Is it just me or does anyone else get irritated at the nonsense other people talk? On my way to the annual Wines of Chile tasting, I had an overwhelming urge to leap up and tell the ladies sitting next to me that the white marks on their fingernails were not caused by insufficient spinach consumption — raw or otherwise.

I should have said something because it annoyed me all the way to Victoria and it was still on my mind when the first wine was poured into my glass. Surprisingly for a Chilean tasting, what I was about to taste was the (soon-to-be-bottled) 2009 Gewürtztraminer from Matetic Vineyards.

Surprising because Gewürtztraminer represents a miniscule proportion of vineyard plantings in Chile and Matetic only has one hectare; enabling it to make a modest 500 cases a year.

Equally unexpected was how much I liked it. I am not a massive fan of this grape’s effusive personality — its floral lychee-ness can be too overpowering.

This though was a more restrained version and, whilst it was undeniably lychee, it also had a refreshing citrus edge with a dash of ginger (£9.75 from Genesis Wines www.genesiswines.com for the 2007 vintage).

It was an excellent start to the day and I had just about buried the whole spinach and fingernails thing when the chap standing next to me started to tell his associate that Gewürtztraminer is a grape that you rarely see outside Germany.

Well, that was that; a morning’s frustration was (gently) unleashed on this poor chap as I brought them up to speed on the grape’s northern Italian origins and the world-class wines it is responsible for in France’s Alsace and — increasingly — New Zealand.

I have no idea what those poor souls may think are the ill-effects of insufficient spinach consumption but I am pretty confident they are a lot better informed about Gewürtztraminer now than they were.

I did feel better as a consequence and it was much easier to focus on the wines that followed. Chile has earned itself a reputation for consistent, good-quality wines and, whilst I would not disagree, I often struggle to find wines that get my pulse racing.

Come home time, I had not been swept off my feet but I had found a couple of wines to add to the Gewürztraminer that I would be very happy to take home to meet the folks.

Viu Manent’s Secreto Sauvignon Blanc 2008 was my white wine of the day (£8.80 from www.slurp.co.uk). It is made by New Zealander, Grant Phelps who did, previously, work at Villa Maria. The wine has got that classic grassy, herbaceous new Zealand style and I loved its cheerful vivacity.

Waitrose’s Montgras Carmenère Reserva 2008 (£7.59 www.waitrosewine.com) was a nicely textured red with lively blue fruits and a lovely aftertaste. Good value.

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