possible) is that things might get quiet here over the coming weeks, which not only is blogging anathema in general in that it breaks some of the fundamental rules of playing in the blog-o-world, but it also means that we mess around a bit with part of the contract that I have with you out there reading this blog: namely, the publication schedule that I’ve been rigorously (and not without some pain – especially the borderline-carpal-tunnel-variety) following since October…
Most in jeopardy is likely the dialog in the comments, where I might have less time to respond (or at least, less opportunity for timely responses) – but hey, you’re all smart grown ups, talk amongst yourselves!
But… I think the wait will be worth, and there’s potentially a ton of blogging fodder coming out of all of this soon. So, if you’re not sick of me yet, you just might get sick of me after all of the stories coming your way once I’m back. Either that, or during the mini-down-time you’ll forget (aided, no doubt, with the imbibing of copious quantities of wine) how annoying I was and check back in just as the dialog gets back in full swing again, after which you’ll no doubt be reminded of how annoying I am and the cycle will repeat. Hey, it’s worked so far, right?
All of this is a long way of saying that sometimes you gotta stop sawing in order to sharpen the saw; and we have the flint stacked and ready to roll here, people!
I’ve no idea what’s in store in South America (aside from the fact that I will be visiting a large number of producers and tasting a shedload of wines), and so I’d love to know what you’d like to see coming out of this: if you have any questions, ideas, burning desires, or nagging peeves when it comes to Chile and Argentina, shout ‘em out in the comments! Actually, I take that back for the burning desires part, I don’t want to know those, come to think of it…
Cheers!
Holy crap, that was the coldest plane EVER. Just sayin'.
I'm going to Chile in December for wine-related tourism, fanning out from Santiago. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on what to see, mistakes to avoid, etc.
Thanks, WineDilettante – looks like we'll need to compare some notes soon!
Are you going as far south as Northern Patagonia? I had a Pinot Noir from Nequen that was quite good for the price ($13). Nequen is supposedly making some high-quality sparkling wines, too. Also, the viticultural wonder that is Salta would be great to highlight if you are visiting there (extremely high altitude and outside the typical latitudes of winemaking regions). As for Chile, the DOs of Elqui, Limari and Bio Bio would be great to know more about. Good luck out there, bud!
Thanks, ac – I think we might hit Salta a bit but not Patagonia (to my detriment apparently :-). Cheers!
Hi Joe!
My first out of country wine experience and first time out of the US period was to Chile in 08! It is so amazingly beautiful there and I am absolutely positive you will love it. Vinedos Organicos Emiliana is incredible! They are biodynamic and I know a lot of people and I believe even you aren't really into that or share that belief. But, they are so passionate about it there that it's kind of cool :) Also a girl I went to college with, her family owns Via wine group in Talca if you'd want to check that out too. Really friendly amazing people! Have fun!
Thanks, Jan! Emiliana is on the list – the itin. is closed but they're on there (and I have about a case of samples from them back home that I've yet to taste! :-). Cheers!
Hey man can't wait to hear more of your adventures out there in the South America. So cheers to your trip and to more wine tasting that’ll just blow your mind off. The people out there at where you’re going would sure have a blast showing you around.
Thanks, Jack! I will try to represent the bloggah crowd with some respectability (but only *some*! :-).
I'd love to hear what you think of Leyda, if you can get up there…
I am pretty sure they're on the list, David. Cheers!
Be sure to taste some Bonarda when in Mendoza. For some reason they don't export much of this fabulous wine. Talk about green, this one can be if the vineyards are not properly cared for or harvested too late. But when the wine is made correctly, it kicks ass!
Thanks, Joe – Good call, I did a piece on a S. American Bonarda for the NFL playoffs not too long ago. Cheers!
Hi Joe – do you have Pulenta or Vina Cobos on the list of wineries you're visiting?
Hi Rebecca – sorry, nope. :(Apologies to all for not posting the itinerary but it only just got finalized yesterday. :)Cheers!