Criolla Chica; Pais; Mission ?!?
The Best Chillable Red You’ve Never Heard Of
Never heard of Criolla Chica or Pais or the Mission Grape? My guess is you are not alone. Unless you are DEEP in your wine nerd journey, these wines really remain under the radar. So what’s the deal? Criolla Chica is the Argentinean synonym for a thin skinned red grape known as Pais in Chile, Mission in California, and Listan Prieto in its native Spain. It was brought to the Americas by Spanish settlers, and its hardiness ensured that it has survived for hundreds of years. Yep, you read that correctly, this is a grape that escaped the dreaded vine disease of Phylloxera in many of its locations, and consequently we find extremely historic examples! And to me it’s one of the best chillable reds around, which is exactly what we need right now in the deep throws of summer. (And it goes great with grilling!)
Another astounding and outstanding characteristic of this overlooked variety is that despite often coming from vines that are hundreds of years old (a rarity in the wine world) the prices remain very reasonable And final selling point? The widespread quality of all examples I have come across. Most are Pinot Noir-esque deliciousness for in the $20s…(And the examples I am thinking of are small production, at a minimal sustainably farmed, all the good stuff!)
Some folks compare Criolla/Pais/Mission to Beaujolais, and I would say that’s also an apt description. Suffice it to say if you love Pinot Noir or Gamay you are a terrific candidate for becoming a lover of this new world phenom. My only caveat – it’s on the lighter side for sure – so keep your pairings on the lighter side as well. Put a chill on it and think burger rather than ribeye! Or order pizza! Or enjoy it with some spice. Reds and spiciness can be challenging, but in the past I enjoyed the Catena Marchigiana Criolla Chica with Szechuan take-out. It was a match made in heaven!!
Here are some of my fave examples of Criolla/Pais/Mission…
From Argentina:
Catena Marchigiana Criolla Chica
Durigutti Proyecta Las Compuertas Criolla Parral
(from 80-year-old vines!)
From Chile:
Lomas De Llahuen Pais (a liter bottle!)
Aupa Pipeno Pais/Carrignan (available in bottle or 250ml CAN!)
Vina Gonzalez Bastias Matorral Pais
(this one is from 200-year-old vines!)
From Cali:
Great Importers of Pais:
Brazos (check out their awesome website)
José Pastor (also a good site)
(There are others, but these are two major ones to look for on the back labels!)
P.S. If you are just picking up the Grape to Table newsletter, thanks so much for joining to learn more about wine, food, and life. There’s lots to read – from my origin story (click here to read) to fun content focused on meaningful time at the table with delicious wine and food. For now, my newsletter is free and you can find all the content by clicking here – basically a little Grape to Table website created by the great folks at Substack. I did realize recently that you only see the various categories of past newsletters if you open this link in a browser (rather than the Substack app). It’s a shame because the categories make it easy to find content you might be interested in…so here are some more embedded links! Click here for Wine Tips. Click here for Recipes. Click here for Q & As. And click here to learn about my wine club! As always I really appreciate when you hit the like button as it helps get the content in front of more people :) and spread the joy of wine and food!
P.P.S. If you are a super hardcore follower of me (thank you!), but also you might remember a similar version of this newsletter way back when I had a blog! Well, I have been craving some Pais lately and realized I have never written about it here! I did double check to make sure all the listed wineries are still in existence so you should be good to go to begin your own Pais adventure in your own neighborhood wine shop!
P.P.P.S. Things that I have recipes for that would be delightful with these wines: Pimento Cheese to start and BBQ Chicken to finish! Or a Pimento Cheese Burger, a southern specialty!
P.P.P.S. If you happen to live in Charleston, please check out this awesome event where I will be a volunteer Somm on Saturday, July 12, from 5 to 8 p.m. The Food Section (a great newsletter by the great writer Hanna Raskin) will be hosting Street Truck Stories, a one-of-a-kind food truck rally at Jadoon's Park Circle Market. Featured food trucks will be: Korean corn dog specialist Seol Ahs, the pizzaioli from JMB Provisions, ube virtuoso Butter Half Bakery, vegan pastry purveyor L'il Sprout, Hawaiian expat Coconut Glen's. At this event, attendees will have the chance to participate in guided tastings, hear the stories behind what they sample, and consult ME for an ideal pairing from Jadoon’s recently expanded wine selection. Plus, if you purchase an annual subscription to The Food Section then that bottle is complimentary. Yep, you read that right! (Btw, if you live in Charleston then you might already know that Jadoon’s has long been known to be a North Charleston convenience store with a terrific beer selection. Well now, they have a great wine selection too!)