Chilean export wines, mainly Premium wines, have characteristics that make them unique. Today, people – anywhere in the world – can find a Chilean wine and enjoy it. In a transversal way, consumers value the quality and diversity of both red and white Chilean wines.
To understand Chilean wines well, they must be considered as key regions in Chile, one of them being the Maule region (where the company Corta Hojas is located) and the Bío Bío Region, where in the 16th century the Spanish conquistadors and missionaries planted the first vines The oldest variety is the Country, brought from the Canary Islands to produce Mass wine.
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If you take a tour through the south center of Chile you can find vineyards of very old vines, which can easily exceed 100 years of age. Many of these vines are grown just as those first missionaries did, without wires or irrigation. That is why these areas, whose vineyards receive only rainwater to survive, have the designation dry land inside.
Quality achieved by the benefit of geography
Chile is one of the countries with one of the longest coasts in the world and its waters are reached by the Humboldt Current. When the masses of hot air meet the fresh air of the sea, low clouds and mists form that penetrate towards the valleys, decreasing and softening the temperatures in summer to harvest grapes with a lot of balance and character.
Most strains grown in the coastal vineyards are white strains such as Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Viognier or Pinot Grigio. But also red strains of light and medium body like Pinot Noir or Syrah. Many of these vineyards are usually located no more than 30 km from the beach and have all the qualities of a coastal area.
In these wines you will find freshness, good acidity, notes of citrus and tropical fruits in white wines and red fruits in red wines. In several wines you can also recognize particular mineral notes, such as wet stone or saline tones of marine air.
The magic of the Andes mountain range
The Andes mountain range crosses all of Chile, from north to south. It is the most important geographical landmark of the Chilean landscape and a large part of the Chilean viticulture has its roots in its granitic soils and alluvial terraces of the Andes.
The influence of the mountain range also manifests itself as a temperature regulator. It causes a warming effect in winter and spring, but the most important thing is the cooling phenomenon during the summer months. The vines have good conditions in sprouting season, when they need to be protected from the cold, and in the period of maturation they receive a fresh air that allows them to ripen their fruit with a lot of temperance.
The wines from the foot of the Andes, always offer quality tannins, intense, silky, round and elegant.
The strain that responds spectacularly to these conditions is Cabernet Sauvignon. There their wines give concentrated aromas, firm body and a lot of freshness.
A significant example of oenological development in Chile is the case of the Carmenere strain, which for many decades was considered extinct due to the plague of phylloxera that ravaged Europe at the end of the 19th century. The world of wine did not hear again from Carmenere until 1994. No one thought that this ancient variety could be found in Chile. The French ampelographer Jean Michel Boursiquot of the University of Montpellier, exhibitor of the Sixth Latin American Congress of Viticulture and Oenology held in Chile, identified this supposedly late clone of Merlot as Carmenere.
It is not known exactly how or when the Carmenere arrived in Chile, but the most accepted theory says that it was transported from France to the new vineyards. From then on, and under his real name, Carmenere burst onto the Chilean wine scene.
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Prefers Chilean wines of high quality / premium. Find them on our website www.cortahojas.com