While many associate sunny Chile with rich red wine, white grapes have garnered quite a bit of attention over the past decade. Many Chilean winemakers conduct rigorous soil studies to determine the best grape varieties for their vineyard sites. Warm, inland regions provide excellent conditions to ripen powerful grapes, while cool pockets of coastal or high-elevation vineyards are found in both the north and the south, focusing on more delicate varieties. If other countries hinge their wine industries on one or two grape varieties, Chile is quite the opposite. In fact, 75 percent of all exported Chilean wine is sustainably produced - a remarkable feat, considering bottle export numbers to the U.S. Although the lack of water can be challenging for winemakers, Chile’s dry climate makes it a natural hub for organic, biodynamic, and sustainable wine production. The climate in the country’s wine regions therefore varies dramatically, but all benefit from abundant sunshine and dry conditions, which handily combat disease.
As a grapevine grows older, the grapes it produces become more concentrated and nuanced, making these pre-phylloxera vines such an asset to Chilean winemakers.Ĭhile is the world’s narrowest country, averaging just 110 miles in width, but its coastline stretches nearly 2,600 miles - farther than the distance from New York to Los Angeles. The country is thus home to some of the world’s oldest vines, many of which are ungrafted, or planted on their own rootstocks, to this day.
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In fact, Chile is the only major wine-producing country free of phylloxera. Bordered by the cool Pacific Ocean to the west and the snow-capped Andes to the east, by the Atacama Desert to the north, and the far reaches of Patagonia to the south, Chile is naturally protected on all sides.Īs a result of this protection, phylloxera, the vineyard pest that decimated most of the world’s vineyards in the 1800s, never touched Chilean vines. OverviewĬhile is located on the western coast of South America, but its topography creates something akin to a pseudo-island, isolating its vineyards from the elements. Get ready to take a trip south of the equator.
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This narrow strip of land can produce festive sparklers, crisp and refreshing whites, and bold, world-class reds, plus every style in between. As Chilean winemakers started exporting more wine, the world noticed both the quality and value of Chile’s wine industry.Ĭhile’s wine industry is founded on diversity, which is why an overview of Chile’s climate, grapes, and regions barely skims the surface of what this exciting country has to offer.
Until the 1990s, most of the country’s wine was consumed by its residents. European immigrants brought more varieties, particularly from Bordeaux, to Chile in the 1800s. While there has been an explosion of quality Chilean wine appearing stateside over the past 30 years, its first grapevines were planted as early as the 1500s. Chile may be a New World country, but don’t call its wine industry young.
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