It’s the new Australia. No, wait, make that the new Spain. Or is South America the new France? There are arguments for all. Vintners began arriving en masse from Europe about 10 years ago, wallets open and jaws agape at the continent’s scope and potential. Quickly moving past its reputation as a fount of cheap reds, South America is starting to flex large on the wine map of the world. Stalwarts Chile and Argentina, and even newcomers Brazil and Uruguay, are bristling with an impressive range of wines, a growing stable of exceptionally well-made bottlings, and surging sales to back it all up. Chile is well known for stellar minty cabernets made in the Maipo Valley. But the country’s vineyards are creeping far north to the edge of the Atacama Desert (the world’s driest place) and south into a verdant lake district called Bío Bío—regions producing such cool-climate varieties as riesling, gewürztraminer and pinot noir, plus adventurous new blends. Argentina has become a hot ticket with its rich, stoic Mendoza malbecs, as well as the more slender, floral, acid-driven reds from cooler Patagonia, and the high Uco, Tupungato and Cafayate valleys in the Andes. And the more humid, green, Atlantic-influenced vineyards of Brazil and Uruguay—Brazil has an incredible 900 wineries; Uruguay has 300—are spawning ripe but elegant, acid-focused wines reminiscent of Bordeaux. We’re only just beginning to taste their potential. The selection below is a sneak peek at the new South America.

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