Wines from Chile
Wine Production and Growing Regions
The bulk of the Chile’s vineyards are located in the Central Valley and its sub-regions (Maipo, Rapel, Curicó and Maule). The Maipo Valley is, by far, the most famous wine growing area of this Central Valley region. Its dominance in Chilean wine history, undoubtedly has more to do with its proximity to the capital, where investment was focused as early as the last century, than superior geographical attributes. To the north is the Aconcagua region, which includes the important Casablanca Valley (the source of several of Chile’s finest white wines). The Southern region includes the Itata and Bio-Bio sub regions.
For all Chilean wine regions, the most significant physical influences are the mountains and rivers. In particular, the region’s position, relative to the Andean and coastal ranges, has a significant impact upon vine growth and development.
Although noted for its varietal wines on the export market, the most widely planted grape variety in Chile is the dark-skinned Pais, which makes rather rustic, bulk wine for the domestic market. Strict quarantine regulations apply to all imported vine cuttings and consequently the development and cultivation of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and the other European classics has been on a restricted and limited basis. Major investment throughout the 1990's has seen most wineries updated to cater for increasing demand on the export market.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, according to Alvaro Peña, an agronomist on the faculty of the University of Chile, that’s when vineyards in the country began to make significant changes to attend the export market demands. “They adopted advanced technology and invested in new machinery for optimizing the winemakin ...