Chile Wine Regions - View Wines

Chile Wine Regions Spanish settlers brought the vine to Chile's Central Valley, probably around 1554.

The country is famously long and thin, some 3,000 miles in length from the Atacama Desert in the North to the glaciers of Patagonia in the South.

The main wine regions of Chile are all valleys of rivers running down from the Andes to the Pacific Ocean, transecting the 625 mile Central Valley
  • ELQUI VALLEY
  • LIMARÍ VALLEY
  • ACONCAGUA VALLEY
  • MAIPO VALLEY
  • CASABLANCA VALLEY
  • SAN ANTONIO VALLEY
  • RAPEL/CACHAPOAL VALLEY
  • RAPEL/COLCHAGUA VALLEY
  • CURICÓ VALLEY
  • MAULE VALLEY
  • ITATA VALLEY
  • BÍO BÍO VALLEY

With natural boundaries on all sides, Chile is sufficiently isolated to have escaped the late 19th century scourge of phylloxera (root-eating aphids)

The 625 mile long Central Valley is planted with 112,000ha of high-quality vines and has historically produced the majority of Chilean wine. It is in fact a plateau between the Andes in the east, rising to over 6000m and the low coastal range (up to 800m) in the west.

It has a Mediterranean climate, its naturally hot temperatures are mitigated by the influence of the cold Humboldt current that runs along the Pacific Coast of the country.

Rainfall in the Central Valley tends to be higher in the south and also in the east, on the slopes of the Andes. The east of the valley also tends to have greater summer temperature differences from day to night.

Chile's wine regions are classified by the various rivers that cut across the Central Valley, carrying torrents of melted snow during the growing season.

Elqui Valley

Chile’s northernmost and highest wine region, traditionally associated with aromatic white grapes for Chilean Pisco. Recent vineyard plantings seek to benefit from the long sunny days by locating in the cooler sites either closer to the ocean or at higher altitude.

Limarí Valley

250 miles north of Santiago and approaching the southerly edge of the Atacama Desert, this semi-arid area has a Mediterranean climate resulting from the daily effect of the “Camanchaca” (a fog that blankets the area with cool air each morning) and cool coastal breezes along the valley, both helping to maintain mild summer temperatures.

Aconcagua Valley

At 6,956 metres, Mt. Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Americas, towers over the valley, which is Chile's smallest quality wine area. It is very hot and dry with largely alluvial soils and best suited to producing top red wines.

Maipo Valley

Located in the Central Valley, Chile's closest wine region to Santiago. As such it was the first to be planted with quality grapes in the 19th century, often by French expatriates who encouraged predominantly Bordeaux vines. Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for over half Maipo's 9,500ha of vines.

Although Chile’s appellations of origin are defined from north to south, winemakers now generally agree that conditions vary much more widely from east to west, as the Maipo Valley clearly illustrates. Winemakers unofficially divide the valley into three distinct sectors: Alto Maipo, closest to the Andes; Central Maipo, along the valley floor and Pacific Maipo in the area closest to the Pacific Ocean.

Casablanca Valley

First planted in 1982, close to the Pacific Ocean, Chile's best known white-wine producing area making excellent cool climate wines. Cooling morning fogs resulting from the icy Humboldt current and frequent cloud cover reducing the number of clear days both work to slow down the ripening of the predominantly Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc grapes. Officially part of the Aconcagua Valley.

San Antonio Valley

Includes Leyda Valley 25 miles south west of Casablanca town, with some vines only 3 miles from the Pacific coast. Leyda has only been planted since 1997, but has already established a reputation for cooler climate wines, most notably Pinot Noir. Cooler temperatures mean longer ripening periods and crisper acidity for leaner, more food-friendly wines.

Irrigation is clearly a concern here, and it is a prevailing factor in determining how much of the area can or will be planted.

Rapel Valley

Officially divided into two subregions - Colchagua and Cachapoal - accounting for over 25% of Chile's vineyards. Colchagua has built a reputation in its own right, especially for more powerful red wines.

Curicó Valley

Producing nearly a quarter of Chilean wine from less than one fifth of the country's vineyards. The valley's flat terrain is easy to mechanise, creating the possibility for higher yields.

Maule Valley

The Maule Valley is different from other Central Valley wine regions, not having a flat valley floor. The uneven terrain allows the opportunity for individual wineries to create their own distinctive styles. One of Chile's cooler and cloudier regions.

Itata Valley

With a low coastal ridge for protection from strong winds and occasional rain blowing in from the Pacific, most vineyards are planted in the lee of the coastal hills. One unusual feature of Itata is the red clay topsoil, with underlying granite that can add a distinctive clove or cinnamon note to red wines.

Bió Bió Valley

With a climate likened to that of Northern France, cool climate whites wines are gaining in reputation, as is Pinot Noir, especially from the more modern vineyards in the far south of Bió Bió.