At a recent dinner, I overheard two friends having a discussion. The first was lamenting that a product made by the company where friend #2 worked had continued to rise in price even though the raw material cost had been dropping. To which the second friend replied that the first law of economics was that supply and demand determine the price of a product, not its production cost.
What impression does Chilean wine leave on you? This was the thought running through my mind as I attended a presentation on Chilean wines by Stefano Gandolini and Cristian Muñoz of GVV Terroirs. That Chile is a reliable producer of affordable varietal wines is indisputable. From the parched Atacama desert in the north to the icy fjords of Patagonia, Chile offers a diverse viticultural landscape. It is also known for its signature red grape variety, Carmenere, and its phylloxera-free vineyards.
One of the most difficult wine topics to delve into is the concept of appellations and classifications. An appellation is a geographically defined area which has legal protection, while a classification is a ranking of wines, most commonly by price or location. Each country has their own appellation system, and there may be multiple classifications even within the same wine region. Because appellations and classifications are man-made structures, they are subject to frequent changes.
