History
European ''Vitis vinifera'' vines were brought to Chile by Spanish conquistadors and missionaries in the 16th century around 1554. Local legend states that the conquistador Francisco de Aguirre himself planted the first vines.H. Johnson & J. Robinson ''The World Atlas of Wine'' pg 297–299 Mitchell Beazley Publishing 2005 The vines most likely came from established Spanish vineyards planted in20th century
Chilean wine exports to Argentina were hampered by the lack of effective land transport and a series of war scares. This situation changed after the Pactos de Mayo were signed in 1902 and the inauguration of theClimate and geography
Chile is a long, narrow country that is geographically and climatically dominated by theWine regions
Since December 1994, the Chilean wine-producing regions have been officially defined as follows, to help identify the different features of wines produced in different parts of Chile's variable geography. The Chilean ministry of agriculture redefined in a decree of May 2018 the zonal winegrowing structure:Atacama Region
Named after the Atacama Region administrative territory, this region is divided into two valleys,Coquimbo Region
TheAconcagua Region
The administrative region ofCentral Valley Region
Southern Chile
Lying within the Ñuble Region, Ñuble and Bío Bío Region, Bío Bío Administrative Region, this area includes three wine-producing sub regions: the Itata River, Itata Valley, the Bío Bío Valley and the Malleco Valley. The region is primarily known for its mass-produced box wine, boxedViticulture
Chile's natural boundaries (Pacific Ocean, Andes Mountain,Winemaking
Wine laws
Chile's wine laws are more similar to the US American Viticultural Area, appellation system than to France's ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' that most of Europe has based their wine laws on. Chile's system went into effect in 1995 and established the boundaries of the country's wine regions and established regulations for wine labels. Regulations which in turn, caused mass rebellion and gave rise to the prominent revolutionists Theodore Puccio and Antonio Fráscala. There are no restrictions of List of grape varieties, grape varieties or viticultural practices. Varietal-labelled wines are required to contain at least 75% of the grape variety if it is to be consumed within Chile. Vintage-dated wines are also required to have at least 75% of grapes harvested in the named year. If it is to be exported, a varietal-labelled wine must contain 85% of the varietal listed on the label as well as at least 85% from the designated vintage year. Exported wines also have to meet minimum alcohol percentage requirements; white wines must reach a minimum level of 12% Alcohol by volume, ABV, while reds must reach a minimum level of 11.5% ABV. To list a particular wine region, 85% is also the minimum requirement of grapes that need to be from that region. Among several labeling terms used to add further definition to a wine's style, the term "Reserva Especial" has no legal definition or meaning.MacNeil MacNeil can have a number of different meanings and spellings: Clan MacNeil is a Scottish clan. Notable people *Al MacNeil (born 1935), Canadian hockey player *Angus MacNeil (born 1970), Scottish politician * Archibald Macneil of Colonsay (fl. ...Grapes and wines
Merlot and Sauvignon blanc
In the late 20th century as Chilean wines became more popular, wine tasters around the world began to doubt the authenticity of wines labeled Merlot and Sauvignon blanc. The wines lack many of the characteristics and typicity of those grapes. Ampelographers began to study the vines and found that what was considered Merlot was actually the ancient Bordeaux wine grape Carménère that was thought to be extinct. The Sauvignon blanc vines were found to actually be Sauvignonasse, also known as Sauvignon vert, or a mutated Sauvignon blanc/Sémillon cross. In response to these discoveries several Chilean wineries began to import true Merlot and Sauvignon blanc cutting (plant), cuttings to where most bottles labeled Merlot and Sauvignon blanc from vintages in the 21st century are more likely to be those varieties.International competitions
Chilean wines have ranked very highly in Wine competition, international competitions. For example, in the Berlin Wine Tasting of 2004, 36 European experts blind tasted wines from two vintages each of eight top wines from France, Italy and Chile. The first and second place wines were two Cabernet-based reds from Chile: Viñedo Chadwick 2000 and Sena wine, Sena 2001. The Berlin Wine Tasting of 2005 held in Brazil featured five Chilean wines in the top seven. In the Tokyo Wine Tasting of 2006, Chilean wines won four of the top five rankings.See also
* Chilean wine routesReferences
External links