| We
have to thank the New World wine producing countries for giving
the old guys a push in the right direction. The presence of
California, Australia and South Africa pushed the old countries
such as France, Italy, and now Spain and Portugal, to re-evaluate
their methods. The
seventies saw many light and uninteresting wines with very little
or no ageing potential. In the eighties the USA, with California
leading the way, produced concentrated, full-bodied and age worthy
wines. In the nineties, Australia, with its incredible surge
towards quality, wines took over many markets. Producing masses of
superior wines at reasonable prices Australia ate up shelf space
in all price categories.
But what about South America? We
can't forget Chile! Fifteen years ago this country came up with
low priced wines with… flavour! For the average consumer who
regularly purchased French and Italian wines, Chilean reds were
quite a surprise. These reds were inexpensive but offered a
glassful of tasty wine, something we weren't used to! Today, Chile
produces some of the most outstanding wines on the planet. When it
comes to quality, Chile now rivals all the big boys including
California, Australia, France and Italy, unfortunately so are
their prices! Many Chilean reds now fetch incredible prices that
compare with the elite wines of the other highly reputed European
wine producers.
This leads me to search for new
sources of reasonably priced quality wines. South America has the
answer with Argentina and Uruguay. Argentina is well known and has
a large volume of wine to offer. This small country has already
proven that it can produce well-priced fine wines. Quantity
shouldn't pose a problem since it ranks fifth in world production.
Uruguay is smaller but they have begun to truly distinguish
themselves. The Problem is that they have limited production, but
yields are being reduced and the future looks bright.
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