Chile

Chile’s long viticultural history dates back to the 16th century when the Spanish conquistadors brought Vitis vinifera vines with them as they colonized the region.  In the mid-18th century, French wine varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot were introduced.  In the early 1980s, a renaissance began with the introduction of stainless steel fermentation tanks and the use of oak barrels for aging.  Wine exports grew very quickly as quality wine production increased.  The most common grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Carmenère.

Chile is a long, narrow country that is geographically and climatically dominated by the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west.  Chile's vineyards are found along an 800 mile stretch of land from Atacama Region to the Bio-Bio Region in the south.  The climate is varied with the northern regions being very hot and dry compared to the cooler, wetter regions in the south.  The close proximately to the Andes help create a wide diurnal temperature variation between day and nighttime temperatures.  This cool drop in temperature is vital in maintaining the grapes' acidity levels.  There is not much vintage variation due to the reliability of favorable weather with little risk of spring time frost or harvest time rains.  So far, Chile has remained free of phylloxera disease, which means that the country’s grapevines do not need to be grafted.  Harvest typically begins at the end of February for varieties like Chardonnay with some red wine varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon being picked in April and Carmenère sometimes staying on the vine into May.