Early explorers

When early explorers conquered the new world they quickly established their centres of civilization. In the case of the Spanish, when they conquered the lands of Mexico and South America, they developed trade with their mother country. Initially, all goods including wine were imported and fortunes of silver were returned in trade to Spain. Most likely, wines such as Madeira were exported, as they were fortified with neutral grape spirits to extend their life. When the Spanish and Portuguese populated their new empires, it became impossible to supply all needs from Europe so once established they imported and planted vine stock in zones that permitted viniculture. This facilitated supply of their own needs and the needs of the church.

It was at this time that chocolate was introduced from the new world to Europe.

Again, the church took the lead in the cultivation and development of vineyards, bringing their experience and knowledge to the new vineyards. There are records of plantings in what we now know as Chile, Argentina and Uruguay, dating back to the 15th century. It is worthy to note that the Spanish introduced the grapevine to California and the missions cultivated the vines. Today, we still enjoy their heritage as they left behind existing names such as Mission Hill and St. Francis.

However, during the first 50 years the New World was being settled in the 16th century, Europe endured a devastating series of wars that impacted all nations and completely destroyed the fabric of the civilization of the day.

How this impacted on the central European wine trade is a topic for next week…

This week, I tried the Casa Dea Estates Winery 2009 Chardonnay Reserve ($24.95), created by Paul Battilana; I was delighted by the playful nose of light citrus, caramel and toasted almonds. The palate showed hints of guava and quince with the classic county acidity defining a backbone to the minerality.

Casa Dea Estates Winery is located on Greer Rd. just west of Rosehall.