Guides to Chile’s Wine Regions

Geography and terroir

There is a great air of confidence in the vineyards of Chile today – a nation of limitless potential and astounding topography. Located in a western corner of South America, it is the southernmost nation in the world and a springboard for travelers who wish to explore Antarctica.

Yet Chile is one of the most compact landmasses on the planet, stretching a mere 350 kilometers at its widest point; conversely, it extends over some 4,300 kilometers from north to south. Separated from its Argentine neighbor by the Andes, Chile boasts some of the most beautiful Pacific coastline in the world.

For this reason, wine producers often use the terms “Coasta,” “Entre Cordilleras (between the coast and Andes), and “Andes” on their labels to give consumers a sense of the country’s geographical diversity.

Viticultural Expansion and Irrigation Challenges

Today, approximately 130,000 hectares of vines are planted in Chile, with the acreage declining slightly due to increasing urbanization and economic pressures on growers. Nevertheless, viticultural limits are being tested in all directions as growers seek new frontiers and cool-climate terroirs. Indeed, there is a significant downside to growing grapes in South America: the lack of water.

In many Chilean regions, summers are extremely dry and warm, necessitating man-made irrigation. In the pre-Colombian era, Incan engineers created a sophisticated (by local standards) network of flood channels to ferry meltwater from the Andes to the valley floors below.

Although fiercely defended by Chile’s more traditional growers, drip irrigation in many commercial vineyards has replaced this agricultural management method. This offers the dual advantages of precision and timing – which are essential in producing fine wine.

Historical Focus on High-Yield Wines

There is no doubt, however, that Chile is ideally suited to wine growing. This is both a major strength and weakness: the country made its reputation as a purveyor of supermarket wine – ripe, anonymous, and very easy to drink. Harnessing all the advantages of a benign Mediterranean climate and an abundance of fertile soils, many growers succumbed to the temptation of generous yields and a fast buck; ripening grapes can be absurdly easy in certain parts of the Central Valley.

Fortunately, quality-conscious producers have rejected this paradigm in the 21st century, motivated by their determination to position Chile as a leading source of fine wine. This has engendered an ongoing search for poor soils and cooler sites, particularly in the fashionable coastal strip. Cooled by maritime breezes, vineyard sites planted on the east-facing slopes of the Coastal Range are now in high demand.

Chile’s other claim to fame is a lack of vineyard diseases, rot, and mildew. This includes the deadly louse phylloxera, which devastated France’s wine industry in the late 1800s. Yet, due to the country’s geographical isolation, phylloxera never gained a foothold in Chilean soils. As a result, the critical mass of vines do not have to be grafted onto protective rootstocks, although some growers do graft for various reasons.

Bordeaux Varietal Success

But these grafted plots cannot hold a candle to Chile’s sizable collection of pre-phylloxera Bordeaux vine varieties; Chilean winemakers took cuttings from Bordeaux long before the disease arrived in Europe, which may explain why Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot perform so brilliantly in the deep clay and loam of the Central Valley.

Meanwhile, ancient granite, schist, and slate soils can be found in the coastal areas to the west: Rhone varieties yield exceptional fruit in these metamorphic terroirs. However, producers must control plant vigor on fertile terrain to safeguard against inflated crops and lackluster wine.

Historically, Chile’s bulk wine industry heavily relied on the Pais grape, known as Criolla Chica in Argentina. It is still grown in pretty generous quantities, albeit pioneers like Miguel Torres have proven that old bush vine Pais, hitherto derided, can make interesting wine if the yield is controlled.

Nevertheless, premium versions of this esoteric grape remain in fairly short supply. Chile’s international prestige has been built on award-winning Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and delectable Syrah, increasingly sold at ambitious prices worldwide.

Winemaking and regional classifications

Chile’s modern viticultural map is split into five key zones. Running from north to south, they are:

• Atacama
• Coquimbo
• Aconcagua
• Valle Central
• Region del Sur

These zones contain several subregions, and these may also be further subdivided. Each region offers a distinct terroir, and invariably, certain varieties are more suited to a particular subzone, although there is some overlap in grape variety plantings. However, certain areas have their strengths and USPs: Maipo-grown Cabernet Sauvignon has no equal in South America today. It is time to take Chile very seriously indeed.

Key regions

Atacama

A work in progress, this far northern outpost of viticulture is being developed by a small band of quality-focused producers and long-established table grape farmers. Yet Pisco (a local spirit) has been made here since the arrival of the Spanish explorers in the 16th century, distilled from robust and high-yielding vine varieties.

Such qualities are necessary to survive the unbelievably torrid conditions of the Atacama desert, where irrigation is essential in the summer months. Premium wine production, however, is possible in the Salar de Atacama, where altitude can soar to 2500 meters above sea level. Cool nights (due to the extreme diurnal temperature variation) yield amazingly fresh white and red wines, including Ventisquero’s exceptional ‘Tara Atacama’ Chardonnay. This is a vineyard to watch.

Coquimbo

Some of Chile’s newer viticultural areas include the important Elqui, Limari, and Choapa subzones. Elqui, like its neighbor, the Atacama region, has long been associated with table grape production.

Still, in recent years, high-altitude sites (up to 2000 meters) that run from the coast to the Andes have been better exploited with impressive results. Syrah, in particular, is flourishing in the region, benefiting from the dry, sunny climate and cooler nighttime temperatures the higher altitude sites offer. Many good, full-bodied reds are also now being produced from Bordeaux varieties, with balanced alcohol and a tannic structure that invokes the Medoc.

Meanwhile, Limari continues to make world-class dry whites: Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay are dead ringers for the Loire Valley and Premier Cru Meursault. An erstwhile reputation for poor wine – vineyards you see today are the ancestors of some of the first Spanish vines taken to Chile – is slowly being forgotten as producers refine their methods and conquer new grape varieties.

Cooled by marine winds straight off the Pacific, Limari Pinot Noir has already won the hearts and minds of sommeliers in the US. Another promising subregion is Choapa – one of Chile’s newer viticultural experiments. Although the region has little cachet abroad, growing quantities of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon have been planted, yielding promising results. Rocky, colluvial soils and high elevation – rising to 800 meters above sea level – continue to tempt investors from further afield.

Aconcagua

The region of Aconcagua is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful in Chile. Its name comes from Mt. Aconcagua, the highest mountain in South America, towering over the valley floor with its snow-capped peaks glistening in the sun.

Natural beauty aside, Aconcagua includes the important subregion of Casablanca, which contains some of Chile’s premier cool climate and coastal vineyards. Despite being a new face on the viticultural map (the first vineyards were planted in the mid-1980s), this has become a well-established source of superlative dry whites. Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, and Sauvignon Blanc are all successful here. The latter is now giving the Kiwis some serious competition!

The Valle de Aconcagua itself is warmer and becomes increasingly hot further inland. Yet it is tempered by cool winds that encourage viticulture to flourish in the west-facing foothills of the Andes. Developed extensively by the Errazuriz family in the 19th century, over 1000 hectares are planted in this exceptional terroir while experimentation with new varieties and sites continues apace.

Flanked by the Pacific (some climats are less than 20 kilometers from the ocean), Chile’s finest winemakers produce Burgundian Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which has electrified the trade.

The subregion of San Antonio is directly south. These relatively new vineyards move ever closer to the coast, often only six kilometers away from the sea. A good mixture of crisp whites and full-bodied, intense reds are produced in the San Antonio Valley, first planted in the 1990s and now home to super-talented wineries like Casa Marin, Vina Leyda, Matetic, and Amayna.

Much like Casablanca, cool-climate varietals find a natural home in the clay and granite soils of San Antonio, cooled by maritime breezes in the summer months. There is also much excitement surrounding the up-and-coming vineyards of Lo Abarca and Leyda Valley, the former of which was given appellation status in 2018. The quality of Lo Abarca Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah can be outstanding.

Central Valley

This substantial region houses some of Chile’s oldest vineyards and includes the capital, Santiago, to the north. The suburbs of Santiago touch the vineyards of Maipo, the northernmost of the region’s subzones. The valley runs an impressive 400km from north to south, taking in the Rapel, Maule, and Curico subregions. Chile’s wine giants, including Concha y Toro and Santa Rita, are based here. Today, they continue to make a broad range of red and white styles. However, the Central Valley’s reputation was built on vibrant and distinctly Chilean interpretations of the classic Bordeaux blend.

This is particularly true of Maipo, the heartland of exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon wine. The zone is split into three areas – Alto Maipo, Central Maipo, and Coastal Maipo – and is heavily influenced by its proximity to the Andes. Meltwater provides an important water source for irrigation, while the alluvial terroir of Central Maipo is highly conducive to growing red varieties in this warm, dry climate.

Nevertheless, coastal fogs, which drift a long way inland, help to moderate the Maipo climate; the vineyards of Coastal Maipo are found in the vicinity of the Maipo River, again a region producing mainly red wine. The wines are, on the whole, better than ever, showing ripe fruit and great aging potential. The best reds from Maipo have traditionally been Cabernet Sauvignon, but Rhone varieties are becoming more widespread.

The burgeoning and rapidly expanding Rapel zone is another important part of Chile’s viticultural landscape. Chilly mornings and infertile soils yield some excellent Bordeaux-style wines, while Colchagua to the south is known for its rich, ripe reds, including Chile’s signature variety, Carmenere.

In contrast, the subregion of Cachapoal is becoming renowned for its success with early-ripening varieties, including Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Noir. As throughout Chile, soils vary enormously in Rapel, as does vineyard elevation. The highest climats can reach 1000 meters in certain places, although that is some way off the towering heights found in northwest Argentina.

Meanwhile, the temperate climate of Curico (dry farming is possible here) permits growers to produce a wide range of fine red and white wines. Over 30 varieties of wine grapes are grown today, and many investors have followed Miguel Torres’ lead in establishing premises in the highly diverse terrain of Curico. They continue to benefit from significant midseason temperature fluctuations, helping to retain good acidity in the berries.

The best examples are fruit-rich yet have wonderful balance and poise; some of Chile’s most delicate Cabernet and ethereal Pinot Noir are made in the vineyards of the southern Central Valley. Indeed, red wines are probably its strongest suit despite the moderate climate.

That is equally true of Maule, one of Chile’s oldest wine regions. There are admittedly some very ordinary Pais, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Malbec produced in Maule.

However, old vine Carignan can excel in the volcanic soils (and relatively inclement conditions) that define the southernmost zone of the Central Valley – it receives twice the rainfall of Chile’s capital, Santiago! Pinot Noir, too, is showing its mettle in the slate vineyards of Empedrado in western Maule – Miguel Torres has done it again. Look out also for their delicious and super-fresh sparkling wine. It takes the Pais grape to a whole other level.

Southern regions

South of the Central Valley, we find the Region del Sur, which includes the subregions of Itata and, immediately to the south, Bío Bío and Malleco. It is a world apart from the dry conditions of Aconcagua; Malleco receives a generous amount of rainfall and is quite brisk by the standards of central Chile.

Inevitably, this has encouraged producers to focus on early-ripening styles like Riesling and Pinot Noir – older vineyards are often planted to Pais and Moscatel. Today, the best wines undoubtedly come from Bío Bío, although Chile’s innovators are determined to head south and invest in Osorno – and the islands of Chiloé and Mechuque.

Montes has already proven that Mechuque can deliver crisp Riesling and delicate Pinot Noir. Chile’s A-list, already responsible for transforming the country’s global standing, maintains an unquenchable thirst for discovery and renewal.

Chilean gastronomy

Chilean gastronomy is an enticing, complex, and highly diverse melting pot, drawing on European influences and the pre-Columbian traditions of the indigenous Mapuche.

Their most prized culinary contribution, the “Curanto,” involves a medley of seafood, meat, and vegetables – the ingredients are covered in Nalca leaves (Chilean rhubarb) and then placed in a deep pit covered with hot stones.

This tradition is still carried out in rural areas, while coastal cities such as Valparaiso offer sophisticated restaurants and a surfeit of Pacific seafood, often caught that same morning. Fresh ceviche, made from fish marinated in lime juice, coriander, and onions, is one of Chile’s most popular dishes. It deserves a chilled and beautifully aromatic glass of Casablanca Sauvignon Blanc.