Comments on: Is Carmenere Chile’s Next Big Thing?

By: Saint Stay At Home

Saint Stay At Home — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 21:42:10 +0000

Just picked up number 1 on the list!

By: KeithJ

KeithJ — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:08:48 +0000

As an importer and true believer of Chilean carmenere, I think that the varietal will need to find a much more ubiquitous connection to the American consumer than just by being recommended as matching well with a particular food item, or even a larger ethnic category. The malbec explosion did not come because of a high brow food pairing (perhaps some loose link to grilled beef, which is easy enough for any bold-ish red to claim); nor the CA pinot noir boom after “Sideways”, or what is now the snowballing domestic red blend trend in all suburban grocery stores.

If what we are talking about here is a new red game-changing trend-setter (translation: high volume), then carmenere needs to be accepted with all foods, and as a cocktail wine. I would guess that 98% of Malbec buyers, at the supermarket or World Market or local bistro, are in no way concerned with food match; they want what is safe enough to now call personally familiar, acceptable if shared with neighbors or ordered in front of coworkers, and although in many cases not even close to gastronomically correct, solid and memorable on the palate. Price it right, make the pronunciation simple enough (distributors and merchants, PLEASE stop using the French “nee-yair” for the Chilean versions, it adds an unnecessary and actually incorrect layer of language fear for consumers), and do tastings, tastings, and more tastings everywhere possible – and maybe we can get it to grab hold the ay that it deserves. Then we can start talking fun varietal history and curry vs. chile verde.

My most successful accounts are upscale neighborhood pizza restaurants, where the atmosphere is relaxed, the garlic and cured meat is copious, the prices are right, and a second or third glass ordered is an easy decision. Viva carmenere, salud.

By: Chris (from Terra Andina)

Chris (from Terra Andina) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:28:05 +0000

I have been suggesting and selling Carmenere as going great with Enchiladas, Mole, Tacos, etc. for years. It works well with lots of Chinese foods too (especially dishes that have chile in them.) Carmenere has the highest level of pyrazine of any variety…that is the compound that gives the “bell pepper” quality. (This can be minimized by making sure Carmenere is harvested when fully ripe. But it is never going to go away.) All of these foods with chiles in them work well as they match up to that roasted pepper quality you find in a good Carmenere.

I agree with the original post that Carmenere is still a work in progress. There are some truly great examples but there are too many wineries putting out mediocre Carmenere. One thing to keep in mind is that, although it is a rediscovered variety that has been around for a long time, winemakers and viticulturists have only been working with the grape for 10-15 years. They are still learning a lot about how to get the best results and stay true to the essence of the variety. Believe it or not, the variety has come A LONG way in the last 6-8 years.

By: Mike Veseth

Mike Veseth — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 23:24:22 +0000

I think you are exactly right, Daniel, both from the US marketing perspective and in terms of the food match. Gotta try a Carmenere with a mole soon!

By: Daniel

Daniel — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 23:14:27 +0000

Mike,
Carmenere for Curry will never work here, as so many Americans don’t eat Indian food. (And what about South East Asian curries?).
But, what Carmenere is really great with is Mexican food. There is a dried chile quality to Carmenere that really goes well with the tomato and spices that make up the salsas, mole and sauces like enchilada (made from dried chilis and tomatoes…).
It was a joke of a former boss of mine that any wine that was new that we tasted was “great with tacos.”

I think that since Mexican food is so ubiquitous in this country, especially in the west, that it’s a natural tie in.

By: Tony

Tony — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:37:44 +0000

Another interesting post; just a couple of personal points to add, Firstly, few of us in the U/K have much idea about Carmenère. There’s very little of it in Europe and Chile only began exporting it as a varietal in 2007. Malbec wines on the other hand have long been available from Cahors, so the name and profile were not entirely unfamiliar once Argentina began its Malbec export drive. Secondly, notwithstanding any success that the “Carmenère: Made for Curry” campaign may have had, it strikes me as bizarre given that the term “curry” covers such a wide range of cooking styles and ingredients. You might just as well have “Roast beef: Made for Wine”.

By: bobzaguy

bobzaguy — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:37:51 +0000

I would suggest that to jailbreak Carmenere into the US market, curry is definitely not the way to do it. We don’t know from Indian curry. We do eat SE Asian curry, Thai and so on. But mostly in the big cities.
I would suggest that the Chilean people think about promoting the foods of Latin America for their specialty grape. We do eat tons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, TexMex, Argentine, Ecuadoran, Peruvian foods every day and Cabernet just doesn’t make it seem regional with most of those foods.
The wineries that have an interest in promoting their wines with foods will have their family backgrounds to look at and find foods that they like to eat with their wines. A big plus for today’s wine cognoscenti. And, unlike the French, the US middle class wine drinkers don’t have to be chefs to enjoy the wines with food.
There are a good number of taco joints, including TacoBell, around outside the big cities in the US. A surprising number of Midwest states have quite sizable Latino populations these days. Thirteen of the 50 wards in Chicago have a majority of Latino residents now. Chile can play to that diversity easily, as they already speak the language.
The whole rank of southern states are a taco paradise. Granted it is also the stomping grounds of Budweiser and Coors, but this is a cuisine that Carmenere can relate to in more ways than it can with curry.