I'm A Red Wine Person, But This Chilean Chardonnay Has Me Questioning My Allegiance

I learned to drink wine when I was living in Bordeaux in my early 20s. Maybe that's why I prefer full-bodied reds with deep flavor and long finishes over lighter wines. Why drink alcohol if it's going to taste like juice? At least that was my mentality for years. But the more I get into wine, the more I find out how wrong I've been to be closed-minded. I've learned, for instance, that adding water to wine can actually be a good idea, and that unexpected pairings can work just as well as common ones. My latest surprise came from the velvety smooth Amelia chardonnay, a Chilean bottle that's making me question whether red wine truly is superior.

Made in the arid landscapes of Chile's Limarí Valley, Amelia chardonnay is part of the luxury collection of Concha y Toro, Latin America's largest wine producer. It flaunts a perfect balance of minerality, salinity, and a hint of fruitiness that makes it shine. Despite being crisp and light, it has depth. And because it's aged in French oak barrels for 12 months, it boasts a long, creamy finish. Concha y Toro's website states that the chardonnay's distinct flavor comes from the uniqueness of the region where it's grown. Although the Limarí Valley has a semi-dry environment, winds coming from the nearby Pacific Ocean and frequent cloud coverage keep the climate cool. This allows the grapes to grow slowly, making for a balanced, high-quality chardonnay that easily competes with excellent Bordeaux wines.

Although I love Amelia chardonnay on its own, I also appreciate that its long finish makes it perfect for food pairings. I first tried it with a fresh salad that mixed hearts of palm, avocado, heirloom tomato, cucumber, and manchego cheese; and a tuna carpaccio salad with grapefruit and radicchio aioli. The food was not as memorable as the wine. Yet sips of Amelia definitely brought it to life, as the wine's complex blend of salinity and minerality made other flavors pop. If this happened with an okay meal, the effect is even stronger with truly delicious dishes. Fish, seafood, pastas, and soft cheeses like brie are perfect matches for this wine. I'd even venture to say that chardonnay this good would also work well with less traditional pairings, like barbecued meat.

Amelia's versatility also makes it a great hosting wine. I'm always excited to share it with people, and the general consensus has never failed to be positive. Since it costs around $55, it's fairly affordable for small gatherings where you want to impress your guests. Besides, the bottle's high quality means that you can leave it unopened for about eight years — that's much longer than the typical two to three years for average-quality white wines. No bottle is the right fit for every single person. But if Amelia could convince my bold red-loving taste buds, it has a pretty good chance of winning over just about anyone.