Launching Chilean wines in India, the ambassador from Chile, Mr Manuel Cardenas, attributed it to the natural climatic and geographical conditions there. "The reasons, experts speculate, are the country's natural barriers such as dried Atacama desert in the north, the Antarctic ice in the south, the snowy Andes in the east and the Pacific Ocean in the west," he points out.

Totting up an income of $570 millions (265 million litres) from exports, Chile has become a leading wine exporter.

Showcasing the best from its wineries at the Hyatt Regency to Delhi's diplomatic and corporate world, the leading producers had more than 30 varieties on display. Some of the leading producers were Concha y Toro, San Pedro, Santa Rita, Carmen, Santa Carolina, Montes and Casa Lapostolle.

It was the French aristocrats who brought wine varieties into Chile and many of the vineyards in Chile are built on the lines of French chateaux. The grape varieties now in Chile are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cot, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Semillon from France and Reisling and Gewurtztraminer from Germany. Chile has also some of its own varieties, two of the most-popular being Carmenere and Syrah.

The wines had a fruity flavours, medium-bodied, supple and balanced. The most popular of the Chilean wines is the Cabernet Sauvignon. The grape comes from the Maipo valley, which were planted there in the 1850s from France. I tasted a relatively new (1999) one from Cocho y Toro. It has a woody flavour with the fruity flavours being subdued. It is best consumed quickly and didn't seem like it would last too long.

Carmen is a good winery to try. Its Antiguas Reserva, another Cabernet Sauvignon, has a smoky flavour as the wine has been aged in wooden casks. In the Merlot range, the Merlot Sauvignon Blanc is recommended. In fact, with Chilean wine, you can't go wrong with any of the Sauvignon Blancs, I am told. This white grape has been growing in Chile from the 1800s, an import from Bordeaux. But over the years the grape has developed its own Chilean flavours and with wine makers improving their technology, it has grown distinctive.

But this was just a hurried sampling and came along with with smoked salmon and blue cheese. When the market opens on April 1, after the QRs are lifted, only then can one savour the Chilean wines and decide whether they can go with our spicy flavours. Going by the dollar prices, Chilean wines seem to be at par with Indian wine prices like from Grover's or Sula, never going above $10, even for the best. With the new tax announced in the budget, the prices may shoot above this range. But the price should not stop you from enjoying a good bottle of wine

-Vidya Deshpande