With its varied terrain and climate, Chile is one of the major stars of the New World red wine scene. But although viticulture has been established here for centuries, it was only relatively recently that rest of the world began to sit up and take notice of Chilean wines. Today the country is famous above all for producing good quality, but relatively inexpensive, wines which have gained a firm following among bargain-hunting wine lovers the world over.
Red wine production is said to have been introduced to Chile with the arrival of Catholic missionaries, who planted vineyards in order to produce the red wine necessary for Holy Communion. The first professional Chilean vineyards to have been recorded began business in the 1550s, but wine production did not become a major interest in Chile until nearly 300 years later. By the 1830s, Chile had begun to do significant trade with Europe and European winegrowers brought both their expertise and grapes to the country. Among the most influential of the new grapes were Bordeaux varieties, which were first brought to the capital Santiago and later adapted well to the warm and fertile Chilean central valley.
Together with neighbouring Argentina, Chile was one of the only wine-producing countries to escape the plague of vineyard-destroying phylloxera that devastated many of the world’s wine-growing regions during the 1830s. Chilean and Argentinean wines became a major export to Europe and the United States, as wine-thirsty nations looked to those few countries lucky enough to have escaped the killer plague.
Chilean wine exports slowed down during World War Two, when trade with Europe all but came to a standstill. A closed economy and trade restrictions meant that wine exports continued to stagnate well after the war ended and it was not until Chile re-established itself as a democracy that the country began the wine-growing recovery that would lead to its current status as one of the world’s major-league red wine producers.
With trade restrictions lifted, Chilean viticulturists began to stage a recovery in earnest, with 100,000 hectares of vineyards planted and international techniques such as oak barrel ageing breathing new life into the country’s wine industry. The country established the reputation for low-cost wines that continues today.
Chile’s varied terrain means that only certain parts of the long, narrow country are suitable for growing the red wine grapes that have contributed to some of the world’s best selling wines. The rocky, high altitude terrain of the north and the frozen plains of the south that spread into the Antarctic are no go areas for wine growers, but happily for wine lovers the temperate central region of the country lends itself extremely well to the cultivation of red wine grapes, leading to some excellent Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignons. Until recently, Chilean red wines were considered by many to be of inferior quality and it was not until the 1990s that Chile began to shake its reputation for producing ‘cheap plonk’. As exports grew, foreign investment began to improve standards at many of Chile’s major vineyards and the country began to produce red wines to rival many of those from countries commanding far higher price tags.
Perhaps the country’s most successful red grape is the mighty Cabernet Sauvignon, which has adapted well to the dry climate and cool breezes of Chile. Carmanere, a type of Bordeaux grape today rarely found outside Chile, is another success and often blended with the very similar Merlot. (Chilean Carmanere grapes were, in fact, initially mis-identified as Merlot).
Today, Chile is increasingly growing in popularity as a destination for wine lovers on wine tasting tours and holidays, often combined with visits to the vineyards of Argentina. The main wine growing regions include Panquehue, which produces the premium red Sena and Maipo, which is the country’s oldest wine growing region and famed for its good quality reds such as Cabernet Sauvignon. Probably the country’s best know wine label is Concha Y Toro, which has vineyards at Maipo and at various locations across Chile and exports its decent-quality, fairly-priced reds to destinations across the world. The producer’s joint venture operations with Mouton-Rothschild of France are leading to the production of superior quality wines and, together with new developments in technology and the planting of new vineyards from other established and up-and-coming winemakers, the country is now firmly establishing itself as one to watch on the red wine scene. With an increasing fan base and a growing reputation for premium red wines as well as affordable favourites, Chile’s influence on the world’s wine scene looks set to continue well into the future.
