Exactly when is not known for sure but it is believed that the first vineyards were planted in South America in 1551 and the first wine made in 1555. Oddly enough, in Peru! This is 70 years before proper wine was made in North America. How great it was is perhaps dubious, with today’s standard.
The grape variety was listan prieto, originating from Spain. The grape is almost forgotten in Europe but is experiencing a revival in Chile and Argentina. Today, it goes under the name criolla chica in Argentina, país in Chile (and mission in California). It is one of the leading personalities in the new trend towards lighter, fresher and elegant wines at the same time that it is a monument to wine history.
Other grapes play the leading roles these days (malbec, cabernet, carmenere, sauvignon, chardonnay…), but when you come to South America it is a must-try. Travelling to the wine regions in Argentina and Chile gives an interesting perspective on the wine world.
They made wine here before the great and famous wine chateau in Bordeaux were born. Come with us and discover these great wines and wine countries.
Come on this exciting wine tour to Argentina and Chile with Britt and Per of BKWine, one of the world’s leading wine tour operators (*).
- Chile-Argentina, 13-26 January 2025
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- The Chile-Argentina wine tour will be back in 2026. Contact us for info.
(*) And the only one who has authored 13 award-winning wine books.
More inspiration:
You can get an even better feeling for what you will experience on this tour if you visit the latest tour’s own Facebook group. Lots of pictures and videos from the tour (join the group and you’ll get an update when we post new contents): The wine tour to Chile and Argentina 2023.
Or you can follow us in “real time” and participate virtually by joining the Facebook group for the 2025 Argentina-Chile wine tour.
