Ever feel confused about what wine to buy in Colombia? Ever stand in the wine store or supermarket and say to yourself, “Argentina, Chile, Spain … hey, where are all the wines I know?”
If so, you’re not alone. All of us expats in Colombia have had confusing moments in the wine section.
Thankfully, there’s a wine guide to get us through it – Vinos Selectos (the bad part is that it’s only published in Spanish this year). The guide, published in conjunction with the Colombian Sommelier Association, presents the best wines on the Colombian market, ranking them based on blind tastings done by professional sommeliers here in Colombia.
These blind tastings resulted in ratings that go from 1 to 100, and only wines that scored over 80 were included in the book. The countries featured were Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Argentina, Chile, and the United States. Less common wines from Peru, Uruguay, and Colombia are also mentioned. The guide also presents the tasters, so you know who is qualifying the wine.
The book goes over basic wine concepts, with illustrations and infographics to drive the point home. For most expats, the interesting part starts from page 66, where the wine listing starts. Each country is presented with a brief overview of its wine production, some interesting statistics, and maps. The wines selected from that county are listed with a picture of the bottle, making it easier to recognize the label, and the score each bottle received and the price range are clearly stated.
Here you can check out one of the nifty Wine infographics from Vinos Selectos Colombia.
And the winners were…
The best on the Colombian market
97 points: Quinta de S. Sebastião Reserva 2011 (Portugal)
Runners up
96 points: Lepore Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Riseva Luigi 2005 (Italy)
96 points: Mina Velha Selection Rojo Tinto 2011 (Portugal)
96 points: Taylor’s 10 años (Portugal)
96 points: Taylor’s LBV 2007 (Portugal)
96 points: VT Valtravieso 2009 (Spain)
And still good at a score of 95 …
95 points: Albret Reserva 2008 (Spain)
95 points: Banfi Chianti Classico Riserva 2008 (Italy)
95 points: Domaine Bousquet Gran Reserva Malbec 2011 (Argentina)
95 points: Le Calvane Matriarca 2005 (Italy)
95 points: Quinta do Crasto DOC Reserva 2008 (Portugal)
95 points: Waterstone Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 2004 (USA)
The best white
94 points: Pazo Señorans Albariño 2011 (Spain)
The best red
93 points: De Martino Gallardía del Itata Cinsault 2013 (Chile)
The guide also lists wine importers and how to contact them directly (eliminating the middleman is always good).
To buy the guide (for COP30.000), get in touch with the editorial house, Global Editora, at comercial@globaleditora.co.
For those of you who are serious about wine and interested in taking a course, Colombia even has a wine school (courses presented in Spanish).
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