Chile Flashcards
Name the four key geographical features in Chile
Pacific Ocean
Coastal mountain ranges
Andes Mountains
Central Valley; a large depression between Coastal mountain ranges and Andes Mountains to the south
What is the overall climate of Chile?
Warm Mediterranean
What are the cooling influences in Chile?
1) Humboldt Current (+fog at immediate coastal areas)
2) Cold air that descends from the mountains overnight and that causes a large diurnal temperature range, in the foothills of the Andes.
What is the Humboldt Current?
The Humboldt Current is cold water current flowing up from Antarctica that chills the Pacific waters, cooling the air and affecting Chile’s low-lying areas closest to the coast and valleys on the other side of the breaks (or low points) in the Coastal Range.
In some regions, like the San Antonio Valley, the Humboldt Current encourages morning fog.
What two climate drivers can influence Chile’s weather?
El Niño: increases rainfall and humidity
La Niña: can increase drought conditions
What risks and benefits can be associated with the dry, sunny growing season in Chile?
The dry, sunny growing season ensures that the grapes reliably ripen and fungal diseases are kept to a minimum.
However, shortfall in rainwater can make irrigation essential while water for irrigation is in increasingly short supply. Drought becomes a bigger risk in La Nina years.
Why Chile can practise widely sustainable and organic grape growing and winemaking?
The dry, sunny growing season ensures that fungal diseases are kept to a minimum. Therefore, use of man made chemicals to protect the vine can be kept at minimum.
What are the 4 main regions of Chile?
Coquimbo
Aconcagua
Central Valley
Southern Region
In 2012, Chilean wine law changed and producers can now classify vineyard areas by their proximity to the coast.
What are these 3 new classificiations?
Costa: area closest to the coast
Entre Cordilleras: area located between the Andes and the Coastal Range
Andes: area nearest the Andes
These classificiations are not DOs: a producer can add them in addition to using a DO.
What is the most planted grape variety in Chile?
Cabernet Sauvignon
Describe the trademark grape/wine of Chile
Carmenère
late ripener performs well in warm, sunny sites high tannin full bodied can have overtly herbaceous aromas when not fully ripe but good examples achieve a balance between black fruit character and herbal aromas
Where in Chile does Pinot Noir shows its best?
In cool, coastal regions such as San Antonio Valley or Casablanca Valley, and proimisng Bio Bio Valley in the Southern Region.
Name 3 main white varieties in Chile
Chardonnay
Sauvignon Blanc
Muscat of Alexandria
Name the regions where Sauvignon Blanc performs particularly well in Chile? Why?
Describe the wine
Casablanca and San Antonio Valleys lie between the coastal mountains and the Pacific and offer growers noticeably cooler sites thanks to morning fogs and afternoon winds that blow in off the ocean.
This yields excellent wines with high acidity and intense fruity flavours.
The wines tend to focus on ripe apple, citrus and tropical flavours, and sometimes display herbaceous notes. Some examples have added richness and texture from lees stirring and oak.
What role does Muscat of Alexandria play in Chile?
It is mostly used for the production of the grape brandy Pisco.
Name two important sub-regions of the Coquimbo Region with their best grape varieties.
Elqui Valley: Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah
Limari Valley: Chardonnay
What are the climatic factors and associated risks in Coquimbo Region
Coquimbo borders the Atacama Desert and is the most northerly of Chile’s principal wine regions.
Brilliant sunshine
Marked cooling influences either from sea breezes or mountain air.
Some vineyards are now being planted at very high altitudes.
The biggest challenge here is the lack of water. Irrigation is essential but expensive because water is less plentiful here compared with some other regions
Explain climatic reasons why plantings of white varieties dominate in the Casablanca Valley and San Antonio Valley
They both lie between the coastal mountains and the Pacific, offering growers noticeably cooler sites thanks to morning fogs and afternoon winds that blow in off the ocean.
What is San Antonio Valley’s zone that has a reputation for making great Sauvignon Blanc?
Leyda Valley zone
Natural factors that make Maipo Valley known for prestige Cabernet Sauvignon?
Maipo Valley has a reputation for Cabernet Sauvignon that can often have a particular minty character to it:
It is almost completely surrounded by mountains with little coastal influence.
Premium sites are in the Andean foothills, cooled by the descending air, lending elegance and structure to the wines.
What are the key wines in Colchagua?
Colchagua is well known for full-bodied reds, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon, but also Syrah and Carmenere.
Name a well suited subregion for growing Carmenere in Chile and explain why.
Carmenere is a late ripening variety that is most successful in the warmest and sunniest sites. Cachapoal Valley zone is a warm area cut off from the ocean breezes. Carmenere ripens well on the valley floors.
Describe wines from Curico Valley and Maule Valley of Chile
Sources for inexpensive red and white blends thanks to warm and fertile soils.
The vineyards in Maule Valley are cooler than those of Curico Valley and the wines retain a higher acidity, which can be a useful ingredient when blending.
Where is Carignan successfully grown in Chile? Why?
Carignan ripens late so can be successfully grown only in relatively warm climates such as Maule Valley in the southern end of the Central Valley.
Dry-farmed, ancient low yielding Carignan bush vines of this region produce full-bodied, intensely concentrated wines.
