Chile Wines for Chilly Picnics. With Chili?

The only comfort is that our average English summer is perhaps preferable to desperately trying to keep cool in temperatures of 40 degrees and above! Being British, we soldier on in spite of

the weather and only last week I had the memorable experience of huddling around a barbecue on a beach in Cornwall in the fog wearing a thick jumper and waterproof jacket.

Bliss! The coastal path picnic was marginally better after the horizontal drizzle had abated.

So, if the weather for your barbecue or picnic is looking distinctly chilly, there is only one course of action.

Drink some wines from Chile!

One of the top producers of Chilean wines is Errazuriz, a family business founded in 1870 and one of the world’s most admired wine brands several years running, as judged by Drinks International.

Based in the Aconcagua Valley, with estate vineyards greatly influenced by the proximity of the Pacific Ocean, this family-owned winery creates exciting, modern wines in a cooler Chilean climate, searching out the perfect combinations of soil, microclimate and

grape variety.

The Aconcagua region benefits from cool ocean breezes, together with abundant sunshine, producing ripe, fresh, crisp wines expertly crafted by the Errazuriz winemaking team.

Producing a broad range of wines, the highest quality nudging some top wines of Burgundy in terms of quality, their ‘Anyday’ Estate Reserva range is priced at just under £10 per bottle, sometimes with offer prices less than this, which makes remarkable value.

Errazuriz Estate Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2022 is a crisp, dry white, with good varietal character and a style sitting between sauvignons from France and New Zealand.

Tropical fruit notes together with citrus and granny smith apples, with a refreshing, crisp finish.

Fairly widely available in supermarkets, such as Tesco and Asda. Errazuriz Estate Reserva Pinot Grigio 2022 is a little trickier to find in the shops, but currently available from Amazon with next day delivery through Prime, at £9.95.

Deliciously fruity with pear and gala apple flavours, lemon zest and a floral aroma from a variety more often associated with Italy.

Two Chilean whites perfect for a chilly picnic, pairing well with cold meats, pork pies, salmon paté and ham sandwiches with a touch of chili jam!

Should your preference be more for a red wine, then Errazuriz Estate Reserva Pinot Noir 2022 could be the wine for you.

Happily, this can be served slightly chilled, so no transport problems for your picnic. Very lightly oaked, this is a juicy, fruity light red, with aromas and flavours of red cherry, raspberry and strawberry fruit.

Soft tannins, allowing an interesting pairing with salmon or tuna and avocado salads. Find it widely available – Tesco, Waitrose, Asda, Majestic.

Errazuriz Estate Reserva Carmenère 2020 is from a red variety which has become perfectly adapted to the Chilean climate.

A ‘meatier’ wine than the Pinot Noir, it is full-bodied and rich, with mellow tannins and aromas of black pepper and raw tobacco, deep, plummy fruit on the palate. £11.15 on Amazon Prime.

The ideal accompaniment to warm, chili flavoured sausages, served from a wide necked thermos as you shelter under a large umbrella!

All four wines come in convenient screw-cap bottles, so you don’t even have to remember the corkscrew!

Richard Esling is a wine consultant, agent, writer and educator. He runs agency and consultancy WineWyse, is founder and principal of Sussex Wine Academy and is chairman of Arundel Wine Society