Facts and figures Chile

Much like Argentina, Chile was heavily influenced by the conquistadors and missionaries sent from Spain to conquer the new world and convert it to Christianity. Viticulture arrived in the middle of the 16th century with grapes used for religious ceremonies of the time but other varieties soon followed.

The early industry was hampered by Spain banning exports to Spain which caused massive overproduction, which was used for the local brandy, called Pisco. The industry survived, despite most grapes going to produce Pisco, because the locals preferred their own wines to those that had been badly oxidised by the long sea journey from Spain. The Chileans were even ordered to rip up all vines after Spain was embarrassed when a shipment of wine bound for neighbouring Peru was captured by the British. This order was mostly ignored.

Sweet wines made from Muscat were popular in the 19th century but the country’s winemakers had now become heavily influenced by the new wines of Bordeaux, which they immediately began trying to imitate, despite being politically linked to Spain; which had yet to modernise its winemaking. The 20th century brought a long period of political instability and Chile struggled to keep up without investment. The 1980s saw a change in politics and a stable economy that attracted more people to visit the previously isolated country. The potential of Chile as a wine making nation was finally recognised and investment and knowledge poured into the wine industry. Technological advancements have now put Chile as the sixth largest wine producer, after Argentina, with considerable exports of inexpensive but good quality wines.