Today’s jet-setters and world travelers are constantly on the hunt for the next great destination that combines excitement with affordability, and luxury with adventure.

But as any day trader will tell you: it’s often about getting in early.

People talk about Baja California in the seventies before it became commercialized, or Yosemite when you could still hike Half Dome without a reservation. Wine drinkers are no different. We're well aware that prices in Bordeaux are more than triple what they were ten years ago, that Burgundy is now for wealthy collectors, and that Napa is a far cry from what it used to be.

Winemakers and critics alike have been hailing South America as the new frontier for more than a decade, but that original messaging fizzled under a commodity-driven market that focused on points and press rather than winemaking and romance.

Yet, there's a reason stock brokers tell you to "buy the dip." It's the same reason I'm going to tell you to buy Santa Carolina wines today. There's a second renaissance awakening in the Southern Hemisphere.

Are you interested in Cabernet that's less than $20 a bottle, with the fleshiness and immediate drinkability of a California red, yet also the minerality and subtle complexity of a fine Haut-Médoc, and a fantastic story? 

Then you need to take another look at Chile—and specifically, Santa Carolina.

At the foot of the Andes, you've got soils that are similar to Bordeaux, cool weather for preserving acidity, and a rugged individualism that harkens back to Napa in the 1960s, with prices that are often too good to believe. That's why more and more people are drinking Chilean wines. It's the next great adventure.

Santa Carolina has been making wine in Chile for more than 140 years, but is continually evolving as a winemaker. By reinvigorating their vineyards and continuing to expand into rugged, mountainous new sites, the quality of their fruit has never been better.

In the Maipo Valley, where the remnants of an ancient glacier have carved out fertile nooks for Cabernet Sauvignon, the rocky terrain has an underbelly of sand and clay with fantastic drainage, making it very similar to Bordeaux. Like California, the region maintains a long growing season, allowing the grapes to ripen slowly and develop complexity. The fruit for Santa Carolina's Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve comes entirely from El Mariscal vineyard in the higher Maipo Valley, with a soil composed of gravel, clay, and sand.

As of late, it's been producing incredible red wine with the complexity of Pessac-Leognan, yet the immediate ripeness of the Napa Valley—and for a fraction of the price.

Obviously, we're still living in an era where Parker points move the needle, so if the combination of sub-$20 Cabernet with 91 points from the Wine Advocate gets you excited, then we've got the bottle for you!

91 POINTS: ROBERT PARKER'S WINE ADVOCATE - The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva de Familia is a classical red from Maipo with moderate alcohol. It contains 5% Merlot and has a subtle nose and a juicy and tender palate with very fine tannins and clean and focused flavors. It has very good balance and freshness. -LG

But what's really exciting about the new Santa Carolina Reserva Cabernet for me personally is how much it reminds me of old world Bordeaux. As someone who truly treasures the combination of steak with claret, and the subtle earthiness that renders with every sip, it's nice to have something so affordable for those Tuesday winter evenings that really delivers for the dollar.

But there's still more to it.

Wine is obviously more than just a beverage to those of us who truly love it. It's about more than just flavor. It's about the expression of place, the romance of travel, and the love of a good meal.

Chile has long been a strong source for great wine values, but it never captured the imagination of wine drinkers the way it's beginning to today. Look at these photos from Santa Carolina! You've got steep mountain vineyards, gravelly soils, snow-capped peaks, cowboy vineyard managers, and a new focus on terroir that completely shines through in a wine like the 2018 Santa Carolina Reserva Cabernet.

For those of you looking for your next wine adventure, it's time to take another look at Chile, and the Santa Carolina is a great starting point. With prices this good for wines of this quality and restraint, I'd take advantage of the moment.

-David Driscoll