The world has spent a lot of time lavishing praise on the wines of Argentina and particularly the Mendoza Valley.

But across the South American continent is Chile with its Colchagua Valley. There are great Cabernets, Syrah and many other wines making their way around the world from this long narrow country on the continent’s west coast.

More and more Carmenere has become Chile’s calling card. Like so many grapes which have become great wine varietals, Carmenere comes from the Medoc area of Bordeaux. It was used as a blending grape and much like Argentinian Malbe it’s now scarce in France and flourishing south of the border.

The largest concentration of Carmenere is in South America. Tonight I opened a 2005 bottle of Casa Sliva Carmenere Reserve. I paid a tidy $14.99 at West Lafayette’s Village Bottle Shoppe.

This wine had a mild but fruity taste with low acidity but enough tannin to give you a mouthful of texture.

Casa Silva was founded in the late 1800s by French wine icon Emilio Bouchon. Today the Silva family is in its fifth generation as wine makers. Many of their vineyards are nearly 100 years old, brought over from France.

Silva has been widely recognized in Chile as the country’s best Carmenere producer.

Most Carmenere can be found from $7 and up. While I paid a reasonable $15 for the Silva Reserve Carmenere, I did see the same wine pushing $20 on various web sites. The critics seem to like the Silva wine. Guru Robert Parker gave this specific vintage 90 points in Wine Advocate.

This was a nice bottle of wine and if you see Casa Silva wines I’d definitely recommend giving them a try. I have had a good bit of Carmenere and frankly I have a hard time describing it. It’s pleasant, and easy to drink – but I can’t put a finger on the fruit from this wine for some reason. And it often needs a little oxygen before the taste really becomes enjoyable – at least for me.

But I think it’s a great value wine you should try. Many wine shops will have a Carmenere or two or four. If you’re always on the hunt for a good value wine you won’t go wrong with Casa Silva or a Chilean Carmenere by any of the country’s Colchagua Valley producers!

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The more you drink and the more you learn about wine, you find yourself looking for bottles that are a “true representation” of the grape.

Zinfandel is usually a big, high-alcohol wine with a mouthful of fruit and a pepper finish. On Super Bowl evening I opened a bottle of Renwood 2005 Old Vine Zinfandel. And the Renwood was a fine Zin for $14.99. I bought it at Cork and Cracker, Indianapolis.

Click here for the winery’s notes.

I like the big Zins with real big fruit on the first sip to a big peppery finish at the back. I don’t like the really, really high alcohol Zins. This one is a really good representation of Zinfandel. Their wines are in most wine shops. I found this particular Zin priced anywhere from $13.59 to $19.95, so I felt good about the $15 I paid in Indianapolis.

The Renwood is a nicely balanced, spicy-flavored wine that held up to my Super Bowl chili and to an overnight in the fridge! What more can you ask?

A note to newcomers or those not familiar with Zin. Be wary of some California Zins that are off the charts high on alcohol. The Renwood is 15 percent alcohol and that is substantial, but you’ll find California Zins at 16 and 16.5 – you can feel the burn in the throat. A couple of glasses of wine at that alcohol point should be plenty for anyone!

This is a wine I’d buy over and over when in the mood for Zins. At the price, it’s a great bottle of wine!

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Just watched Super Bowl halftime with a glass of Renwood Zinfandel! My birthday is this week, and though I’m younger than Bruce Springsteen (not much) – he makes 59 look and sound good!

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Call it Pinot Noir or call it Burgundy, you usually just don’t find inexpensive French wine by either name.

I dropped some serious bucks on Pinot Noir when I visited Oregon July 2008, so imagine my surprise when browsing the Bottle Shop, W. Lafayette, and found a Joseph Drouhin Pinot Noir for $15!

First, Drouhin is one of the major names in French Burgundy. Joseph Droughin founded the winery in 1880. And not only do they have their famous landmark winery in France, but also have one of Oregon’s Wilammette Valley’s most famous Pinot Noir wineries as well.

As opposed to many French wines, Drouhin recommends drinking this wine young. It’s a bright and light-flavored Pinot. I got some raspberry on the palate and a very smooth, enjoyable finish. It definitely has some great structure and the taste is what I would call refined. It’s not a big Pinot by any imagine, remember the price point! But this is a very enjoyable bottle of wine.

Though it is obviously Drouhin’s lowest end wine, the fact outstanding winemakers are behind it really shines through.

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I’ve pledged to break out of my rut and go exploring. Today I had to run to Indianapolis so I visited one of my favorite wine shops – Cork & Cracker on 62nd, near Keystone. Ashley, the proprietor, was in the house and recommended about 5 of the six wines I purchased.

The first one she picked up was a Syrah from Chile. I have suggested in my newspaper column and in this blog that you should follow the recommendations of your wine shop personnel. I’m glad I did today.

She was so enthusiastic about a 2005 Viu Manent Secreto Syrah from Chile that I had to open it tonight. I seered a ribeye seasoned with my favorite rub, finished it in the oven and enjoyed with the wine.

I found this wine online for $11 to $19 and even higher. I paid $14.99 at Cork & Crakcer.

It was about as big a Syrah as I’ve ever experienced at this price point. It had a big jammy mouthful on the front end and smooth but identifiable tannins on the finish. It was really a great glass of wine.

It was a crazy dark, inky wine in the glass with a a moderate nose. It had a mouthful of flavor, smooth and meaty feel. I loved it.

A little research told me this Chilean winery is like many in South America. Foreign winemakers are flocking to South America to buy up vineyards to make wines. New Zealand winemaker Grant Phelps is the man behind this syrah. He arrived in Chile in 2001 after working for two different Australian wineries.

This wine has won international recognition – a Gold Medal at an international wine show in Brussels, Belgium, in 2007. The judges gave it 94 points on the standard 100-point scale.

The judges said: “Vividly coloured and fragrantly scented, it’s deep, dark and savoury yet fruity and ripe with jammy red and black fruits, fine velvety tannins, a rich meaty finish and a succulent aftertaste.”

Find it and buy it if you like Syrah! A great, great wine for $15.

Thanks Ashley!

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It’s a Saturday night and I had a taste for some Pinot.

Pinot Noir is probably my favorite wine. The problem is I’ve tasted enough now that I really LOVE the big ones. The great Pinot Noir. I traveled to Oregon in July 2008 and was fortunate to spend a couple of days in the Willamette Valley. The Pinots there are amazing – but not cheap.

I brought back 8-9 bottles of great Oregon Pinot. And if you see one buy it. If you see an Oregon Pinot and it says “Dundee Hills” – definitely buy it.

But I digress. This evening I opened a good value Pinot Noir – Mark West 2007 Pinot. First, there is no Mark West. Second, I’ve had this wine several times at home. It’s frequently on bar and restaurant menus.

West Pinot is a pretty good value Pinot Noir. The thing I do like about it is that you get a true Pinot flavor and full characteristics though it is a bit thin. But, I paid 9.95 for this bottle at World Market in Indianapolis. How can you beat that? Normally this wine is $12-13-14 in many places.

It does have a pretty strong nose for a light-tasting wine and that’s always a big plus with Pinot. There is nothing in the world like the beautiful “stink” of a great Pinot Noir.

The remarkable thing is that this is a well balanced wine at such an affordable price. It’s widely available. If you want to try some Pinot and wonder why regular wine drinkers sing its praises, you could do worse than Mark West.

I had about a glass before pairng it with two small roasted chicken breasts. One was just just salt and pepper and the other had a spice rub. It was okay with the food. I also had it with a small piece of 60 percent chocolate after the chicken. It didn’t hold up to the chocolate at all. (By the way, my next wine column will be on wine and chocolate!)

I’d recomment Mark West as a great intro Pinot, a great Pinot at a bar, a great value Pinot all by itself. It’s not a $55 Domaine Serene from they Dundee Hills by any measure. But it’s drinkable value wine that’s easy to find at most wine shops.

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I have never had much Petite Sirah. I have enjoyed many Syrahs and the beautiful wines from the French Rhone Valley area.

But I bought a bottle of 2005 Guenoc Petite Sirah (Lake County) Saturday at the Bottle Shop in Lafayette for a reasonable $12.99. I did find the wine online for anywhere from $10-$14.

It has the fruit-forward taste of Syrah, a nice but perhaps restrained nose, and very nice but not over-powering tannins. Petite Sirahs are usually anything but – usually they are really big, dark wines. This certainly had a bigger fruit flavor at the front of the palate than all the Malbecs I’ve been drinking lately, but not as big as many other Syrahs I have enjoyed. It did go down smooth and enjoyable.

Some Syrah and Petite Sirah can be real fruit bombs – a big ol mouthful of wine the minute it hits your mouth. This one wasn’t that, but a nice bottle at the price point.

Sometimes you have a “funky” mid-palate quality to wines. I’ve never found the right words to describe that until opening this bottle. While doing a little online research, I read a review that called the finish a little “dusty.” While that may sound a little odd, it seems accurate to me.

And for the newbies, Syrah and Petite Sirah are two totally different grapes. Petite Sirah has been grown in California for several decades. The big ones will really hit you as a fruit bomb with a big peppery finish. This wine had those characteristics in a more subdued fashion.

I had the wine this evening with a turkey loaf. I think it would do fine against burgers, and simple meat dishes. It might be big enough against a steak, but not for me.

The one thing about this wine is that it makes me want to explore more Petite Syrah. I have decided its time to emerge from my Malbec love affair and get back to exploring different wines.

Oh and one more note, and Lake County is nestled at the north end of its better known cousins Sonoma and Napa.

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Argentina gets all the raves and press when it comes to South American wines, but Chile is carving a great niche as well – particularly in the value wine market.

Tonight I opened a bottle of 2007 Palo Alto Reserve. The wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (65%), Syrah (10%), and Carmenere (25%). So you have some big grapes contributing to this widely-available red.

Even though the Carmenere represents just 25%, I compared the wine to the Carmeneres I have tasted. Maybe that’s just a Chilean style, but it was quite smooth. The Syrah popped out on the finish with a little, but not strong, hint of pepper.

It’s one of those deep purple reds with a nice nose that you can really get in there and appreciate.

I always pour a glass and drink most of that first glass before doing research and writing these entries. I want my comments here not to echo those of others, but to be an honest assessment. I found the wine well-structured, very smooth and easy to drink with just enough going on to be interesting.

The reviews I found online ranged from good to bad, which is always interesting. Well-established wine writers and bloggers went from “thin” to calling the 2005 reserve their “best value wine of the year.”

At $11-$16 its well worth trying. I bought this wine at The Bottle Shop in West Lafayette, on the bypass. It is widely available across the country. I’d be anxious to try some of there other reds for comparison purposes.

This was a very nice bottle of wine, not great, but worth the money spent. And that’s about all I ask of a $11.95 bottle on a Monday night! I’d recommend it as a great pairing with any hearty food.

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On my first-ever trip to San Francisco in 2006, I checked into my hotel on the first night in town and hurried to check out the immediate area within easy walking distance.

Down an alley just off Taylor Street in Union Square I found The Hidden Vine wine bar. I looked over their extensive menu of wines. My waiter, in the cellar-like room adajcent to the Fitzgerald Hotel, recommended I try the Bonarda. I had never heard of the grape.

I tried a glass and loved it. I ordered a bottle that was low $20, drank about half and took the bottle back to my hotel – which I was told was perfectly legal. I loved the wine. I have found just one 100 percent Bonarda since and it was disappointing.

But Friday night I opened a 2005 Dante Robino Bonarda and soon remembered why I loved this wine so much. But, it’s very strange that I had a totally different experience when pairing it with dinner. Read that update at bottom of posting.

It’s a refined wine that immediately catches your attention with the nose where you can detect the oak. It is nice bright fruit on the palate and even and a really smooth finish. Much of what I’ve read about the grape talks about a hint of smoky flavor. I didn’t really get that with this wine but it doesn’t matter. This was good juice.

I bought this bottle at Cork and Cracker in Indianaplis for a ridiculously low $11.95. I found it online for up to $14. I say the price was ridiculously low only because of the quality. I know that I’m catching myself praising wines that are ‘better than their low price’ but this one knocks that concept out of the park.

It’s the perfect combination of smooth and big for an inexpensive wine. There is some wow factor with this dark purple juice.

I did find the Dante Robino website and a little about them there and on the web. It’s a very old winery located on the banks of the Mendoza River in the valley about 600 miles northwest of Buenos Aires. They grow nearly a 1,000 acres of Malbec, Bonarda, Tempranillo, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir.

And borrowing from the website and research: “Dante Robino was born in 1995 in Canelli, a small town in northwest Italy’s Piomonte Region. After learning the art and sckill of winemaking from his family, he immigarated to Argentenian in 1920 and established the winery that still bears his name on the slopes of the Andes.”

This wine has picked up honors in a couple of different national and international competitions. Do I like it? I’m considering calling C&C to ask if they have any of this beauty left in the shop and hold me a half case or more!

(A POSTSCRIPT): Two nights, one bottle and two wildly different experiences with this wine. Friday night I had the wine with simple red sauce pasta .. not kicked up at all. I didn’t like it with the pasta. Actually, it was simple bottled red sauce and ground turkey. The wine didn’t pair well at all. It was acidic and tannic and for lack of better words – very “oaky”. I’m guessing the acidity of the tomato sauce led to this odd reaction.

You never quit learning with wine!

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I just don’t spend adequate time promoting the newspaper column or blog, but I took an evening this week and did some work and research.

I has happy to find a couple of Indiana-based blogs and a couple more referred to me by some Hoosier bloggers. I linked Charles’ Indiana Wine Blog on the left column here. He writes about Indiana wineries and wine. It would be a great resource when you head to the grocery or Indiana wine shop to buy Indiana product. Also would be great if you plan some winery visits.

He responded and put me on to a couple of other blogs. David Honig, Indianapolis, writes two blogs that are very interesting and a little different. Honig’s first effort is 2 Days per Bottle. In that blog he takes a wine and compares the taste from the day he opened the bottle to how it tastes 24 hours later. It’s a really great read.

His other blog is equally unique, though perhaps for the only real geeky wine drinkers among us. It’s called The 89 Project. If you are into wine then you’re familiar with Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast’s 100-point rating scales. The magic number always seems to be those 90-point-plus wines. Everyone wants them. But what happens to those 89 point wines? They’re often the same price point as the 90-pointers, and how can one subjective point make a difference? Well, that’s exactly what Honig and other wine bloggers and journalists do in The 89 Project. They review 89 point wines.

Finally, is one of the great wine blogs you’ll find anywhere and that is Hoosier Jeff Lefevere’s Good Grape – A Wine Manifesto. His blog has been recognized by regular readers as one of the best. And if you haven’t Google-searched wine blogs, there are hundreds and hundreds of wine blogs out there.

Good Grape is a sophistcated, fun site with a whole lot going on. Give it a look.

Happy reading and sipping!

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