So in order to get you into the “Dieciocho” (18) spirit, be you in Chile or afar, our Head Winemaker and Executive General Alberto Hurtado leaves you with one of his specialties during these days where spring is unavoidable.

What you´ll need:

• 1 Bottle of Bicicleta Gewürztraminer

• ½ Kilos of Fresh Strawberries

• 40 cc of Añejo Rum

• Powdered Sugar to Taste

Put everything in a blender with lots of ice, blend and enjoy!

Ti-ki-ti-ki-tiii!

Many people find a vineyard during the winter to be a bit ugly, dead. And while surely the scene is much more beautiful with full green leaves and lush ripening grapes, the peacefulness of resting vines is not something to overlook.

Every single outside factor affects the grapes, whose liquid you pour so easily in your glass, and winter is no different. During this period, the vine enters into dormancy, when all of the plant´s energy moves into its roots, protecting it from the cold. This is a special time, a time where winegrowers sculpt the vines, selecting the wood that will bear fruit in the coming year.

And though its quiet, great things are still happening, we just won´t have visual proof until the coming of spring!

We´re craving cozy reds and hearty dishes; we´re not looking to cool down, rather warm up!

So, we´re putting some winter options out there, three recipes taken from our Virtual Sommelier paired with some of our full and complex reds.

- Beef Medallion with Green Quinoa and 20 Barrels Cabernet Sauvignon

- Pork Ribs with Maiz Stew and Reserva Carmere

This wine is pretty special. It comes from the second highest range of Cono Sur wines and is a delicious, Burgundy-style Pinot Noir. To select the wine for 20 Barrels, Cono Sur chief winemaker Adolfo Hurtado gets his winemaking team together and, with the help of French winemaker Martin Prieur, tastes it barrel-by-barrel and according to their tasting notes and the scores each barrel gets, it either makes the cut or doesn’t.

I was fortunate enough to sit in on (and taste) part of this process – it was fascinating to see how the the winemakers’ opinions never vary more than a point or two (they use a 1-20 scoring system).

As someone who has recently begun to love Pinot Noirs and whites over my standard favorites of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, it’s always a treat to sit in on winemaker tastings and see what my palate’s missing and what it’s actually picking up on.

So if you’re interested in tasting it from the winemaker’s perspective, here is a short guided tasting with Adolfo: