{"id":13734,"date":"2012-03-22T13:54:29","date_gmt":"2012-03-22T18:54:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vinesleuth.com\/uncorked\/?p=1468"},"modified":"2012-03-22T13:54:29","modified_gmt":"2012-03-22T18:54:29","slug":"chilean-wines-matetic-eq-sauvignon-blanc-santa-rita-medella-real-gran-reserva-cabernet-sauvignon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/chilean-wines-matetic-eq-sauvignon-blanc-santa-rita-medella-real-gran-reserva-cabernet-sauvignon\/","title":{"rendered":"Chilean Wines: Matetic EQ Sauvignon Blanc & Santa Rita Medella Real Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon"},"content":{"rendered":"

The topic of last night\u2019s #WineChat<\/a> on Twitter was Chilean wine. And they had me at Chile…<\/p>\n

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I traveled to Chile in 1999 with my then-fiancee and again in 2000, after we were married, and absolutely loved everything about the country. The people were welcoming, the landscape was incredible and the food everywhere was delicious.<\/p>\n

On the first trip, we flew into Santiago and made our very first winery visit ever, right there in the Maipo Valley. After a few days we traveled south the Puerto Natales and also Punta Arenas, exploring glaciers and also the mountains of Torres Del Paine. We then went back closer to Santiago, and stayed in Vina Del Mar and explored Valparaiso. Everything was breathtaking. Our second Chile trip was quicker, and we stayed closer to Santiago, as it piggy-backed a trip to Buenas Aires.<\/p>\n

Ahhhh, what wonderful vacations!! And every single time I open a bottle of Chilean wine, I am taken back to the smiling faces of the people I met in Chile. I am reminded of the crashing waves beneath my hotel room in Vina Del Mar, the fresh seafood, the gorgeous mountains, the kind translator at the winery and the trip that made me know for sure that being married to the guy who is now my husband was going to be a blast.<\/p>\n

So, I\u2019m sure you can tell that when the nice people at Lush Life Productions offered to send me two bottles of Chilean wine to try and consider tweeting about, I did not hesitate for a second.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what I was sent:<\/p>\n

Matetic\u2019s EQ Sauvignon Blanc, which retails at about $17<\/p>\n

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And Santa Rita\u2019s Medella Real Gran Reserva 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, which retails at about $18<\/p>\n

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I wanted to enjoy the wines with food, so I asked Haley of Lush Life Productions what she would recommend. This is what she said:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe wines vary in acidity and pick up salt nicely! Personally, with these wines, I would serve some fruit–berries, green grapes, some lighter cheeses, possibly a bleu cheese, and some dessert, think a salted caramel and dark chocolate, but those are just my suggestions.\u201d<\/p>\n

So I took Haley\u2019s advice and this is the spread I came up with:<\/p>\n

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Although the Twitter chat started at 9 EST, my friend Donna and I got a head start and began pouring at 8 EST. My husband was kind enough to tuck the kids into bed and he joined us as we tasted.<\/p>\n

First, we tried the EQ Sauvignon Blanc,<\/strong> which was from the San Antonio Valley of Chile.<\/p>\n

Donna and I both thought it had a lot of citrus and honeydew flavors and also a touch of pear. It was a perfect wine for waking up our tastebuds, as we agreed it made our mouths water.<\/p>\n

It was incredible to me how my tastebuds reacted with each different bite of food and sip of wine.<\/p>\n

Here are a couple of my tweets on the Matetic\u2019s EQ Sauvignon Blanc:<\/strong> (Remember I had to keep them at 140 characters or less)<\/p>\n