We're exploring our third new New World wine region, and what's most striking at this point is what isn't striking about them - they're a hell of a lot more alike than they are different. There was that weirdness of showing up five minutes too early for our appointment at a vineyard in Chile and being kept outside the gates of one vineyard by a guard with a semi-automatic weapon on his hip, but otherwise the similarities overwhelm the differences. There are always mountains nearby (although not always snow-capped). There are always deep blue skies (it hasn't rained on us yet in any of them). The barrels, the stainless steel fermentation tanks, and the bottles are all from the same modern production templates - (the only difference here in En Zed is that there are few if any corks at all - screw tops cover 90-95% of the production - and the steel tanks are all outdoors, not under a roof.) We find ourselves commenting more on how Marlborough is like Sonoma, or Mendoza is like Napa, than about anything unusual about the Southern Hemisphere vineyards vs. those in California.
New Zealand is more prepared than Chile or Argentina to accept drop-ins, even busloads of them, but all three still appear to spend the same amount of money on the front-of-the-house setup as any California winery. Maybe it's the Sideways influence. The well-versed saleswoman at the tasting room for the boutique estate "Bouldevines," across the street from our hotel, implied as much, when she mentioned the movie and how much she loathed it when she first saw it - but how she came to appreciate it after repeat viewings. I think her appreciation was more for the marketing lessons she drew from it than anything else, because you could drop the "Bouldevines" room she was managing onto the grounds any Santa Barbara pinot producer, and Paul Giamatti would look perfectly at home.
There are small differences, of course: in South America we were seeing the vineyards in late summer, and the crush was just beginning by the time we hit Mendoza. Here we're already well into fall, and the harvest is done. The tourist volume has the same "cree-sus" feel, however: we're not the only folks staying out our small hotel, but it's not more than a quarter occupied, and we once again had a dining room to ourselves for dinner last night. Being here midweek when most people are at work or in school also makes a difference at this time of year.
Another small difference: the staff at two of the three places we stopped yesterday - Bouldevines and Alan Scott - were incredibly knowledgeable. Thanks to the general lack of customers, they were also willing to engage us in extended conversation, so we learned a lot more about the region and the wines than we might have at a different time of year. One revelation: oaked sauvignon blanc (or as they say here, "savvy") - something we never see in the States, either from En Zed or anywhere else. Also, we've finally tasted some pinot noirs we like - a varietal from here that we rarely see in the U.S., and one that we've never been big fans of at home, when it comes to California and Oregon producers, at least. Even the Central Otago pinots we've tasted here didn't appeal, but the Marlboroughs we've had in the last couple of days have been much different - more subtle, more balanced.
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