Tim Atkin on Latin America, Wine, and Identity

by Daniel Quintero (IG @danielquintero)

Tim Atkin approaches wine as a way of understanding the world, not as a self-contained universe. Sitting in Lima, midway through a tasting of Peruvian wines, the British Master of Wine speaks less about scores or trends and more about history, movement, and people. Wine, for him, is a prism: a way to read culture, economics, migration, and landscape all at once.

Atkin first came to South America in the early 1990s, a moment when much of the region was only beginning to reopen to the world. More than three decades later, he sees the defining transformation as openness. Export markets expanded, winemakers began to travel, and outside influences filtered back into local styles. That exchange, he explains, didn’t just change what South America sold abroad; it also reshaped what people drink locally.

The South American Way

In the 1990s, he says, much of Latin America followed international expectations, especially those set by France and the U.S. Today, that dynamic has shifted. Across the region, producers are expressing place and rediscovering local varieties, often drawing from grapes introduced centuries ago and reinterpreting them with confidence. Identity, in Atkin’s view, is no longer borrowed, but it is still evolving, vintage by vintage.

When it comes to the region’s powerhouses, Atkin is precise. Chile’s challenge is no longer technical but narrative: decades of success selling inexpensive wine have made it difficult to move upmarket. Argentina, by contrast, excites him with its diversity and willingness to take risks. Malbec still matters, but so does the country’s vast mix of French, Italian, and Spanish grapes, a legacy of immigration that fuels experimentation and boldness.

Peru, small in vineyard area but rich in context, stands apart. Here we find him after his first visit in 2022. What surprised Atkin on his visits were wines made from historic Creole and Canary-derived varieties, some planted near the coast on sand and limestone, others emerging from high-altitude Andean zones. For Peru, he sees no future in volume. The path forward lies in quality, altitude, and coherence with a gastronomic scene that is already globally respected.

The nose of the world

Atkin is drawn to wines where technique becomes invisible, where concrete, old wood, tinajas, or whole clusters are not trends but tools that allow place to speak. He is cautious of extremes, especially wines where “natural” becomes an excuse for flaws, but firmly believes the most compelling wines today privilege finesse over make-up.

What keeps him going after decades of travel and tasting is not wine alone. It is people, landscape, reading, history, and the constant act of learning. Wine, he says, is simply the entry point. He may grow tired of certain styles, but never of the conversation.

As younger generations drink less alcohol, Atkin believes wine’s future depends on more than luxury or sustainability alone. It will survive by telling meaningful stories about where it comes from, who makes it, and why it matters.

That is why Tim Atkin remains someone to follow: not for hype or headlines, but for context, clarity, and a way of seeing wine as part of a much larger world.

SEO Title: Who to Follow: Tim Atkin on Latin America, Wine, and Identity

Except: Tim Atkin sees wine as a way of reading the world. From Latin America to Peru, the Master of Wine reflects on identity, place, and why wine still matters.