2016 Ventisquero Grey (Glacier) Las Terrazas Vineyard Pinot Noir

Founded in 1998 by Gonzalo Vial, Ventisquero is a large wine producer in Chile. Gonzalo is the owner of Chile's leading fresh food producer, AgroSuper. The Ventisquero group includes the Kalfu, Ramirana, Yali and Root 1 brands, and owns more than 1500 hectares of vineyards in the coastal Maipo, Casablanca, Colchagua, Leyda, and Atacama regions. Ventisquero's higher-end wine offers are under the Grey, Vertice and Pangea labels. From Grey upwards, consultant winemaking advice is provided by John Duval, the Australian winemaker who for many years was custodian of Penfolds’ Grange.

Chile has produced wine since the 16th century, when Spanish conquistadores brought grape vines and established vineyards. Sweet wines were favored until well into the 19th century, when French immigrants began making dry wines with a decidedly French character. Chile’s long, narrow, coastal geography has made the transportation of wines challenging over the centuries, though today it is a major exporter. To the west is the Pacific Ocean, to the east are the Andes. But the isolation has also meant that Chile vineyards have so far never been attacked by phylloxera, meaning that unlike viticulturalists in many other part of the world, Chilean vineyards can be planted with original rootstock, saving producers the laborious job of grafting vines onto phylloxera-resistant rootstocks. Chile started an appellation system in 1994, and there are five regions each with numerous sub-regions. Chile has attracted investment from European and American producers, including Robert Mondavi Winery, Kendall-Jackson, Lafite-Rothschild and Miguel Torres.

This red wine is relatively light and can pair with a wide variety of foods. The grape prefers cooler climates and the wine is most often associated with Burgundy, Champagne and the U.S. west coast. Regional differences make it nearly as fickle as it is flexible.