Talk-A-Vino

Here is where it gets interesting. We all heard of wine geeks, people who get excited about little nerdy wine details, such as vineyard blocks, blending methodology, or amphorae versus cement tank aging. And then you have the wine lovers, aficionados – the people who simply go after the hedonistic pleasure of wine drinking. Can these two personas be happy at the same time? I can’t speak for all the wine people with multiple personalities, but I can definitely answer for this one, the moi. I attended Descorchados 2025 tasting of South American wines, and both inner geek and aficionado were happy.

Just in case you are curious, DescoRChadOS is a guide for the wine of South America, published since 1999. Descorchados also runs wine tasting events dedicated to the wines of South America, and the 2025 event was the first return of the tasting to New York City since 2019.

As a self-appointed wine geek, I love all the uncommon wine traits – new (to me) and lesser-known grape varieties, new (to me) and unknown, even obscure places, authentic (indigenous, autochthonous) grapes, low intervention/natural wines, unique wines and vineyards (e.g. old vineyards). In this tasting, I found all of these things – indigenous, unknown (and thus new to me) grapes harvested from the 200-year-old vineyards, from the countries I had never tasted the wines from before. Happy, happy, happy wine geek.

And then there were world-class, beautiful, delicious, hedonistic wines – Malbec, Syrah, classic method Sparkling wines – all in the same tasting. As I said, both geek and aficionado were very happy.

Let’s start with the unique portion first, as I had a chance to attend the masterclass presenting the historical wines of South America.

When it comes to wine from South America, Argentina and Chile are the two countries that come to mind first, followed by Uruguay and maybe Brazil. But the grapes had been growing in most of the South American countries for a long time, with vineyards usually started by European immigrants. It appears that the oldest vineyard in South America is called Tacoma and it is located in Perú, originally planted by Spanish immigrants in the 1540s.

I don’t know if a grape vine can survive for 500 years and continue to bear fruit. However, I now know that 200-year-old vineyards can still produce grapes, as I had an opportunity to taste the wines made with grapes harvested from 200-year-old vines.

In the masterclass, we tasted 6 wines from 3 countries – Perú, Bolivia, and Chile, some of them produced from the unique grapes I never had before, so thanks to this tasting I can now add two countries to my list of Wines around the World, and increase the grape count by 3 – picture happy collector of experiences.

Here is what we tasted in the masterclass – but before the notes, just take a look at these colors! This tasting was definitely a feast for the eyes!

2024 Bodega Murga Ponte Mosca Pisco Perú (12.5% ABV, 34% Moscatel de Alejandría, 33% Moscatel Rosada, 33% Moscatel Negra, 65 days of skin contact)
Pisco is located south of Lima, capital of Perú, 25 minutes away from the Atlantic Ocean, featuring 4 different soil types in the region.
I can’t even comment on the color (beautiful!). The wine had a wonderful nose with explicit nutmeg and a hint of grapefruit. Interestingly dry and tart on the palate, with blood orange on the finish and pure acidity. A great specimen of skin contact wine, but you have to love skin contact. Will be great with seafood.

2024 Bodega Murga Sophia L’Orange Perú (10% ABV, 85% Quebranta, 15% Mollar grapes, 30 days of skin maceration, indigenous yeast)
Muted nose with a hint of smoke, strawberries, sapidity. Smokey strawberries on the palate with salivating clean, crisp acidity on the finish. I absolutely love it, but this is not the wine for everyone (geeks should be happy, though).

Just look at these colors!

2023 Jardín Oculto Negra Criolla Finca Molle Pampa Cinti Bolivia (200! years old vineyard, 100% Negra Criolla, a.k.a. Listán Prieto a.k.a. País)
Cintis Valley is located in the south of Bolivia, at 7,500 feet altitude, 18” of rain a year – the only place in Bolivia where you can find “winter” for the grapes.
Fresh, crisp, underripe crushed raspberries on the nose. Tart, acidic, with sapidity well present, and with a bitter finish. I can drink it, but this is not your everyday wine; too bitter for me (my palate is particularly sensitive to bitter notes).

2023 Yokich Imporeña Vino Blanco Cepas Cententarias Valle de Cinti Bolivia (13% ABV, 100% Imporeña grape)
What a color! Honey and roasted meat on the nose (yeah, I know, don’t say it), somewhat cloying.
Good acidity on the palate, but I’m not sure this is the wine I want to drink again

2022 Roberto Henriquez Molino Del Ciego Itata Valley Chile (13% ABV, 100% Semillon, 100 years old vineyard)
Jalapeño pepper on the nose, bell peppers and spicy peppers on the palate, good acidity. I’m now hungry. Might be the most unusual rendering of Semillon I’ve ever tasted.

2021 Roberto Henriquez Santa Cruz de Coya Bio Bio Valley Chile (11.5% ABV, 100% País, 200 years old vineyard)
Lightly scented red fruit on the nose, explicit minerality, fresh acidity, tart strawberries, acidity on the finish. This is the wine from the 200-year-old vineyard – very impressive.

Here are the results of the masterclass: 3 new grapes, 2 new countries to add to the list, beautifully colorful wines, lots of geeky excitement (when was the last time you tried wine from a 200-year-old vineyard?).

Then there was a regular tasting with more than 200 wines represented – I didn’t have much time to spend there, but I managed to find some very tasty wines – sparkling and still. Here is the list of the wines I enjoyed outside of the masterclass:

NV Estrelas do Brasil Brut Método Tradicionel
NV Estrelas do Brasil Nature Rose Pinot Noir – superb!
NV Guatambu Nature – excellent
NV Cave Geisse Nature Método Tradicional D.O. Altos de Pinto Bandeira
2020 Neyen Espiritu de Apalta Malbec Colchagua Valley – classic!
2021 Emiliana Coyam Los Robles Estate Valle de Colchagua – excellent but needs time
2021 Emiliana Gê Valle de Colchagua – ready to drink now, delicious

2015 Casa Marin Syrah Miramar Vineyard San Antonio Valley Chile – surprisingly delicious (when I think Chile, I don’t think Syrah – but you should look for this wine)
NV Casa Marin Maria Luz Brut Nature San Antonio Valley Chile
2024 Casa Marin Sauvignon Blanc Cipreses Vineyard

That concludes my encounter with the unique world of South American wines – from geeky pleasures to hedonistic masterpieces, South America has a wine for everyone, you just need to look for it.
What were your geeky discoveries as of late? Or how about some hedonistic pleasures you want to talk about? Cheers!