Country

Chile

Mediterranean, cooled by ocean and mountains

A long, narrow country between the Andes and the Pacific, famous for Cabernet Sauvignon and Carménère from ungrafted vines, with a revival of very old País and Carignan.

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Overview

About Chile

Chile stretches about 4,300 kilometres from north to south, but its vineyards lie mostly in the central valleys, from Aconcagua and Casablanca through Maipo, Colchagua and Curicó to Maule and beyond. The Andes to the east, the Pacific to the west and the Atacama Desert to the north protect it, and phylloxera has largely stayed out, so many vines are still on their own roots.

Spanish colonists planted País in the 16th century, and in the 1850s French varieties arrived from Bordeaux, among them Cabernet Sauvignon and Carménère. The latter was mistaken for Merlot for over a century, until it was identified in 1994.

Where is a grape grown?

Hover a marker to see what's grown there, and click it to open that place. On a touch screen, tap once to preview and again to open. Bigger markers have more grapes linked to them.

Chile

The land

Climate & terroir

Climate

Mediterranean, cooled by ocean and mountains

A Mediterranean climate with dry summers, made cooler by the cold Humboldt current and the Andean air that flows down at night. The coast is cooler than the valleys behind it.

Terroir & soils

What the vines grow in

Alluvial soils, clay and granite in the central valleys, and granite and slate on the coast. Rivers from the Andes provide irrigation.

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How the wines are classified

Chile's denominations of origin follow its geography, from broad regions down to named valleys, with a newer east-west system added on top.

Costa, Entre Cordilleras, Andes
Labels that say whether a wine comes from the coast, the central plain, or the Andean foothills.
Valley (DO)
A named valley such as Maipo, Colchagua or Casablanca; the grapes must come from it.
Region
Broader areas such as the Central Valley.

Within Chile