Wine’s South American roots

The history of wine in South America is closely linked to the conquest of the Inca Empire. In 1493, the Spanish-born Pope Alexander VI and the Spanish Conquistadors divided South America between Spain and Portugal.

By 1526, Spanish explorer Francisco Pizarro established a foothold on the border of the Inca empire in Panama.With the permission of the Spanish King, Carlos I, he endeavored to gain new lands with less than 200 soldiers. Pizarro overcame resistance with the assistance of steel and germs, which won the affluent New World Empire.These acquisitions funded wars back home in Europe and eventually paid for the Thirty Year War.

The new orders required staples to establish and settle themselves in the new territories; the foremost was wine, which was used both by the clergy in the Catholic service of the Eucharist and for domestic consumption. The first vines were planted in Peru in 1553 with cuttings transported from the Canary Islands. These were the Mission grape varietal known as Pais in Chile, or Criolla in Argentina. It is believed the origin of this grape was known as Listan Prieto, related to the Palomino varietal, which is prevalent in southern Spain in the production of Sherry.

In 1554, the European settlers introduced the first vines in Chile near Santiago. Until that time, all wine was imported through the port of Valparaiso, which was an incredibly long journey that destroyed the wine. This encouraged the plantings of vines in the new lands.

The jewel in the crown was the discovery of the vast silver mine in Potosi in southeastern Bolivia, which was founded in 1546. At one time, this high-altitude mine boasted a larger population than Paris and was the largest city in the New World. Despite the thriving population, no substantial quanties of vines were planted in Bolivia until 1584.Vines were set down in the region of Tarija, which remains the preeminent grape growing area in Bolivia to this day.

I tried several wines to accompany this week’s recipe and I came upon this delightful expression of County Gamay created by Robert Peck of Sugarbush Vineyards. Robert uses only 100 per cent estate-grown fruit to create this versatile, 2009 Gamay ($19), which suits many occasions and menus.

This wine attracts the senses with notes of cherry, ripe red fruit and hints of mace on the nose. The palate is bright red fruit and strawberry with lingering hints of Mexican chocolate. This is a medium bodied wine and is well suited to this time of year.