Behind the Cork™ - Veramonte Organic Wines from Chile

Veramonte Organic Wines

Earth Day is Friday April 22nd and here’s a great way to celebrate. Veramonte takes seriously how they produce their 100% organic wine.

Veramonte employs organic farming practices, which are essential for helping the planet and the people. Their wines are naturally free of pesticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilizer. Veramonte is committed to doing what it can to create delicious wine while ensuring optimal conditions for growth and sustainability over time.

Veramonte organic wines are from the Casablanca Valley which is part of the Aconcagua Viticultural region in Chile - a region known for its cool climate due to the coastal influence.



2021 Veramonte Organic Sauvignon Blanc ($13.99)

This wine is produced from 100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes. The grapes go straight from the vineyard to the press where the juice is held for 24 hours. It is then racked and fermented in stainless steel tanks to retain the vibrant, fresh crisp flavor. It has bright aromas of lime and tangerine along with subtle floral notes. Its bright acidity leads to a long and refreshing finish.

2020 Veramonte Organic Chardonnay ($13.99)

This wine is produced from 100% Chardonnay grapes that are whole-cluster pressed to obtain the structure provided by the stems. The juice sits for 24 hours before being racked off. Part of the wine is barrel fermented in neutral oak with wild yeast and the rest is fermented in stainless steel tanks. Thirty percent of the wine undergoes spontaneous malolactic fermentation, enhancing the Chardonnay’s softness and creaminess without losing the freshness. It has aromas of pear, quince and lemon along with notes of toasted oak. It is bright and smooth with a long finish.

2020 Veramonte Organic Carménère ($13.99)

Made from 100% Carménère, these grapes are destemmed and cold macerated for five days in stainless steel tanks before being fermented with native yeast. Following fermentation, the wine is macerated with its skins for another ten days to intensity the flavors. It is then aged for eight months in neutral oak barrels. There are flavors of blackberry and plum with hints of pepper that result in a nice light finish.

Veramonte organic wines are a nice accompaniment for spring and summer foods. With these very affordable prices and availability, the Veramonte wines are a great fit as this week’s Behind the Cork™ Wines of the Week. Cheers to Earth Day on Friday April 22nd!

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received these samples at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Samples Provided by Gonzalez Byass (via Donna White Communications)

Wine Fun Fact: What is Élevage?

There are a lot of fancy terms used when describing wine and many of them get thrown around like everyone should know what they mean.

The other day I was reading through some material and came across the term “élevage” and had to stop. What does this mean?

It turns out it is a French word that literally means rearing or raising. It is the process of nurturing wine from its fermentation, to the barrel, to final bottling. And, proper élevage makes all the difference between making superb, rather than merely ordinary wines. Cheers!

A high-level summary of the winemaking steps and factors included in élevage:

Behind the Cork™ - Catena Malbec

2019 Catena Malbec ($15)

World Malbec Day is coming up on Sunday, April 17th, an annual holiday that commemorates the founding of the first agricultural school in Argentina in 1853, which was instrumental in the early cultivation of Malbec in the South American nation. And, here’s a great way to celebrate!

This celebration features the 2019 Catena Malbec and a great book all about Malbec.

The wine is from high-altitude vineyard in Mendoza, Argentina in the foothills of the Andes Mountains.

The book ($24.49 on Amazon) is fun and informative. It is written by Laura Catena and Bodega Catena's oenologist Alejandro Vigil. It tells the story of Malbec, its near extinction, rebirth and in a joyful end, the story of how a plant has elevated the lives of millions of people for over 2,000 years.

This Catena Malbec is produced from 100% Malbec that goes through cold maceration for five days to and then is fermented with wild yeast for 12 days with a post-fermentation maceration of 19-22 days. It then spends 12 months in barrels that are of first, second and third use.

This wine is medium purple in color with aroma of black berry, black cherry, spice and cocoa. On the palate it has nice fruit flavors, medium tannin and medium acidity along with the characteristic easy finish of a Malbec.

At $15 this is a wonderful wine that is fully deserving of being a Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Look for this one and raise a glass for World Malbec Day on April 17th. Cheers!

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received these samples at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Samples Provided by Catena winery (via Nonni Strategic Marketing)

Behind the Cork™ - Alavida Malbec

2021 Alavida Malbec ($19)

World Malbec Day is coming up on Sunday, April 17th, an annual holiday that commemorates the founding of the first agricultural school in Argentina in 1853, which was instrumental in the early cultivation of Malbec in the South American nation. And, here’s a great way to celebrate!

This Alavida Malbec is USDA-certified organic and kosher. It’s also vegan, gluten-free and Ecocert-approved. And, it tastes great!

The name Alavida is composed from the Spanish “to life” which is ‘a la vida.’

The grapes for Alavida are grown above 4000 feet in the Andean foothills of the Uco Valley in Argentina. There, daily temperature swings can be up to 60 F resulting in more natural sugar from the hot days and more acidity from the cold nights - a great recipe for wine making!

The winemaking process for Alavida is almost identical to that used in making a non-kosher wine, with two exceptions. Ingredients such as yeast must be kosher, and the wine must be physically made by a sabbath-observant Jewish team under the supervision of a rabbi. For Alavida that means double the number of people involved: a Jewish team member to handle grapes and wine, paired with a home team member standing alongside and directing. For Alavida, that entailed five duos! Winemaker Rodrigo Serrano gave the work orders; his Jewish counterparts executed them.

This Alavida Malbec is medium purple in color with aromas of red fruit, spices, herbal notes and buttery-oak. On the palate have flavors of red fruits and red raspberry, medium tannin, medium-low acidity, some earthiness and hints of the oak on the finish.

Alavida Organic Kosher Malbec is a wonderful wine that is fully deserving of being a Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Look for this one and raise a glass for World Malbec Day on April 17th. Cheers!

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Samples Provided by Origins Organic Imports and Domaine Bousquet (via Creative Palate Communications)

Behind the Cork™ - Trivento Reserve Malbec

2020 Trivento Reserve Malbec ($11)

World Malbec Day is coming up on Sunday, April 17th, an annual holiday that commemorates the founding of the first agricultural school in Argentina in 1853, which was instrumental in the early cultivation of Malbec in the South American nation. And, here’s a great way to celebrate!

This Trivento Reserve Malbec is from Mendoza’s Bodega Trivento which is tucked away in the towering Andes Mountains of Argentina

The team at Trivento—which means “three winds” in Spanish— sources fruit for the Reserve Malbec from a deliberate mix of new and old vines from two renowned sub-regions in Mendoza: Luján de Cuyo to the north and Valle de Uco to the south.

In Argentina, the term ‘Reserva’ is given to all red wines that have been aged in oak barrels for at least one year.

This Trivento Reserve Malbec is produced from 100% Malbec grapes that are de-stemmed and crushed. Maceration occurs prior to a 20-day fermentation in stainless steel tanks. It then undergoes natural malolactic fermentation before 20% of the wine is aged in French and American oak for six months.

This Trivento Reserve Malbec is deep purple in color with aromas of black cherry and plum. On the palate it has soft tannin, moderate acidity, vanilla and caramel flavors from the oak, and a light finish.

At $11 this is a wonderful wine that is fully deserving of being a Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Look for this one and raise a glass for World Malbec Day on April 17th. Cheers!

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Samples Provided by Trivento (via Jarvis Communications)