Chilean wines

Wine history

Spanish conquistadors and missionaries brought European vines to Chile around 1554, and the País grape became the main variety for three centuries. In the 19th century wealthy landowners returning from France planted Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc; Silvestre Ochagavía founded his winery in 1851. Stainless steel tanks and oak barrels arrived in the early 1980s, starting a modern revival. In 1994 the French ampelographer Jean-Michel Boursiquot identified much of what Chileans called Merlot as Carmenère, a variety that had almost vanished from Bordeaux after phylloxera, and the Chilean agriculture department recognised it officially in 1998. Chile now also has icon reds such as Almaviva and Don Melchor, both from the Santiago Metropolitan Region.

Wine regions and appellations

Chile's vineyards run about 800 miles (1,300 km) from Atacama in the north to Bío-Bío in the south, between the Andes and the Pacific. The official DO regions are Atacama, Coquimbo, Aconcagua, the Central Valley and the Southern region, each divided into valleys. Coquimbo holds the Elqui Valley and Limarí Valley; Aconcagua includes the Aconcagua Valley and the cool, coastal Casablanca Valley. The Central Valley covers Maipo, home of Puente Alto, Rapel with the Colchagua Valley, Curicó and the Maule Valley. The south includes the Itata Valley, Bío-Bío and Malleco.

Grapes and what to drink

Chile has a Mediterranean climate with dry summers, and Bordeaux varieties dominate. Cabernet Sauvignon is the leading red, grown from Aconcagua to Maule, and Merlot, Syrah, Pinot Noir and Malbec are widely planted. Carmenère covered more than 8,800 ha in 2009, the largest area of the variety anywhere; Colchagua, Puente Alto and the Almaviva blend all use it. Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay come from the Casablanca, Limarí and Elqui valleys, and the southern Itata Valley also grows Muscat. Since the vineyards are largely free of phylloxera, most vines grow on their own roots without grafting.

Wine regions of Chile

• Coquimbo 2
• Maule 1
• Ñuble 1
• O'Higgins 1
• Santiago Metropolitan Region 3
• Valparaíso 2

Grapes of Chile

• Cabernet Sauvignon 6
• Syrah 4
• Carmenère 4
• Sauvignon Blanc 3
• Chardonnay 2
• Cabernet Franc 2
• Pedro Ximénez 1
• Carignan 1
• Cinsault 1
• Muscat 1
• Malbec 1
• Merlot 1
• Pinot Noir 1

Wine in Chile: questions and answers

Wines from other countries

• France 282
• Italy 70
• Spain 37
• Portugal 20
• United States 19
• Germany 18
• Australia 14
• Argentina 9
• Austria 9
• South Africa 9
• New Zealand 6
• Greece 4
• Hungary 4
• Switzerland 4