chile Flashcards
chile is broadly defined in four key geographical features:
1) to the west is the pacific ocean and the east the coastal mountain ranges
2) to the east there is the andes (also border with argentinia)
3) north of santiago the two mountain ranges are tend to merge
while in the south there is a big gap between the mountain ranges
4) the south gap is central valley
what is the climate in chile ?
1) generally were speaking of a warm mediterranean climate
2) the dry sunny summer, ensures that the grapes ripen reliable
- — fungal diseases are kept to minimum
3) in most places the shortfall in rainwater can be made up by irrigation
- – conditions becomes cooler and wetter in the southern regions
4) el nino and el nina are wetter patterns that can affect the weather of chile
- - rainfall can dramatically increase during el nino years
- - drought may occur in la nina years
5) the cold humbold currant flows up from antarctica along the chilenean coast and the prevailing (heersende) wind is blowing cool air inland along the river valleys
- – the cooling effects of these winds are the strongest where the mountains are the lowest
6) in the vineyards near to the coast and on the foothills of the andes is a cooling effect causeb by cold air descending at night from the mountains
- – can cause large diurnal range
7) between the two mountain ranges the land is flatter and easier to cultivate (verbouwen)
sustainable and organic winemaking is practiced
winelaw:
1) they have Denominaciones de Origen and the land is divided in four: Coquimbo, Aconchagua, central valley and southern region
- - these regions have 13 better subregions
2) now the classification categories the vineyards according to their distance from the coast rather then their lattitude
- costa (coastal regions)
- entra cordilleras (between the mountains )
- andes
so these latter classifications can be added to the DO label
what about cab sauvignon in chile ?
1) widely planted variety of either colour
2) the extent of the plantings means that it is made in a variety of styles from siply and fruity, to full bodied prem examples
3) these wine usually have very ripe black fruit aromas and flavours, often with a herbaceous character, frequently blended with merlot, carmenere or syrah
Inexpensive med body and fruity___ has neen very succesful on export markets?
Merlot
carmenere is:
1) late ripening variety
2) most succesful in the warmest and sunniest sites
3) full bodied, high tann
4) when unripe overthly herbaceous flavours
5) when ripe, nice balans between black fruit and herbal flavours
6) chile’s signature grape
syrah can be in two forms:
1) peppery with lighter body from the coastal regions or the north like Valle d’Elqui
2) hotter areas: greater intensity of black fruit and fuller body
Pinot noir is showing considerably promise in cooler regions like:
1) san antonio valley
2) casablanca valley
white grape varieties are ?
1) chardonnay
2) sauvignon blanc
where sauvignon blanc ?
1) best in the cooler regions like casablanca and san antonio valleys
2) yields excellent wines with high aci and intens fruity flavours
wines tends to focus on green apple, citrus and tropical flavours and sometimes display herbaceous character
3) some can have more structure from lees stirring and oak
how are the chardonnays made ?
in a modern way:
ripe fruit and oak flavours
which grape do they use for the national brandy ?
muscat of alexandria is used for pisco
what kind of grapevarieties can you grow in the south ?
in the itata valley and biobio valley is cooler:
- fresh fruity wines from aromatic varieties:
- rieslig, viognier, gewurztraminer
what are the most important dos of the coquimbo region ?
coquimbo is in the north: valle d’elqui and limari valley
and choapa valley
what is so special about the coquimbo region?
1) plantings are small but quality is high
2) all benefit from brilliant sunshine
3) marked cooling effects either by sea breezes or mountain air
4) some vineyards are now planted at very high altitudes
5) the biggest challenge is water, irrigation is essential, but espensive because the water is less plentiful here
- — elqui is producing top sauvignon blanc and syrahs
- — limari is known for chiles best chardonnay
morning mists that comes off the pacific ocean haves a importantly cooling effect in cassablanca valley.
yeppaaaa
what about aconchagua ?
1) narrow valley that enjoys some cooling effects from the ocean and the andes mountain
2) the vineyard on the fertile valley floor are one of the warmest growing conditions in chile
- – cab sauvignon, syrah and carmenere
3) rich ripe fruit flavours with high alc and tann
____ and ____ are two neighbouring sub regions that share similar characteristics, which one ?
Casablanca valley and san antonio valley:
1) they both offering a host of different soils and aspect
2) they both lay between the coastal mountain and the pacific coast
3) they have cooler sites thanks the morning fogs
4) the pacific air is also a brezing cool effect
5) SB gained a lot of reputation here
pinot: red berry fruit, and herbal notes
the central valley is divided into 4 subregions:
1) Maipo valley: classic heartland due its proximity to the capital city of santiago, surrounded by mountains, so no ocean influences and the best are located on the andean foothills
- - maipo is known for its C.S with a minty character
2) Rapel Valley:
a) cachapoal valley: warm region, cut off of the ocean breezes
- - carmenere ripens well, on the valley floor
- - cab sauvignon, syrah ripens well in the cooler eastern end of the valley
b) colchagua is a larger and more varied area than cachapoal
- - the central part is warm and open to ocean influences
- – known for its full bodied reds of c.S. Carmenere and syrah
- - vineyards are increasingly being planted on the valley slopes and notably apalta is gining a good reputation
- —- further to the west the influence from the ocean becomes greater and some high quality white wines are produced now
3) curico valley and maule valley:
- - the warmt and the fertile soils make these the most important sources for some inexpensive high volume reds and whites
- - the vineyards in maule valley are cooler than curico so they retain a higher acidity, which can be a useful ingredient to blends
- — in the western hills there are old vines of carignan, producing full bodied intensely concentrated wines from these ancient low yielding bush vines
what is the central valley known for ?
- the vast majority of the wine production is from here
- grapes ripen easely
- production is focused on inexpensive fruity wines often made from
- – chardonnay and merlot
What dos are there in the southern region ?
1) Bio Bio Valley
2) Itata valley
3) malleco valley
- itata and biobio: pais (grape sort thats been importet by spain in the history) and muscat dalexandrie(pisco)
and other aromatic varieties - bio bio great for pinot noir
– outcome is mainly consumed localy
