San Antonio Province ( es, Provincia de San Antonio) is one of eight

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

s of the central

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

(V). Its capital is the port city of

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

(pop. 87,205).

Administration

As a

, San Antonio is a second-level

administrative division Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

, governed by a provincial delegate who is appointed by the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Communes

The province comprises six

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, ...

, each governed by a municipality consisting of an

alcalde Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...

and

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

: * Algarrobo *

El Quisco El Quisco is a Chilean city and commune in San Antonio Province, Valparaíso Region. Located in the country's central coast, it serves as a popular summer resort for the population of Santiago and forms part of the Coast of Poets, a cultural spa ...

El Tabo El Tabo is a Chilean Communes of Chile, commune located in the San Antonio Province, Valparaíso Region. The commune spans an area of . This town is a traditional beach for middle class families. Demographics According to the 2002 census of t ...

* Cartagena *

(capital) *

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

Geography and demography

The province spans a coastal area of , . According to the 2002 census, San Antonio Province had a population of 136,594, making it the fourth most populous province in the region. At that time, the population was 267,022 inhabitant with 125,637 people living in

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...

s, 10,957 people living in

rural area In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

s, 67,771 men and 68,823 women.

San Antonio Valley wine region

San Antonio Valley is a small wine region known for producing

Pinot Noir Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...

Sauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in ...

and

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...

. It is located very close to the sea around the city of

San Antonio, Chile San Antonio is a Chilean port city, commune and the capital of the San Antonio Province in the Valparaíso Region. In the twenty-first century San Antonio has surpassed Valparaíso in freight volume handled, becoming the main freight port of ...

, south of the

Casablanca Valley Casablanca (), meaning "white house", is a Chilean city and commune located in Valparaíso Province, Valparaíso Region. Geography The city of Casablanca is located on Route 68 between Santiago and the city of Valparaíso, at about 30 minutes ...

and only 55 miles (90 km) west of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

. As in other

Chilean wine Chilean wine has a long history for a New World wine region, as it was the 16th century when the Spanish conquistadors brought ''Vitis vinifera'' vines with them as they colonized the region. In the mid-19th century, French wine varieties su ...

regions, like the

, San Antonio is highly influenced by the cooling effect of the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

which makes wine production possible in this area. Soils are in the valley are

granitic A granitoid is a generic term for a diverse category of coarse-grained igneous rocks that consist predominantly of quartz, plagioclase, and alkali feldspar. Granitoids range from plagioclase-rich tonalites to alkali-rich syenites and from quart ...

, poor and well drained with a

topsoil Topsoil is the upper layer of soil. It has the highest concentration of organic matter and microorganisms and is where most of the Earth's biological soil activity occurs. Description Topsoil is composed of mineral particles and organic matt ...

of clay, providing a good substrate for vines. Rains are concentrated mainly in the winter season and the vineyards require drop irrigation for the rest of the year, using water from the Maipo River. The San Antonio Valley is seen as an up-and-coming wine region and the wine industry is expected to continue growing in the future.

Grape distribution by varietal

* Climate: Cool Mediterranean climate strongly influenced by the sea. 540 mm (21.2 in) of rain per year. * Soils: clay and sandy soils. * Primary grapes:

. * Total hectares planted: 1728 ha (4270 acres).San Antonio Valley distribution chart
www.winesofchile.org retrieved November 26, 2013

References

External links

*
Official link
{{Authority control Provinces of Chile Provinces of Valparaíso Region