This week’s Wine Wednesday features is a special guest post by Jacqueline Coleman. Jacqueline is a 4th-Generation Miamian and certified sommelier. She is the monthly "Vino" columnist for Biscayne Times, writes a quarterly wine column for the Miami-based foodie magazine, Let’s Eat, and is the "Through the Grapevine" wine contributor and consultant for South Florida Luxury Guide magazine. You can follow her wine tasting events around South Florida, personal stories, travel adventures, and musings about the "wine lifestyle" on her blog, History & Wine.

Chilean wines are so in right now, especially at the higher-end of the economic spectrum. More and more, restaurants and their sommeliers are placing these wines on premium lists around the country, and people are starting to take notice of the expansion in quality coming out of the region. No longer is Chile known as the country of just economical exports, but excellent Chilean labels are appearing on wine lists and destroying any antiquated concept that these wines are only for untrained palates.

One Brazilian restaurant chain has embraced the elegance of premium Chilean wines and has given them a top spot on its Reserve Wine List. Fogo de Chão is the first restaurant in the U.S. to introduce Chile’s VIK premium wines to their discerning clientele, resulting in a powerful combination of decadent cuts of meat paired with exceptional wine for a must-dine experience, especially this holiday season.

When it comes to the VIK wines on the Fogo menu, diners can choose one of two options on the Reserve List; both are fabulous, so either choice is a win. The Milla Cala by VIK and the VIK are red blends containing slightly different amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carménère, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Syrah. The perfectly blended combinations create a unique wine in each bottle, with distinct personalities and expressive qualities.

The Milla Cala presents as a fresh, fruit-forward wine, with elegant complexity both on the nose and the palate, and a well-balanced, prevailing feminine softness that rounds out the tannins as the wine coats your palate and glides into a long finish.

The heavier VIK red blend stands firm in its dark red fruit, showing a bit of the Chilean terroir in its bouquet and at first sip, a prominent Carménère spice finds its way to the forefront of the taste experience. VIK can stand up to any Bordeaux blend with the advantage of the penetrating fruit of the New World complementing the well-balanced acidity and structured tannins necessary in any sophisticated red.

Because it can be hard to commit to just one of these wines for the night, Fogo has partnered with Coravin to allow guests to taste and try various wines from the Reserve Wine list, catering to a spectrum of desires when it comes to pairing wine with your steak.

Perhaps the most delectable option to accompany a glass of VIK wine at Fogo is an intense (sharable) 32oz Dry Aged Tomahawk Ribeye, which is new on the menu and only around for a limited time. Throw some sides on the table (don’t forget the plantains), and what you have is not only an incredible meal, but a fine dining experience that can be shared by friends and family this holiday season.

Experience the elegance of VIK wines and pair them with a Dry Aged Tomahawk that is perfectly cooked to order, only at Fogo de Chão.

Fogo de Chão

836 1st Street

Miami Beach, FL 33139