Adventure in a bottle

From lively, zingy Sauvignon Blanc to cassis-laden Cabernet Sauvignon, Chilean wine opens the door to a world of incredible value and diversity

- Jonathan Ray

HAVE YOU ever looked at Chile on a map? It’s the most deliciously bonkers shape: both the longest and narrowest country in the world, stretching some 2,671 miles north to south (roughly the same distance as San Francisco to New York) and just 40 miles west to east at its narrowest point — about the same as, well, Tunbridge Wells to Brighton.

There are deserts in the north, lakes and ice fields in the south, a vast ocean in the west and mighty mountains in the east. What other nation can boast that?

The first time I visited this wonderful, warmly hospitable country, I flew to Santiago from Auckland, New Zealand, via Lima. Having travelled for weeks, I had been knocked for six by my journey and had no idea where I was, what day it was or what time it was. Heck, I didn't even know who I was.