That bottle of wine you just opened may hail from the Napa Valley (or Rioja or Chianti Classico) but it’s increasingly possible that an outside influence contributed as much to the wine’s character as did the locally grown grapes and regional terroir. For with the proliferation of flying vintner-consultants, foreign investment, and young winery interns bopping from one hemisphere to the next, the exchange of knowledge and wine-growing philosophies is having an impact on wine everywhere.
I recently tasted an impressive wine that vividly illustrates this growing phenomenon. Called “Vertice,” the wine in question is a product
of Viña Ventisquera, in Chile’s Maipo Valley. Vertice is a joint venture between Ventisquera’s chief winemaker, Felipe Tosso–a Chilean of Italian descent–and the illustrious Australian vintner John Duval who was, from 1986 to 2002, chief winemaker at Penfolds. For the past eight years this dynamic duo has worked in tandem on Vertice, creating three vintages thus far, with Duval flying in annually for the weeks-long critical periods of tastings and blendings. The result of the partnership is what Duval has described as “four-handed wines,” with each man’s techniques and knowledge ultimately blending into a 
harmonious whole. An intensely personal as well as professional bond clearly links the two vintners now. “It’s a unique relationship, with each of us bringing something vital to the blend,” says Tosso. The very choice of grapes–Syrah (a.k.a. Autralia’s Shiraz) and the Chilean flagship Carmenère–tells its own story.
Vertice 2007, the dark, rich and beautifully balanced current release, astounds the palate with its fiery passion and a plenitude of silky tannins. In addition to the forthright appeal of fruit expertly grown in sunny climates, Vertice also shows off the kind of elegance and sophistication born of scrupulous winemaking. There is no doubt that a portion of this wine’s personality represents the twining of two minds and hearts from two different sides of the world, in what Duval describes as a “joining of cultures, philosophies and passion for wine.” With only about 1,000 cases made, this is a rare, limited edition wine that will obviously be difficult to find in retail markets. Like many rarities it’s worth the search. Unlike most such rarities, at $40 a bottle it’s supremely affordable. As usual, the Bard sums it up best: “O wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world That has such people in’t!”
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