Casillero del Diablo, a famous Chilean wine brand known worldwide, is bringing a new kind of experience to Minnesota Monthly’s Food & Wine Experience March 7-8 at Target Field. Unlike most wine tastings, this experience mostly relies on your sense of smell. Here’s what you need to know.
The Extraordinary Vintage Sensory Experience
Chilean winery Concha y Toro’s head sommelier Massimo Leonori will walk event attendees through the different aromas often found in certain red wines including raspberry, cherry, blackberry, plum, fig, black pepper, and cassis. After learning about the aromas and smelling them for yourself, you’ll put your senses to the test. Sniff a total of three red wines from the Casillero del Diablo collection, which will be poured in black wine glasses so as not to give anything away, and try to determine which aromas are found in each. The sensory experience begins at noon on Saturday, March 7.
Think you know your wine and will easily ace this test? According to Leonori, you may be surprised. “We have found that everyone finds something new to discover in this exciting educational tasting, even those who know wine really well.”
Don’t worry, you’ll get to do more than smell Casillero del Diablo’s wines at the Food & Wine Experience. The company will have five wine varietals available for sampling—cabernet, carménère, chardonnay, and pinot noir from the 2018 vintage along with a 2019 sauvignon blanc.
Why 2018 Was Such a Wonderful Year for Casillero del Diablo
Food & Wine Experience attendees will have the opportunity to taste some of the best Casillero del Diablo wines to date. Following five difficult grape growing years, Chile experienced an unusually extraordinary year in 2018. A warm spring and mild winter provided the perfect conditions for a long ripening season and exceptional wine, particularly for the red varieties. Overall, the wines possess remarkable tension and freshness, slightly lower alcohol levels, and excellent balance and varietal character. Come and see for yourself, and experience this unique sensory challenge on March 7.
About Casillero del Diablo
Casillero del Diablo was named after the “Devil’s Cellar,” where coveted wines were fiercely protected in the 19th century. It is the second most powerful wine brand in the world, according to Global Wine Brand Power Index (2018 & 2019), the No. 1 Chilean brand in the United States, and the No. 2 premium imported cabernet sauvignon in dollar sales, according to Information Resources, Incorporated. Its wines are grown in Chile’s famed Valle Central, an area heavily impacted by both coastal conditions and mountain influences. The brand boasts 10 award-winning wines including a cabernet sauvignon from Maipo Valley, a cabernet-based red blend, a crisp rosé made using French varieties, a coastal sauvignon blanc, and expressive varietal wines from pinot noir, malbec, and carménère.
