Chilean Maipo Valley wines

September 8, 9:01 PMWine ExaminerLeslie Cramer

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Wine Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Is it just me or are these wines everywhere?  And the best part is these wines are generally of good quality, and inexpenisve to boot.  French viines grown in other viticulturally condusive areas continue to  rock the wine-drinking public's world,  Of particular note are wines from the Central and Maipo Valleys in Chile, and around the Chile's capital, Santiago.

Hot today, Chile tomorrow   source

Chile has a worldwide reputation for its excellent wines, the quality of Chilean wines owes much to the efforts of our winegrowers, who took great pains is caring for those French vines that made of our soils their natural environment.
Chilean vineyards were first established in the mid-sixteenth century by Spanish missionaries. These viticulture pioneers planted the grape known as Pais, which is similar to the "Mission" grape widely grown in California and the Criolla variety grown in Argentina. For the next 300 years the Pais was Chile's primary grape and still comprises about half the total vineyard land. In 1851, a Spaniard Silvestre Ochagavía, brought in French wine experts, followed by cuttings of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, and Sémillon. Other varieties were subsequently planted, including Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer and Riesling. The next four decades saw the establishment of numerous wineries that are still prominent estates today including: Cousiño Macul (1861), San Pedro (1865), Errazuriz (1870), Santa Rita (1880), Concha y Toro (1883), and Viña Undurraga (1885). These six wine estates plus those of Caliterra, Los Vascos, Santa Carolina, Saint Morillon, and Walnut Crest account for almost 90 percent of the Chilean wines exported to the United States. Chile seems to have an ideal environment for growing grapes.