Wines of Chile, a marketing group, sponsored a “tweet up” which introduced Chilean winemakers to bloggers via video & interactive chat.  The panel of winemakers were all in one room and bloggers from all over the US were on their computers.  By using a chat box, the moderator and the bloggers could see each other’s comments.

It was a jovial group–not stuffy or overly-serious–hardly!  It was like being at a party with friends and discussing the wine, the region, asking questions, learning together.

Here’s some tips for buying Chilean wine:

• 2008 was a near perfect year for growing conditions.  It was a cold winter, then lots of rain.  The canopy (leaves covering the grapes) didn’t grow too much so the grapes had good exposure to the heat and sun.
• You can find really nice wines for under $20 (some as low as $10)
• Carmenere is a difficult grape to pair, in my opinion, look for one that is blended with other grapes.
• Cono Sur is a popular, easy going brand that is a good introduction.  I recommend the ’08 Sauvignon Blanc, San Antonio Valley.

Here’s another post about amazing value wines from other countries.