Wine Review: Prepare for warmer weather with these selections

With the warm weather rapidly approaching, the heavier meals of winter give way to lighter warm- weather fare of springtime and summer. With that, our choices of wine also must be modified.

The Veramonte wines of Chile are a good choice as a mealtime accompaniment or as a sipping wine while relaxing outdoors. The reason they are a good choice is that they are well made, true to the varietal aromas and flavors, and affordable.

With that, I must depart from my usual listing of the manufacturer's suggested retail price next to the wines and tell you that all the wines on this page have an MSRP of $12. Just a bit of judicious hunting on the internet can reward the reader with an even better price.

As an added extra, the grapes for the wine were grown by organic farming.

Veramonte 2020 Reserva Chardonnay
Chardonnay is the most popular white wine in the world, and deservedly so. It can take many forms and styles and can please even the most sophisticated palate. The Veramont 2020 Chardonnay has a flavor and aroma that is midway between the California style, which presents the tropical fruit possibilities of the grape, and the French style, which is more subdued and accents the apple and pear. A light and attractive golden color announces the prominent aromas of pineapple, citrus, melon and vanilla. These aromas continue right through to the flavor where they are joined by pear and a hint of butterscotch in the background. Here, too, the finish is long, complex and full of fruit. While bashing chardonnay wines has become a favorite pastime of wine writers, this wine can and will stand up to even the most critical examinations. Regardless of the price, this is a fine wine.

Veramonte 2020 Reserva Carmenere
The wine from this grape variety has been a well-kept secret in Chile, until now. It is a deep, red-colored wine that exhibits the flavors and aromas of ripe berries, chocolate, pepper and oak. These also can be found in the flavor and in the long, fruit-filled finish. The Veramonte 2020 Carmenere has an intensity of flavor found in very few of the other red wines and, like a cabernet sauvignon, will perfectly accompany red meats, strong cheese, pastas and anything that comes off of the grill. This wine also will serve as an aperitif or even as a sipping wine. For a change in flavor and style, try this exceptional and interesting wine. It will be a sensory adventure.

Veramonte 2021 Reserva Sauvignon Blanc
Here, too, is a wine that rides the fence between the French and California versions and does so in elegant style. The aroma stresses pear, grapefruit and vanilla, with a suggestion of summer flowers and a hint of yeast in the background. The flavor does a 180-degree turn and returns to the classical style of grapefruit, green apple and pear, with a hint of the variety’s signature grassiness in the background and all reinforced by a mineral-like element. Veramonte 2021 Reserva Sauvignon Blanc is another version of this very popular grape variety, and its low price belies its quality.

Wine columnist Bennet Bodenstein can be reached at frojhe1@att.net.