In Chile, it is Pisco, a traditional grape brandy that has been made for centuries in the northern regions of Chile.
It’s considered Chile’s national spirit and Chile legally protects pisco as a national product.
This means it can only be produced in certain regions of the country, similar to how Champagne is protected in France.
Of course, we had to go check it out, for educational reasons.
And then there are those that are nondiscriminatory and like
them all. Or, don’t like any.
Chile is better known for red wine, but, there are also areas where the climate and soil are better suited to grapes for white wines.
The Maipo Valley and the Casablanca Valley are two important wine regions in Chile, but they produce different styles of wine because of their different climates and soils.
It is the climate and topography that grapes thrive on.
We love it too.
So it is no wonder that we love visiting areas with
vineyards.
Chile is world famous for their wines.
There is no way we could go to Chile and not check out the beautiful scenery and vineyards – for purely educational purposes.
Purely for educational purposes. Obviously.
Turns out that vineyards on Vancouver Island have been
producing wine since the 1970’s.
There are now over 30 wineries, most of them small,
family-run estates.
The majority of the vineyards are located in the Cowichan Valley, just over an hour north of Victoria.
With its sunny Mediterranean climate, varied landscape and rich volcanic soil, Sicily produces a wide range of high-quality red and white wines from indigenous and international grape varieties.
For purely education purposes we tested this at two wineries, one in western Sicily and one in eastern Sicily.
Cyprus’ wine making tradition dates back over 5,000 years.
Vineyards contribute to the island’s landscape, culture and economy.
The Mediterranean climate with long sunny days, cool mountain breezes and fertile soil creates ideal conditions for growing grapes.
Vineyards are mostly concentrated in the central Troodos Mountains area where the altitude and terrain contribute to the unique flavor profiles of Cypriot wines.
I certainly didn't.
There are over 100 registered wineries in Montenegro that produce over 50 types of wine!
This small country produces about 17 million liters of wine a year. About 30% is exported.
Wine is one of the most important agricultural products in Montenegro.
The fields have vines with plump juicy grapes ready to be picked.
Well, that can be variable because of temperamental weather.
It had been beautiful sunny weather for weeks, and, the day our friend's vineyard had scheduled grape picking, it rained in the morning and threatened to do so for the rest of the day.
Harvest can be made or broken depending on the weather.
But having said that, I have yet to taste a bad bottle of wine from her vineyard, Chene Bleu.
Tunuyan, south of the city of Mendoza, has high altitude vineyards with the Andes as a backdrop.
The grape vines were heavy with fruit as the end of February is harvest season in the southern hemisphere.
We felt "lucky" one day as the workers were picking in "our" vineyard.
We asked if we could watch for a bit.
I certainly didn't.
The lack of common recognition is because the producers are small and locals consume a large portion of it, which leaves little for export.
There are 3 main wine regions and more than 300 geographically defined wine districts. They produce mostly white wine in the north with red and white wine in the south.
If you like stunning scenery, beautiful weather, vineyards, hiking, boating, wine tasting and great food, you can't go wrong in the Douro Valley.
