In accessing our site, you are no doubt already one of the increasing number of people in the know who are drawn to both the flavour and depth of Chile's premium wines and the value they represent.

With excellent growing conditions and large capital investment, the Chilean wine industry is producing superb fruit driven wines with breathtaking depth and complexity. In addition to excelling at the world's most popular varietals - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah and its signature Carmenere wines, Chile combines inexpensive land and production costs to provide fabulous value for money.

Vines were first introduced to Chile by Spanish missionaries in the 16th century and initially Pais grapes supplied wine to quench the thirst of missionaries as well as locals.

The wine industry benefited from the introduction of new grape varieties in the 19th century as well as the relocation to Chile by many French vintners following the devastation of European vines by phylloxera. Chile today remains the only principal wine producing country that has remained free of the pest.

Until the 1970's Chilean wine makers were unable to effectively market their wines internationally due to unfavourable political and economic conditions. Since then, a substantial amount of investment has poured into the Chilean wine industry with investors from the USA, Spain and France looking to establish a presence in what is clearly a unique location. The benefit of building a global market for their wines later in the day has resulted in distinct advantages with an ability to invest in state of the art wine making equipment and greater flexibility to respond to what consumers want. As a result, the wines of Chile, of which a majority are exported, are rich in their diversity and much admired the world over.

The Country

With a slender average width of 175 kilometers, Chile descends like a spine down the western flank of Latin America, all the way to Tierra del Fuego and the wild, raging sailors'graveyard at its tip - Cape Horn. Dominated by the Andes mountain range which makes up a third of the country, Chile has both the world's driest desert and southern-most inhabited city while in the south glaciers, lakes and fjords shimmer in the clean air. And, gazing towards it all from their home in the Pacific, are Easter Island's giant statues, carved by ancient Polynesian settlers.

Home to soccer, bullfights and cowboys riding an ancient breed of horses unique to their homeland, Chile has a history of conquest and a murderous coup, but has recently embraced both democracy and modernity and is currently the region's success story. With a rich tradition of protest music and art, both European-influenced as well as homegrown, it is not surprising that Chileans call their country Pais de poetas (land of poets). In addition to producing two Nobel Literature laureates, more familiar authors such as Isabel Allende and Miguel Serrano also hail from here.

This breathtaking ribbon of land draws upon a blend of the ancient and modern, traditional and the globally influenced all the while relying on its sheltering valleys to sustain and nourish its resilient population.