David Marcel graduated from the viticultural school in Montpellier and began his career on a traditional path, working for large wineries in Languedoc, but his Chilean wife Loreto drew him to the heartland of the Maule Valley, and the Secano Interior region where the coast range casts a rain shadow over the western edge of Chile’s valleys. The dry climate is well suited to organic grape growing, and has been home to Pais and Carignan grapes for centuries. At Vina Maitia, Marcel makes wine naturally in concrete tanks that convey the freshness and herbal rusticity of the region. This wine is a Pipeño, a traditional style in Chile, a fresh and crunchy red intended for immediate consumption. The nose gives blackberry, strawberry, fennel seed and licorice with a pinch of orange zest. The palate gives the same array of flavors, bouncy and fresh, with a big of crumbly granite soil too. Trade this out for Beaujolais on the Thanksgiving table, or enjoy it while you’re cooking, the best part about a good Pipeño is that you don’t have to think too hard about it.