value for money?

Lionel: recently, I've been approached quite a few times to recommend wines for wedding partys, engagement partys etc. The brief is always similar, good wine, can handle various types of food, suit the local taste buds and crucially, reasonable in price lah!

talk about wanting to have your cake and eating it as well! But after going tru numerous bottles, I think I've actually found a wine that should feel all the above criteria. I am sure that there are others out there that can fit the bill as well but this is for the moment, is a very good choice.

There is a tradition in Latin speaking countries to name a winery after a woman. But with all traditions, this is not compulsory. Most of us, whether in Chile or anywhere else, subscribe to tradition out of a sense of romanticism. Concha y Toro is Chile’s largest winery. In fact, it was the first winery in the world to list on the New York Stock Exchange.

The winery was founded in 1883 by Melchor Santiago de Concha y Cerda. “Don Melchor”, you probably know, is dedicated to the founder and one of the winery’s top wines. Although the winery did not follow the Chilean tradition of dedicating the winery to a woman, it has compensated by naming a lovely wine to Emiliana Subercaseaux, wife of Don Melchor.

I have tasted two vintages of Chateau Subercaseaux, a cabernet sauvignon and a sauvignon Blanc recently and they have all impressed with their consistent quality and good winemaking. Considering the price of around RM40 per bottle this is one of the best value-for-money wines imaginable. And it works with most local food as well!