I’ve mentioned a Chilean sangria drink, “Borgonia,” in a previous post. It’s a combination of sugar and diced/mashed fruit with wine that is best enjoyed in the sweet, summer months. Today, I wanted to discuss a different one, a sort of winter version called Vino Navegado. If you are familiar with the German drink “Glühwein“, Vino Navigado is very similar.
As many of you know, my husband is Chilean and one of my most favorite goods from Chile is their wine. While this post is essentially a recipe for an affordable and delicious holiday drink, I thought it would be helpful for the fact-loving readers, to provide some background on Chilean wine.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the geographical size and shape of Chile, it is one of the most unusual in the world. It is a long and skinny country which spans more than half of the entire west coast of South America. Due to the geographical make-up of Chile, the country naturally has the perfect conditions for making wine. It has an arid climate with soil that is rich in minerals. The dryness of the climate allows for a higher concentration in the juice of the grapes. Grapes with a high water content don’t make good wine. And the minerals in the soil directly influence the  flavor of that juice. In fact, Chile has such a high mineral content in their land that one of their leading exports are minerals.
Because of the shape of the country and it’s placement in the South American continent, Chile has a lot of ‘natural protection’. Every side of the country has a natural border which protects its land and crops from pests and plights that could intrude from other countries. The northern part of the country is occupied by the Atacama Desert. This is the driest place on earth and obviously very hot, not a habitable environment for pests. Along the eastern border of the country run the Andes Mountains. Not a whole lot is going to come blowing into the country over those bad boys. The southern portion of the country sits adjacent to the Antarctic and is covered in glaciers. Unless fruit-eating pests start behaving like penguins, not a whole lot of threat is coming from this side either. And the entire western side of the country is bordered by the Pacific Ocean, a cold and deep body of water which separates Chile from other land masses for thousands of miles. This yields a very protected central region with incredibly fertile soil that is flat and easily irrigated.
And what’s even better … because Chile has such favorable grape-growing conditions and the labor there is cheap (a characteristic of the country: goods, especially imports are expensive, but labor is cheap) … they can produce massive amounts of wine and sell them at affordable prices. When my husband and I visited there, we found bottled water was often times more expensive than wine!
If you haven’t discovered Chilean wines, I suggest you do so. Our favorites tend to be the Cabernets, Carmeneres and the Sauvignon Blancs; although I’m really an equal opportunity wine-o and love them all! Frontera is a very affordable brand produced by Concha y Toro. My husband and I visited this vineyard during our last trip to Chile. Concha y Toro has been in production since 1883 and is now, the second largest wine producer in the world. Their wine is fabulous! One of their most infamous brands is the “Casillero del Diablo” line. Casillero is a mid-priced bottle best enjoyed as-is. And while Concha y Toro certainly sells aged-varieties for $50/bottle, they also make very drinkable ones for $10/1.5L. Frontera is one of those brands. Only amateurs think you have to pay top dollar for good wine;)
Ok Amanda, “What’s the point…?” “How does this relate to Vino Navigado?”
Vino Navigado is a warm wine drink that involves heating wine for a short time with sugar, spices and citrus fruit. When you start adding these ingredients to a wine, you change the wine. Therefore, while I love this drink, I wouldn’t want to waste an expensive bottle of wine on it. So, go to the store, look for a 1.5L bottle of Frontera, a red variety, and make yourself and your guests some Vino Navigado. I’m quite sure you won’t regret it!
In Chile, Vino Navigado is prepared and enjoyed in the winter months. In the United States, it’s a perfect drink for the holidays. (Chile has opposite seasons from the U.S) It is similar to a sangria, however because heat is used, it doesn’t require the long sitting time that traditional sangria does. The flavors of the orange and spice transform the wine into a Christmassy, wintery goodness and the warmth of the alcohol warms your bones on cold days.
Vino Navegado
- 1.5L bottle of red wine ( I recommend Frontera cab or merlot but any inexpensive but tasty red will work!)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 navel orange sliced
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 10 whole cloves
- 2 whole all-spice (optional)
Pour the entire bottle of wine into a large saucepan and stir in sugar to dissolve. Add the orange slices and spices. Turn heat onto low-medium and simmer approx 15 min, stirring occasionally. Do not allow the wine to boil! Boiling it will impair the wine and burn off the alcohol. You only want it to simmer long enough to heat the liquid and to release the flavors of the citrus and spices and for the sugar to finish dissolving.
Serve in coffee mugs or wine glasses with a slice of orange in each cup for presentation. (If you choose to serve in wine glasses be sure to run the wine glasses under hot water prior to filling so as not to crack the glass with the hot liquid.) Enjoy!
