Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/426275
6 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } DECEMBER/JANUARY 2014/2015 For the Love of Wine first press THERE ARE A FEW THINGS PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT Chile: It's somewhere in South America, it's one of the longest and narrowest countries in the world and it makes a lot of wine. And a lot of that wine is stuck in sommeliers' consciousness as cheap, cheerful and not high on the list. If on the list at all. Plus, people don't necessarily think of Chile as a hot - bed of innovation says Marybeth Bentwood, Executive Director of Wines of Chile USA, the agency that pro- motes the wines in the U.S. "We're straight-laced, impeccable, reliable and pre- dictable but we're not necessarily sexy," Bentwood says. "When people think of Chile they think khaki pants and blue blazers; we need to wear red pants." To begin the wardrobe makeover, Wines of Chile, in partnership with the Guild of Sommeliers, staged a two- week campaign directed at young sommeliers in New York City who would learn together and work together at building their knowledge of Chile and its wines. And they did that—literally. The Chile Wine Bar War, an event held in the heat of August, charged four teams of sommeliers to con - ceptualize and build a pop-up wine bar that reflected the diversity of the country—encompassing wine, food, design and nature. The campaign included two weeks of master classes, taught by Master Sommeliers Héctor Vergara (Latin America's only MS) and Fred Dexheimer, long-time ambassador for the region. Four somm cap - tains endured marathon tastings to curate a wine list for each bar, and then rallied their teams to brainstorm a concept, source materials and, within ten hours, build a bar that would serve the public for one evening. The teams were judged on knowledge (via pop-quiz - zes) creativity, expression and service. The grand-prize winners received a first-class, all-expense-paid a trip to Chile to experience first-hand what they learned in class about what's in the glass. by Lana Bortolot / photos by Doug Young Team James: "Carrete!" Left-to-right: Ida Rae Zapanta (Le Bernadin), Luke Boland (Del Posto), Victoria James (Marea), Mike Noah (Marc Fiorgione). THE CHILE WINE BAR WAR AIMS FOR THE HEART