Web-footed Vineyard Workers

Every time I taste a new wine from Cono Sur (Chile), it reaffirms my undying love for this producer of low-priced, aromatic, amazing wines.

I came across this interesting piece in the Vancouver Courier:

"Like many Chilean wineries-close to but not quite organic-Cono Sur pursues a program of integrated pest management. Red spider mites, which can invisibly destroy a vine's canopy, fall prey to white spiders that live in deliberately maintained grass between the rows. Burritos ("crawling bugs"), which climb up the vine in the spring, are refused admission by garlic-greased plastic strips only to be enthusiastically hoovered up by vineyard workers with webbed feet and big, orange beaks-Chimbarongo's resident geese, which, in turn, contribute their own nutrients to the soil."

The Cono Sur Vision Viognier is a single-vineyard wine that has a gorgeous nose of orange blossoms and fresh white peaches, while the palate is rich with apples, apricots and vanilla - what's not to love? One of my favorite inexpensive white wines. Pair it with crabcakes & enjoy!