Limarí Province ( es, Provincia de Limarí) is one of three

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

of the

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 ...

Coquimbo Region The Coquimbo Region ( es, Región de Coquimbo, ) is one of Chile's 16 regions (first order administrative divisions). It is bordered by Atacama to the north, Valparaíso to the south, Argentina to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

(IV). Its capital is the city of

Ovalle Ovalle is a city in the Coquimbo Region of Chile, founded in 1831 as a settlement. It has a population of more than 113,000 people. The name Ovalle was chosen to honor to Chile's vice-president, José Tomás Ovalle. Ovalle is the capital of the ...

Geography and demography

According to the 2002 census by the

National Statistics Institute National Institute of Statistics may refer to: *National Institute of Statistics of Bolivia *National Institute of Statistics of Cambodia *National Institute of Statistics and Census of Costa Rica *National Institute of Statistics and Census of Nica ...

(''INE''), the province spans an area of and had a population of 156,158 inhabitants (77,087 men and 79,071 women), giving it a population density of . Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 10.3% (14,607 persons).

Comunas

The province is composed by 5 comunas: *

Río Hurtado Río Hurtado is one of five communes in the Limarí Province of Chile's north-central IV Coquimbo Region. Administration As a commune, Río Hurtado is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by ...

Monte Patria Monte Patria is a city and one of four communes in the Limarí Province of Chile's north-central IV Coquimbo Region. Administration As a commune, Monte Patria is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a Communal Council ...

Combarbalá Combarbalá is the capital city of the commune of Combarbala. It is located in the Limarí Province, Region of Coquimbo, at an elevation of 900 m (2,952 ft). It is known for the tourist astronomic observatory Cruz del Sur; the petro ...

Punitaqui Punitaqui is a town and commune of Chile in the Limarí Province. History Punitaqui was once part of the Ovalle Department before the administrative restructuring of 1976. 1997 earthquake On October 15, 1997 the town was nearly demolished by ...

Limarí Valley wine region

The Limarí Valley Denomination of Origin (DO) is defined by the Chilean

Appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

system, the legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown. The valley is located 470 km (290 mi) north 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 ...

, in the middle section of the

Coquimbo Coquimbo is a port city, commune and capital of the Elqui Province, located on the Pan-American Highway, in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Coquimbo is situated in a valley south of La Serena, with which it forms Greater La Serena with more than ...

. Best known for its

Pisco Pisco is a colorless or yellowish-to-amber colored brandy produced in winemaking regions of Peru and Chile. Made by distilling fermented grape juice into a high-proof spirit, it was developed by 16th-century Spanish settlers as an alternative ...

s, vines were first planted here in the mid-16th century and have seen a recent resurgence, due to new technologies and winemakers seeking new

terroir (, ; from ''terre'', "land") is a French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, these conte ...

s. The area is known for producing Sauvignon 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 ...

, first planted during the 1990s, and also produces

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse B ...

and Pinot, with a climate similar to Marlborough in New Zealand. 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 ...

has a strong influence on the region with the cooling

Camanchaca Camanchacas are marine stratocumulus cloud banks that form on the Chilean coast, by the Earth's driest desert, the Atacama Desert, and move inland. In Peru, a similar fog is called garúa, and in Angola cacimbo. On the side of the mountains where ...

, a fog that enters the valley from the west each morning and retreats as the sun rises over the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

from the east. With less than 4 inches of rainfall per year, drip irrigation is used to water the vines that grow in the mineral-rich soil. The combination creates fresh wines with a distinct mineral edge.

Grape distribution by varietal

* Climate: Desert-like climate: 95 mm (4 in) of rainfall per year. Semi-arid region with cool coastal influences and good minerality in the soil. * Soils: clay, silt and chalk. * Primary grapes: cool-climate

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 ...

. * Total hectares planted: 1,483 ha (3,665 acres).Limarí Valley distribution chart
www.winesofchile.org retrieved October 10, 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Limari Province Provinces of Coquimbo Region Provinces of Chile

Geography and demography

Comunas

Limarí Valley wine region

Grape distribution by varietal

See also

References