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Wine has been produced and consumed in Chile since the Sixteenth century. The Spanish settlers planted vineyards over two hundred years ago. A large wave of European immigrates during the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries gave rise to the country's population and contributed greatly to its wine culture. These families that came from Italy, Spain, and France, brought with them new grape varieties and more modern cultivation and wine making techniques. Chileans have always been significant consumers of wine and for many years most of the wine produced there was for the local market. These where light and simple "table wines" for everyday drinking and most producers where focused on quantity not quality. As the demand for quality eventually overtook the yearn for quantity, Chile, more than any other area, took the lead. This place is arguably blessed with the New World's most diverse line-up of grapes, from Viognier, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon to Torrontes, Tempranillo, Malbec and Bonarda. Most importantly, the wines as a whole are of outstanding quality and great values. Jaime Punt Desveus first settled in the city of Valparaiso in 1953 from his home in Catalonia, Spain. He built a very successful business producing and exporting wines all over the world. Today, his son, Antonio, followed the family tradition by creating San Nicolas Wines in 1996 with the objective of selling wines in Chile as well as exporting them over 50 other countries. As it happened, it worked out for both. The Spaniards were not quick to embrace the French varietals. After all, there was a long history of wars between the two countries and probably not much love lost between them. They did, however, embrace many of the grape growing and winemaking techniques improving their own wines in the process. Our selection represents a classic combination of old world flavors with new world technology. Few areas of the world get the minerality and soil components in their Sauvignon Blancs in the same way as the great Sancerre's and Pouilly Fume's of France except this corner of Chile. Here is the purest expression of this incredible grape at a truly amazing price. Wines of this caliber don't come along to often so don't wait too long to stock up. February 2010 Classic Series Newsletter (.pdf)
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