By Herman von Bernhardi

I really enjoy coming back home to Chile, I always have such a good time visiting and spending time with my family and friends, but also, as a wine aficionado, I am happy to drink good wines without paying the crazy prices we pay for them here in Indonesia due to the high taxation policy for alcoholic beverages across much of Southeast Asia.

On this trip my Uncle Jorge, who is also a wine aficionado, and I arranged a visit to one of Chile’s oldest wineries, Vina Undurraga, to learn more about this traditional winery and sample their good wines. We were very interested in tasting and finding out details about their sparkling wines, which are widely available in the Asian region.

Viña Undurraga is located in the heart of the Maipo Valley, around 34 kilometres from the city of Santiago, one of the most famous and prestigious wine regions in the country and world renown for the quality of its wine. It was founded in 1885 by Francisco Undurraga using vines he personally selected and brought from his trips to France and Germany with the help of French viticulturist Monsieur Pressac.

A bunch of ‘freshly’ squeezed pinot noir grapes.

Our guided visit began with a walk in the winery’s wonderful garden, which was designed in the 19th century by the famous French landscape designer Pierre Dubois. We strolled through the vineyards, where we had the opportunity to eat pinot noir and chardonnay grapes, which are hand-harvested and used in the production of their sparkling wines using both the Charmat method in which bubbles are produced in large stainless steel containers, and the champenoise method where bubbles are created inside the bottle.

“Vina Undurraga is located in the most famous wine regions in the country and world renown for the quality of its wine.”

Our well-informed tour guide Don German has been working in the winery for almost 30 years and knows it inside out. He invited us to take a look into their modern wine-producing plant and their very traditional and beautifully maintained underground cellars, which date back to 1885. Being in the underground cellar literally felt like traveling back in time. After this it was time for the much-anticipated tasting. We went to the tasting room, where the full range of Undurraga sparkling wines and a good selection of their reserve and premium wines were waiting for us to enjoy. Our sparkling wine tasting began with a bottle of demi sec, which displayed persistent and uniform bubbles and fruity aromas with a fresh and slightly sweet finish. This is their most affordable product and it is produced using the Charmat method.

The second bottle was Undurraga Brut, which is one of the most popular sparkling wines of Chile. Made from chardonnay and pinot noir grapes this brut is fresh, young and delicate with well-balanced acidity and a fresh dry finish. Overall it offers excellent value for money and once tasted it is easy to understand why is becoming one of the most popular sparkling wines in Southeast Asia.

Brut rose, made using 100% pinot noir grapes, was our next bottle and we were not disappointed. Its bouquet reveals red fruity aromas like cherries with delicate floral notes with a palate that is dry with good body and fresh after taste. Our last two bottles were brut supreme and Undurraga Blanc de Noir made from 100% pinot noir. They are both made using the traditional method and they are so close in texture and aromas to champagne that wine aficionados would have hard time trying to notice the differences between these two Chilean sparkling and their French counterparts. Their bubbles are fine and uniform and both have fresh, yet complex aromas with those classic and delicate notes of yeast and toast commonly found in champagne. I have to say that we both really enjoyed these last two bottles; I think they are a more affordable alternative for people looking for good quality bubbles but without giving up quality. The rest of the tasting continued with a selection of some of their best wines, especially the Founder’s collection cabernet sauvignon, a classic Cabernet from the Maipo valley made in honour of Don Francisco Undurraga.

We had set out on a mission to taste, discover and enjoy some of the best Chilean sparkling wines and in the process learned a little bit more about what lies behind the walls of one of Chile’s oldest and most traditional wineries. Mission accomplished.

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