South American Wine and Food Cheat Sheet
Don’t let winespeak get in the way of your enjoyment of South American wine and food.
Here are some key terms to keep in mind as you explore the exciting gastronomy of this vast region. Because cheat sheets have to be short, we’ll focus on the three most commercially significant countries: Chile, Argentina and Uruguay.
Aguardiente
Aguardiente is a type of distilled spirit, not wine. We include it in this list because growers devote sizeable chunk of South America’s grape crop to its production. You can also make it from grain or sugarcane. If you want a powerful aperitif before the wine starts flowing, look no further.
Alluvial
A type of soil found all over the wine-producing world, mainly consisting of pebbles, silt, sand and other organic matter. Vines do well in it because it has just enough nutrients to keep them producing fruit, but it also gives them room to dig their roots deeper into the earth. Thanks to runoff from the Andes snowmelt, Chile and Argentina have large alluvial deposits in their premier wine regions.
When you go to an asado, or BBQ, in Chile, Argentina or Uruguay, prepare to stay a while. It’s the perfect excuse to drink copious amounts of strong red wine, as round after round of meat and vegetables finds its way to your plate from a wood-fired grill.
The second most planted red grape in Argentina, after Malbec. The grape is not French, but Italian in origin. It makes a soft, plummy wine.
Bordeaux blend
Bordeaux may be in France, but Bordeaux’s grapes are grown all over the world. If you’ve heard of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Carménère, you’re in the right spot. Bordeaux blends are made from combinations of these grape varieties. Chile, Argentina and Uruguay produce hundreds of these wines.
Canelones
A Uruguayan administrative department, northeast of the capital of Montevideo. Also home to most of Uruguay’s vineyards. 60% of all Uruguayan wine comes from Canelones.
A Spanish red grape grown most widely in southern France. The grape made its way to Chile in the 1930s, and many of these early plantings still exist. Chile’s “old vine” Carignan wines are rightfully seeing more recognition, led by the Maule Valley’s Gillmore Wines.
A red grape found in many Bordeaux blends. Carménère has all but vanished from its native France, but Chile has proven to be a worthy second home for the grape. The world’s finest examples of Carménère are found here, most notably the Maquis Viola and Apaltagua Grial.
Chimichurri
If you’re eating grilled meat in Argentina and Uruguay, chimichurri is usually nearby. A delicious mix of chopped parsley, minced garlic, olive oil, oregano and red wine vinegar, chimichurri is one of South America’s famous condiments.
Colchagua Valley
A warm, dry, breezy region that is home to some of Chile’s finest Bordeaux blends. The Tinguiririca River is a key reason for the region’s success. The river channels Andean snowmelt, in addition to silts and clays, to the vineyards below. These ingredients create ideal soils for viticulture.
Empanada
A fried or baked pastry filled with seafood, beef and other ingredients. The filling and preparation depends on local tradition. Empanadas are staples of Chilean, Argentine and Uruguayan cuisine.
Gaucho
A common sight in the Argentine grasslands, gauchos are skilled riders who help tend cattle and horses. South American literature celebrates and often idealizes them.
Maceration
The process of letting grape skins remain in contact with juice or wine in order to extract color, flavor and tannin. Red wines wouldn’t be read without maceration. Rosé wines were macerated for a few hours; deeply colored red wines were macerated for weeks.
Maipo Valley
Another of Chile’s preeminent wine regions, famous for Cabernet Sauvignon. This warm region sits just outside the capital city of Santiago. It is home to iconic producers such as Domus Aurea.
Malbec
A French red grape that made its way to Argentina in the mid-nineteenth century. It has become Argentina’s most important wine export. Ricardo Santos is famous for first exporting Malbec wines to the United States.
Mate
A staple of Argentine and Uruguayan social life. Mate is a green tea made from the yerba mate herb. It is not an uncommon sight for friends to pass a cup of mate to each other while having a conversation.
Maule Valley
The largest sub-region of Chile’s vast Central Valley. Commonly associated with bulk wine, it is now home to world-class examples of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carménère and old-vine Carignan. Maule is cooler and more southerly than Colchagua and Maipo to the north.
Mendoza
Argentina’s largest and most important wine region, located at the foot of the Andes. Because Mendoza sits between 800 and 1200 meters (2600 and 3900 feet) above sea level, it is cool enough (but not too cool) for grapes to thrive. Irrigation is critical, but water is plentiful from melted Andes snow.
Mission
The name for the red wine grape Pais in the United States.
MOVI
An association of small, family-owned Chilean wineries who seek to draw attention to their artisanal bottlings.
Pais
The Chilean wine industry starts (but does not end) with the red grape Pais. Formerly used exclusively for bulk wines, careful growing and vinification has turned Pais into fine wine. Check out Gillmore Wines for a top example.
Tannat
A red grape native to southwest France that is to Uruguay what Malbec is to Argentina. Tannat wines are big and bold with dark berry fruit.
Terroir
Why does a Malbec from Mendoza have a different aroma and flavor than a Malbec from Napa Valley? One answer is terroir, the French term that encapsulates how a wine develops its unique qualities. Climate, soil and wind are key components of terroir.
Torrontés
A white grape that makes wildly fresh, aromatic wines. Grown mainly in Argentina, its finest expressions come from the cool, high-altitude Salta region. The altitude helps the wines retain their acidity without sacrificing their distinctive flavor.
VIGNO
An association of 16 Chilean wineries who seek to put Chile’s Maule Valley and its old-vine Carignan wines on the map. Members’ wines must be 1) a minimum of 65% Carignan; 2) farmed without irrigation; and 3) made from vines more than 30 years old.
Vitis Vinifera
The grapevine species behind 99% of the wines we see on store shelves. Malbec, Torrontés, Carignan and Carménère belong to Vitis Vinifera, to name a tiny few.
Zonda
A fierce wind that sweeps down the eastern slopes of the Andes toward the Mendoza wine-producing region. Most common in winter and spring, severe zonda winds can damage vines.
