Chile

Front 1

Give a brief history of wine in Chile.

Back 1

16th Century Spanish conquistadors brought vinifera vines to Chile.
Free from Phylloxera.
Gentelman farmers planted vineyards in 19th century with help from monies earned byu copper mining.
Inflation a huge problem.
Allende marxist 1970's
Pinochet coup
Military Junta rule until 1989.
Half of Chile's vineyards pulled up. Industry stumbles and stagnates due to unstability.
Democracy takes hold in mid to late 1980's.
Chile begins to focus on export markets, and quality.
In 2006, Chile became the country with the highest nominal GDP per capita in Latin America.
Wine industry has never looked back.

Front 2

How much wine does Chile produce?

Back 2

6 million hl about half of what Argentina produces. Focus on quality wines.

Front 3

Claudio Gay

Back 3

Frenchman who set up Quinta Normal, a nursery with exotic botanicals and vinifera vines from Europe. Gave Chile untainted vines when Powdery mildew and Phylloxera hit in 19th century.

Front 4

Talk about the general geographic factors of Chile.

Back 4

3000 miles of pacific coastline to the west.
Andes mountains to the East up to 23,000'.
Antartic Climate to the south.
This isolates Chile.

Front 5

What is one of Chile's most important factors in exporting wines?

Back 5

Access to ports.

Front 6

Atacama and Coquimbo

Back 6

Far northern vineyards.
Table grapes and grapes for PISCO (moscatel brandy).

Front 7

Humbolt current

Back 7

Moderates the temperatures of Chile's vineyards.

Front 8

Central Valley Regions.

Back 8

Maipo
Most famous / around Santiago / Cabernet, and Chard / Alluvial, clay and sand soils

Rapel
Cachapoal and Colchagua subregions Apalta in Colchagua / Cabernet, Merlot, and Syrah / Carmenere.

Curico
Miguel Torres 1979 / Two distint mesoclimates 1 eastern end cool due to breezes from andes 2 hot towards coastal range in west. / cab, and sav blanc most planted range of vinifera planted. no real spotlight veritial.

Maule
Cool cloudy region thanks to Pacific influence / Used to produce bulk wine / focus on cab / nitrogen deficiant soils.

Front 9

Aconcagua

Back 9

Aconcagua Valley
Hottest region / Cab, Merlot / Named after river thats flows through it. / Aluvial soils /

Casablanca
Cool / sav blanc, pinot noir / bore holes for irrigation / far from andes / cool ocean breezes, long growing season, mild winters /

San Antonio
sub region is Leyda / coolest / clay on granite / first planted in 1997

Front 10

Southern Region

Back 10

Cooler climate verities such as Riesling, and Pinot Noir / bulk wine Muscat / lyre trellising / no rain shadow effect because no coastal range.

Front 11

Describe overriding climatic factors of Central regions.

Back 11

Dry growing season due to rain shadow effect of coastal range. Cool air from andes from the east and pacific (humbolt current from west.) low lying fog and clouds form due to marine influence over coastal range. / much more variation in climate from east to west than north to south. Increasingly vineyards are planted on hillsides to take atvantage of sunexposure. More exposure on Andes side.

Front 12

How are most vines trained in Chile?

Back 12

Classicly single staked goblet vines.
Modern Double Guyot.
Over irrigated high yeilding vines can expierence trouble in ripening such as cabernet and Carmenere. Modern training helps them achieve ripeness.
Canopy management is becoming popular.

Front 13

Describe some problems with identifying international verities that Chile exports.

Back 13

Savignon Blanc is mixed with Sauvignon vert, or savignonasse.
Merlot is sometimes a field blend of Carmenere and Merlot.

Front 14

Describe Chile's vinicultural pratices.

Back 14

Huge influx of international monies and partnerships. Pneumatic presses, oak barrels, stainless steel, referidgeration.

Front 15

Describe Carmenere for Chile

Back 15

It's answer to Malbec for Arg or Tannat for Uruguay.

Front 16

Cost of production?

Back 16

Higher than Argentina. Due to land prices. Some chilean producers have bought land in Argentina! Forign investment! lol