Carménère Days

For more than 100 years, Chile sold Carménère as Merlot.

Friday, Nov 20 to Sunday, Nov 22 · 12 to 5 PM · 77 Stage Road, Leavenworth, WA

In the mid-1800s, grape cuttings from Bordeaux sailed to Chile, and Carménère was in the mix. Not long after, a tiny bug called phylloxera ate through the roots of France's vineyards. Carménère was fussy and ripened late, so when growers replanted, almost nobody brought it back. In Bordeaux it all but disappeared.

In Chile it kept growing, mixed in with the Merlot, and everyone there called it Merlot. Then on November 24, 1994, a French grape expert walked a vineyard near Santiago and saw that some of those vines were something else. Chile now celebrates Carménère Day every November 24.

Gary's 2022 took gold at the 2026 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. It's the wine our guests argue about. People who walk in asking for Cabernet taste it, tilt their heads and start asking questions.

What's pouring

2022 Silvara Carménère. Black cherry and wild blackberry up front, green peppercorn and dried herbs in the middle, cocoa and warm spice at the end. Soft tannins and a long, savory finish.

How it works

• A $5 pour of our 2022 Carménère, one per person
• Take a bottle home and your $5 comes off the price
• Want more? The full tasting lineup is pouring all weekend
• Grab a seat by the fireplace inside or a fire pit outside

Something to tell your friends

Carménère's name comes from carmin, the French word for crimson. In the fall, its leaves turn deep red.

Can't make it this weekend?

Order the 2022 Carménère online and pick it up here, or have it shipped as a gift. Christmas orders ship through Friday, Dec 11.

Getting here

77 Stage Road, Leavenworth, WA. We're 7 minutes from downtown Leavenworth, and parking is free. Open 12 to 5, no reservation needed. Stop by and see if you'd mistake it for Merlot.