Winemaking appeared in the New World in the 16th century, thanks to the Spanish Conquistadors. The vine spread south from Peru to Chile and Argentina by 1560. Viticulture flourished in South America until it began to suffer under a prohibitive Spanish law that restricted wine production in the 17th century. Chile did its best to ignore the ban on production until finally it was all but settled in the early 1800s, due to a new era of political autonomy to former colonies and Chile, Argentina and Brazil gained independence.
The 20th century in South America experienced a lot of political and economic difficulties, thus wine industries in both Chile and Argentina were negatively affected. High domestic consumption in the early part of the century fell significantly in the second half. As well, protective state policies prevented Chilean wine producers from participating in an international market. Foreign investment began to pick up speed during the 1980s and Chile began to aggressively export wines. Chile has successfully developed a reputation for high quality wines and value prices. Chile's high end wineries are well known for joint projects with big names from Bordeaux and California.
The leading international varieties in Chile are Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc. There has been some confusion as to what is actually planted in Chile's vineyards - Sauvignon Blanc has been found to actually be Sauvignon Vert and what they thought was Merlot in some cases is Carmenere. A large majority of Chilean producers consider Carmenere to be the country's claim to housing a unique varietal.
Chile stretches for almost 3000 miles up the west coast of South America, separated from the rest of the continent by the Andes Mountains. 800 of the 3000 miles is made up of viticulture and most of the major regions are south of the capital city of Santiago. From north to south, the Denominations of Origin (DOs) of Chile are Atacama, Coquimbo, Aconcagua, the Valle Central and the Southern Regions. While there are moderating maritime influences, Chile's climate varies significantly from north to south. The best growing regions for fine wine are mostly situated in the Central Valley to the south of Santiago, where the Andes cools nighttime temperatures, and along the coast, where the cold, maritime Humboldt Current cools the vines. The coastal mountains provide some shelter, but the Humboldt Current sends cool sea air inland through the river valleys to affect the Central Valley vineyards during the day. The northernmost regions are desert-like and produce mostly Pisco and table wine and the southernmost regions receive more rainfall and the growing season is cooler and shorter. There is such variation in altitude that vineyard plantings climb from the coast into the Coastal Ranges, and from the valleys to the Andean foothills.
Chilean wine law demands a 75% rule, which states vintage, varietal and denomination of origin must, if listed on the bottle, comprise a minimum of 75% of the blend. Most wineries observe the 85% minimum for all three in order to comply with EU standards for export. Additionally, Chilean law requires all wines to show a minimum alcohol content of 11.5%. If a wine is labeled "Reserva" and "Reserva Especial" it must contain 12% minimum alcohol content, and if labeled "Reserva Privada" or "Gran Reserva" it requires 12.5% abv. Moreover, "Reserva Especial" and "Gran Reserva" wines spend mandatory time in oak.
Other leading grapes in Chile include Chardonnay, Syrah, Semillon, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Franc. Red grapes account for approximately 75% of the total plantings in Chile.
Stay tuned for part 2 of Chilean Wines, where we'll discuss individual regions and then get into the reviews of Sauvignon Blanc I tasted via the blogger tasting I took part in recently.
Cheers!
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