Chilean Wine History
Grape Varieties
New Regions
Chilean Wine Regions Chilean Wineries
Viña Balduzzi Designed and
maintained by FLB Webdesigns
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Chile
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Chilean Wine History
Grape Varieties
New Regions
Chilean Wine Regions Chilean Wineries
Viña Balduzzi Designed and
maintained by FLB Webdesigns
|
|
Chilean Wine History The beginning of Chilean viticulture dates from the colonisation of Chile by the Spanish. These people brought their animals and plants to introduce them to the new continent. Being devout Catholics they brought vines in order to produce the wine for the celebration of the Holy Mass. The first vineyard of Pais grapes in Chile was established in 1548, in the area of Copiapo, 800km north of Santiago. In the middle of the 18th century, Commander Byron in his book, 'Trip Around the World' compared the quality of of wines to those from Madeira. In the mid 19th century, a group of 10 rich families changed Chilean viticulture from an old fashioned activity with low quality grapes into a modern activity with noble grapes such as Cabernet, Merlot, Sauvignon, Semillon and Riesling, all of them brought to Chile before Phylloxera devastated the European vineyards. Modern cellars and French wine makers were introduced at that time. Of course, what they really wanted was the prestige of having the best wine, seeing their names on the labels and owning a Chateau-like winery! This is the reason why Chile, for more than a century has had a quality wine
industry, no doubt the best in South America, with the French as their teachers. UP GRAPE VARIETIES The classic varieties grown in Chile are Chardonnay and Sauvignon for whites
and Cabernet Merlot for reds. These grapes are scattered throughout all the
central valleys with a certain predominance of reds in the northern part and
whites in the southern part of the valley.
UP New Regions Some new areas have come onto the scene. As a matter of fact the past five years the Casablanca area has been the centre of Chardonnay plantations. Because the soil is poor and the climate - strongly influenced by the Pacific Ocean - is cold and foggy with between 1,000 - 1,300 degree days. It is thus only appropriate for white wines. There has been much talk of the Casablanca region, and this might turn out to be a good area for white wine, but despite all the publicity, it has yet to demonstrate its potential so we must wait and see. It was alarming though to witness the extent of the frost damage there in October of last year. Far south at the end of the Southern Valley, near Chilean, there is an interesting region where an old fashioned wine industry is established. Pais grapes and aromatic grapes are grown for wines of low to medium quality.
Here, a research institute called Fundacion Chile has established a 140 hectare
estate with drip irrigation, and it is testing varieties such as Chardonnay,
Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Gewurtztraminer. And, in the case of reds, Cabemet
Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Sirah, Pinot Noir. We have confidence
that this area could be reconverted into a top quality wine area. Some new
trellises are being tested such as the Lira - which is also seen in France.
UP
NORTHERN AREA
The Northern Area Around Copiapo, this is of little interest to this audience. The wines
produced are purely needed for distillation of Pisco - a national spirit drink. UP
SOUTHERN AREA
The Southern Area In this area, a very rustic or primitive Viticulture predominates. This region is cold during winter and spring. During summer temperatures are high - around 35 C during the day and a very cold 10 C during the night. Cultivating vineyards without wires and no irrigation because of the natural
high rainfall is characterisic. The varieties grown are of medium to low quality
(Pais, Carignanr, Cinsault) and the wines obtained here are inexpensive and
mainly used for local consumption. UP
CENTRAL VALLEY
The Central Valley The last and best area for wine production is what is called the central valley that goes from Aconcagua River down to Talca-Maule River. In the main, this area is the home of quality grapes. A long central valley running parallel to the Andes mountains, with the
Pacific Ocean just 80 kms away. The area stretches from the Aconcagua River down
to Maule River. Clearly, there are many climatic changes from north to south. UP
TRANSVERSAL VALLEYS
The Transversal Valleys Also in this region we can find what we call Transversal Valleys. They run from east to west, from Los Andes mountains to the Pacific Ocean. Each of these valleys has a river which flows through it, irrigating the soil and forming individual characteristics. THESE VALLEYS ARE Aconcagua Valley (Aconcagua River)
The climatic conditions produce slightly different characteristics in the wines of these regions, The warmer areas makes wines of a higher alcohol content less acidic and result in a higher PH. The red wines produced in this case will be smooth, round with a ripe tannin; on the other hand the whites will need to be carefully ripened during the harvest season - over-ripening will produce a flat wine with no structure in acids. If we move onto cooler regions (south and towards the coast) white wines are easier to obtain. The low temperatures produce grapes which do not over-ripen, the structure in acids is adequate in order to obtain fresh, light, fruity wines. In the case of the red (especially Cabernet) you have to be very careful in picking the grapes with the correct ripeness in order to get round tannins, and the right level of acidity. Current technology combined with the skill of the wine makers has resulted in
the ability to produce good quality wines from each other which have retained a
certain individuality, characteristic of the region. UP Designed and
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