Corinto is the local Chilean name for chasselas (a.k.a. chasselas doré in the U.S. and sometimes in France): Switzerland’s ubiquitous variety for making fresh, Alpine white wines. Some of you might remember the 'Swissness' chassalas, with the Matterhorn on the label, from our April 2025 club. Agricola Grillos Cantores makes their corinto/chasselas from 150-year-old bush-trained vines growing on sleep slopes in the Guarilihue subzone of the Itata Valley (an hour’s drive northeast of Concepción). The wine is clean and crisp, as you would expect from chasselas, yet there’s also tongue-caressing texture from the old vines and 18 months of lees aging. It’s slightly herbal and more than slightly mineral, with moderate rather than fierce acidity. It’s an easy-to-drink wine that still has lots of character. Open it with friends as a conversation-starting aperitivo (“Chasselas doré? In Chile?!”). Or drink it with seafood (especially clams), corn dishes, or pimientos de padrón / shishito peppers.
