Boozing in Bolivia
A tour of Tarija, Bolivia's beautiful wine region, sampling some of the best alcoholic delicacies the country has to offer.
South America does alcohol well. Think Chilean Merlot or Argentinean Malbec and you are bound to find your mouth watering and your taste buds tingling. Chileans and Peruvians both claim pisco originated in their respective homelands, and everyone who has enjoyed a caipirinha knows the worth of Brazilian cachaça. Bolivia, seemingly, is nowhere in sight. Yet maybe we should be enjoying a glass of Bolivian red with our steaks, and sipping a cocktail made from singani on nights out.
I pass neat rows of healthy, green vines bathed in the light of a pleasingly strong sun as a golden, heat-baked track winds down towards a factory-style building. Only a short ride from the city of Tarija, in the heart of Bolivia’s prime wine country, this is the site of the new headquarters of Kuhlmann Vineyards.
‘The world is full of wine connoisseurs. They know quality.’ I am speaking to Franz Molina, the manager of Kuhlmann. ‘They try our wines and they are surprised. It’s the same with singani,’ he says. ‘It’s different, exotic, elegant.’ The company has been producing singani – the subtle yet strong grape-based spirit unique to Bolivia – for years. The Tres Estrellas line is targeted towards the east of the country, and Los Parrales to the west, I am told.
The company’s youngest and most pioneering venture is Altosama, the world's first high-altitude sparkling wine. Launched in 2011, the wine is still a newcomer, but Franz is confident that it will find its place. ‘Little by little we are introducing the culture of sparkling wine in Bolivia,’ he says. Fruity, bubbly and good fun on special occasions, Altosama is sure to be a hit.
As we speed down the main road connecting the country to the city, I discover the brains behind the naming of their sparkling wine. I already knew that alto means ‘high’, but sama? I didn’t have much of a clue. Franz points out a green cordillera surrounding the valley. ‘That's Sama,’ he informs me. ‘Without Sama, Tarija would be desert, and the land infertile.’
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