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Chile

The real Chile is not yet known in the United States. The real Chile is far away from Santiago,
at the extremes. People aren’t coming here because it is too far out of the mainstream—so
99% of sommeliers don’t understand our real potential. But ever so slowly we are drawing a
little attention. We are starting to show people the dark side of the moon.
-Pedro Parra (Clos des Fous, Aristos, Parra Family Wines), speaking from Concepción in Itata

Contents
  1. Five Centuries of the Vine
  2. Geography and Climate
  3. Geology and Soil
  4. Wine Law in Chile
  5. Chile's Grape Varieties
  6. Winegrowing Regions of Chile
Chile is one of the 10 largest wine-producing countries in the world and second only to Argentina in the Southern Hemisphere. In the last 30 years the country has vaulted forward as a major exporter of wine and today ships more wine offshore than its citizens drink at home. According to USDA GAIN reports, Chile exports more wine, in both volume and value, to the United States than any other South American country. But Chile’s story, beyond single-digit bargains on the supermarket shelf, is not often told in the US. With a few exceptions Chilean wines rarely appear on fine-dining wine lists, and even when they do the category is usually a half-page entitled “South America,” offset by a chapter of Burgundy. Too often lumped in with Argentina and left behind by sommeliers, Chile deserves a second look.
Five Centuries of the Vine

Wine, Conquest, and Religion in Spain’s New World
Muscadine grapevines may have grown wild in Mexico, but it was the Spanish who introduced Vitis vinifera to the New World. As early as 1519, the Spanish Empire decreed that all ships sailing for the West Indies carry vine cuttings. The conquistador Hernán Cortés, who brought ruin to the Aztec civilization of Mexico in 1521 and established the American colony of New Spain the following year, reiterated the order and set quotas for vineyard production in his

  • I was struggling to find a map which had administrative regions, their corresponding Regiones Viticolas, and nested DOs, so I made one using this old map and the wines of Chile website. Note that the DOs are on the left with the corresponding RV & administrative region on the right. The Atacama and Austral DOs are off the map, but I did list them North to South. Hope it's helpful/do let me know if there are any errors. https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:US:c0e8b70d-a9cd-48e8-9316-06cc9ac1767d 

  • in reply to Keith Mattrick

    Hey Daniel & Keith! Per the current state of Chilean wine law, Secano Interior is the sole exception where it can be labeled. If you take a peek at page 6 here, it is omitted from the allowable grape varieties. 

  • in reply to Daniel Pendleton

    I'd look here, specifically Artículo 3º Bis., regarding the authorization of País and Cinsault for the denominación de origen especial Secano Interior.

  • Is País now permitted on Chilean labels? Anyone have good information on this?

  • in reply to Anthony Gullikson

    Of carmenere*

  • According to wine-searcher a study in 2013 proposes that the second parent is a variety called Murál

  • in reply to Ivan Arangelov

    Indeed. Wasn’t the Denominación de Origen especial Secano Interior explicitly introduced to allow varietal labeling for País and Cinsault? It certainly appears that it is wines labeled with that DO that are appearing in the marketplace with País on the label.

  • in reply to Keith Mattrick

    Hey Keith! This 85% requirement is specific to earning Costa/Entre Cordilleras/Andes designation. I'll be sure to add specificity to the text to avoid confusion. 

  • The section on Chile’s DO system includes the following text: ‘Every viticultural area within Chile’s DO scheme is now grouped under one of these three sectors, and producers may append a denominación with one of these complementary indications, provided a minimum 85% of grapes are sourced from the named region.’ But that 85% minimum would seem to conflict with the text further above that states that ‘Wines indicating an origin need only contain a minimum 75% of grapes harvested in the stated region’. I understand what happens in practice differs due to concerns over exporting to the EU, but the wording here would suggest that the 85% minimum is a legal minimum for origin labeling. Am I missing something?

  • in reply to Juan David Quintero

    Hey Juan! Thank you. The guide is updated. 

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