A Taste of South America with Terra Andina

Before WBC rolled around, I had the opportunity to taste through some wines from Terra Andina.

These wines are for what I’d refer to as “introductory” wines. All of us wine geeks have that one friend who says, “I want to get into wine, but I don’t want to spend a lot of money.”

Personally, depending on what they like, I’d direct them towards these wines. They’re affordable, drinkable and an excellent introduction to South American wines.

– 2012 Sauvignon Blanc: On the nose, there are bright floral and citrus notes. The citrus carries through to the palate with a nice lemon note and some grassy/herbal undertones.

NV Terra Andina Moscato – This is *sweet*. All you sweet wine fans, this is for you! For those of you who like a little acid in your wines, either grab some grapefruit juice/grapefruit bellini mix or pass this one up. There’s a sweet tropical fruit note on both the palate and nose on this one. I failed to get a picture of the bottle before I recycled it. *Sorry*.

– 2011 Carmenere – This was my favorite wine of the bunch. On the nose, there were notes of dark plum & cherries. On the palate, there’s chocolate & dark berries with a good, balanced acidity and soft tannins.

– 2011 Malbec – On the nose of this one, there was an interesting mix of menthol/eucalyptus & blackberries. As I let air into it, the menthol/eucalyptus went away. The blackberries carry through to the palate. The finish is a nice, lingering one.

– 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon – On the nose, there is dark chocolate and vanilla. The palate has the vanilla again, but adds a dark cherry component. It’s a good wine, but it needs one of two things…a good solid hour of decanting or age.

I’ve found the Terra Andina wines in the Portland area at New Season’s Market for around $15 (specifically, I’ve seen it at the Fisher’s Landing store in Vancouver, but I’m sure that others have it as well).