Chile and its Wine Regions

Most of the wineries of the world are located within an area on the globe enclosed by two lines  drawn equidistant on either side of the equator -between the 30th and the 50th degree of latitude in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres  The climate offers just enough sunlight that is conducive to grapes without severe cold nor hot summer. Chile stands at the 7^th place in the list of wine producing countries.

Classification

You find almost all the Chilean vineyards in basin enveloped by the Andes and a mountain range about 50 miles north to 250 miles south of Santiago. Chile’s wine regions, called viticulture regions are classified according to the origin. They are hence divided from the north to the south.

Regions

There are four wine-regions in Chile. These are Coquimbo, Aconcagua, Central Valley or Valley central and the Southern region.  The classification given by the Chilean government in 1994 finds one more region named Atacama added to these four.

Coquimbo region

Within the Coquimbo Region  there are three sub regions: Elqui Valley, Limarí Valley, and the Choapa Valley. Pisco and table grapes are known in this region. 508 hectares are planted in the Elqui. You find Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot , Carménère, Syrah , Sauvignon Blanc  and Chardonnay to be the major types planted. The Elqui valley is along the northern borderline of Chile’s wine regions. The valley’s grapes are used in piso which is a brandy known to be the Chile’s national drink.  In Limarí about 1700 hectares are planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carménère , Syrah and Chardonnay as the main plantations and the cultivation of primary grape varieties. The Choapa Valley has no wineries in place bur has vineyards planted.

Valparaiso region

This has two sub regions namely the Valley of Aconcagua and the Valley of Casablanca. Some add San Antonio to the Aconcagua region.

The valley of Aconcagua has 1098 hectare area planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Syrah, Carmeners and Merlot as major types of cultivation. In the Casablanca Valley about 3900 hectares with Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Caremenere and Merlot as the major cultivation types. San Antonio Valley is divided into four sectors: Leyda, Lo Abarca, Rosario, and Malvilla.  Antonio Valley has only 330 hectare of plantations.

Valley Central region

Majority of the Chilean wines comes out of the Central Valley. This has of four main sub regions. These are the Maipo, Rapel, Curico and Maule Valleys. Maipo has the distinction of being Chile's oldest wine region. Cabernet Sauvignon and other red wine varieties are produced here. With about 10000 hectares of plantation, Maipo has varieties which include Cabernet Sauvignon , Merlot , Carménère , Syrah  and Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay.  Most exported wines of Chile come from this valley which houses most of the oldest Chilean wineries. Rapel and its sub regions of Cachapoal and Colchagua are to the south of Maipo. Maule valleys have within them Curicó, which includes Lontue. Chimbarongo is closer to Curico and it produces Pinot Noir wines.

Southern Regions

The Southern region contains the sub regions of Itata, Bio Bio and Malleco. Itata Valley finds Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Moscatel de Alexandria cultivated. The Bio Bio finds a mass production of simple table wines. Malleco  sees only 17 hectares of plantation with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Atacama

Within the Atacama region there are two sub regions, the Copiapó Valley and the Huasco Valley, both of which are coterminous with the provinces of the same names. The region is known primarily for its Pisco production.^[5] Atacama is also an important source of table grapes.