Chilean wine is hard to beat

We were assembled to taste Chilean wines assisted by magnificent Scottish food, courtesy of the Scottish embassy in London, otherwise known as Boisdale. But there was a problem of etiquette. As we were dealing with Chilean matters, I thought that we should propose a toast to a great Chilean and a staunch ally of this country, General Pinochet, who saved his own nation from becoming another Cuba or a mess like the current Venezuela.

My neighbour expressed doubt. Surely the general committed atrocities? I conceded that the overthrow of Allende was not bloodless. But the sort of men who emerge from history to commit acts of necessary ruthlessness would not have sought an alternative career running a vegan restaurant. Pinochet stabilised Chile, promoted economic progress and created the conditions for restoring democracy. His successes vastly outweigh any faults. Henry Kissinger is widely believed to have encouraged Pinochet. If so, this was not the least of that great statesman’s achievements. The international left will never forgive Pinochet, or Kissinger, for frustrating Marxist ruin. The rest of us should salute his memory while also paying tribute to the help he gave us during the Falklands War, to save British subjects from being ruled by a pack of operatic generals whose cruelty was wholly unjustified. It should be a source of shame that Britain rewarded Pinochet by arresting him.

Anyway, I decided my toast would be a silent one. Oddly enough, not everyone in the room might agree, so our debate should concentrate on wine, where there was no disagreement. The Spanish brought wine–making to Chile around the beginning of the 17th century. It was and remains a curiously shaped country, a long narrow streak of territory, sandwiched between the mountains and the sea.