This past Saturday was the first day of the 2011 vintage at Flaherty Wines. Our crush started with Tempranillo again this year, as we picked about two-thirds of the fruit in our little vineyard. The grapes are riper this year than they have been in past vintages, with good sugars and forward fruit characters. This [...]

Flaherty Wines is pleased to announce two new distribution agreements, which will expand the availability of our wine both in Chile and overseas. First, Armonía Wines is a Santiago-based wine club with nearly 5,000 members located throughout the country. The company is in the process of developing a website to facilitate sales to both members [...]

It’s happened again: summer has segued into fall. The days are still warm, but they’ve lost the intensity of summer’s dry heat. The nights are quite cool, the light is changing as the sun moves north, and the morning fog has settled in.  The kids started back to school this week. The country has returned [...]

Fettuccine with greens is such a versatile recipe. Start with a base of chard, golden raisins, and pine nuts, then add whatever else is have on hand. In summer, that might be zucchini and handfuls of basil; in winter, maybe fennel and leeks or even canned sardines. It therefore seemed like a natural choice for [...]

There are a few local wine guides here in Chile, each with a different approach and target audience. One of the most established is the annual Descorchados (uncorked), which recently published its thirteenth edition. Descorchados 2011 is written and edited by wine writer Patricio Tapia, with sommelier Héctor Riquelme consulting on the tastings. This year, [...]

In Chile, having burritos in the vineyard does not imply a picnic. Quite the opposite. The burrito de la vid is a serious pest in vineyards and orchards. The scientific name of this broadnosed weevil is Naupactus xanthogrphus. It is native to South America, but it was introduced into North America at some point and [...]

We are well into spring here in the southern hemisphere, and the vineyard is pushing nicely. It’s very pretty this year, now that we have eliminated all the posts involved in the old trellis system. We left a few posts up for the birds, but otherwise, we have a clear view across the vineyard to the [...]