Information about wines of Chile

Date: June 4, 2011

Philippines Wine Shop Clark Wine Center is pleased to share with you articles, news and information about wine, wine events, wine tasting and other topics related to wine and the appreciation of wine.

Chile has been a wine-producing country since the first European settlers arrived in the mid 16th century. The original vines were brought to the region by missionaries, via Peru, California and directly from Spain; wine was a vital part of religious practices. For centuries Chilean wine was limited to a domestic market, in the 1980’s, Chile’s winemakers began pursuing export markets, and have succeeded in gaining worldwide recognition by producing not only consistent, good value wines, but also some world class reds. Where Traditionally, Chilean winemakers had used tanks and barrels made of beech wood, but stainless steel tanks and oak barrels in the 1980’s, marking the start of a new technology-driven era.

The landscapes of Chile are highly varied, and have led to many commentators to describe the country as a ‘winegrowers paradise’. It occupies a strip of land 2700 miles (4300km) long and 100 miles (160km) wide, running north-south between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes mountains. The more established wine regions of Chile lie within the central half of this long, narrow strip, but growers are rapidly experimenting with new landscapes, pushing further north and south. Over 600 miles (1000km) separate the developing regions of Elqui in the north and Malleco in the south.

Chile’s topography is very favorable to viticulture: the Andean peaks in the east provide meltwater rivers to the valleys below, while the Pacific Ocean, with its Antarctic Humboldt Current, brings cooling breezes to coastal vineyards. A coastal range of low mountains also alters weather patterns for many Chilean wine-growing areas, creating rain shadows and providing shelter from oceanic winds, as evident in the Maipo and Cachapoal regions.

Chile’s reputation rests on the strong performance of its Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot-based wines, but Chardonnay, Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc also thrive in Chilean terroirs. Aromatics like Riesling and Gewurztraminer are up-and-coming varieties here, particularly in the cooler southern regions. Carmenere, once widely grown in Bordeaux, is Chile’s signature red variety. It was thought extinct following the European phylloxera outbreaks of the 19th century, but rediscovered in Chile in the 1990’s. With the Pacific ocean on one side and the forbidding barrier of the Andes on the other, Chile’s vineyards have remained protected from phylloxera, allowing Carmenere to flourish.

Chile’s wine industry continues to be ambitious and, as a result, the modern Chilean wine map is dotted with new regions, planted with an increasingly wide selection of grape varieties, established and experimental.

SOURCE: http://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-chile

Clark Wine Center was built in 2003 by Hong Kong-based Yats International Leisure Philippines to become the largest wine shop in Philippines supplying Asia’s wine lovers with fine vintage wines at attractive prices. Today, this wine shop in Clark Philippines offers over 2000 selections of fine wines from all major wine regions in the world. As a leading wine supplier in Philippines, Pampanga’s Clark Wine Center offers an incomparable breadth of vintages, wines from back vintages spanning over 50 years. Clark Wine Center is located in Pampanga Clark Freeport Zone adjacent to Angeles City, just 25 minutes from Subic and 45 minutes from Manila.

Wines from Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rhone, Loire, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Alsace, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, South Africa, Chile and Argentina etc. are well represented in this Clark Wine Shop.

For more information, email Wine@Yats-International.com or visit http://www.ClarkWineCenter.com