Chilean Wine Out of This World

Wine lovers in this small Chilean town of San Vicente can now add a new dimension to their wine tasting palettes.   

 

In the local vineyard a British man, Ian Hutcheon, has disclosed his new 2010 Meteorito, a robust cabernet imbued with celestial elements.   

 

Ian Hutcheon has combined his two obsessions of astronomy and wine-making and created a wine infused with a meteorite which is more than four billion years old. 

 

Hutcheon hails from Scotland originally but has lived in Chile for the past 14 years.

 

He explains how he did lots of experimenting with different grape varieties before deciding that Cabernet was the best variety for his "Out of this World" wine.   

 

[Ian Hutcheon, Winemaker and Astronomer]:

"A lot of experimenting with different varietals and varieties. And with the cabernet being a slightly more robust wine, a bigger wine, we realised it would work better with that style of wine because the meteorite does give some added mineral from the meteorite itself. So really, in general terms, it makes the wine livelier; we find that it brings out the flavors better. The color doesn't change much but perhaps a little bit darker because of the carbonised shell of the meteorite but generally it just brings out the flavours and makes each flavour a little more potent." 

 

After selecting the grapes he ferments them for 25 days after which follows a year-long process of fermentation in a wine barrel containing almost eight centimeters of the meteorite.  

 

After 12 months it’s mixed with another batch of Cabernet Sauvignon to create the perfect balance between the earth and the solar system.

 

The mereorite crashed into the Atacama desert around six thousand years ago and Hutcheon’s Meteorito is only available at the Tagua Tagua Astronomy Centre where visitors can observe the stars and enjoy a glass of wine at the same time.

 

A Chilean Tourist appreciates the mixing of wine and astronomy:

 

[Chilean Tourist]:

"I think it is really interesting to mix wine and astronomy. I don't know what the meteor will do to it, but it is a really good tasting wine, it's robust."              

 

British  Tourist David James says it is a special taste and a special occasion which he might not get the opportunity to savor again.

 

For those of you who can’t make it to Chile there is good news.  

 

Hutcheon has plans to export overseas and his new 2011 batch of Meteorito is already in the barrel.