Jesuit missionaries introduced viticulture to South America in the middle of the sixteenth century, first to Chile and then to Argentina. Wine has been made here longer than anywhere else in the New World, but production has concentrated on the domestic market that demands reds and whites made from the grape called Criolla in Argentina and Pais in Chile. The wines are kept too long in large oak barrels losing their freshness and fruit. Recently the Chilean wine industry has undergone a dramatic transformation, initiated partially by investment and interest from France, America and Spain. This is being imitated to a lesser extent in Argentina, and there is progress, too, in Brazil, with new plantings of Vitis vinifera replacing hybrids, and new vineyards across the River Plate in Uruguay. A handful of wineries in the Moquegua Valley and Ica region continue the four-hundred-year-old winemaking traditions of Peru in the foothills of the Andes.

Don Luis Cousiño brought the first French vine cuttings to Chile from Bordeaux in the middle of the last century, happily before phylloxera had crossed the Atlantic from North America. Today the flavors of Chile are dominated by France, with Cabernet Sauvignon and some Merlot and Malbec for reds and Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay for whites. Chilean winemakers are learning to control their fermentation temperatures and to master the techniques of barrel fermentation and the judicious use of oak for aging their wines. Some of the flavors can lack subtlety and for the moment reds tend to be more successful than the whites.

However Chile, apart from being one of the few parts of the world that is free of phylloxera, has a magnificent climate for growing healthy grapes. Around Santiago, where many of the vineyards are concentrated, the rainfall is very low and the melted snows of the Andes provide the much-needed irrigation water. Temperatures are moderated by the mountains and by the cool waters of the Pacific Ocean and rarely rise above 35° C/95° F even in the height of summer. The vineyards are in the Central Valley, which is in fact a plateau, flanked by two mountain ranges and crossed by the rivers Maipo, Maule and Aconcagua, among others. New vineyards are being planted further south, in the search for cooler conditions. Chile does have the elements of a system of Denominación de Origen, but so far there is no legal requirement to use a denominación on the label. Terms like gran vino and reserva are pretty meaningless too, serving merely as an indication of the producer's own perception of his wine. Leading producers in Chile include Santa Rita, Miguel Torres, Errázuriz, Cousiño Macul, Concha y Toro, Montes and Los Vascos.

Argentina is the world's fifth largest wine producer, making huge quantities of Criolla-based wine, aged for months, if not years, in fruit-sapping oak casks. There has, however, been a shift to European varieties: Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, small plantings of Riesling, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc, and Torrontes from Argentina.

The principal wine regions in Argentina also depend upon the melted snows of the Andes for irrigation water. Mendoza, where Trapiche is not only the largest but also one of the most innovative producers, is the most important. The Rio Negro in northern Patagonia has one good producer, Umberto Canale. Vineyards at an altitude of 1,700 meters/5,580 feet in the northern province of Salta benefit from the cool mountain air. Miguel Torino and Bodegas Etchart are two producers to note from Salta.

The other regions in Argentina are San Juan, known mainly for white wines, and grape concentrate; La Rioja, whose hot climate produces wines high in alcohol; and the smallest area, Catamarca, where the bulk of production is used for distillation into brandy.

As yet there is no appellation system in Argentina, although labels are reliable as to grape variety and region. In both Argentina and Chile the producer's reputation is a key factor in choice. Some control over yields is necessary, for the notion that quantity equals quality still prevails in many quarters.

The vineyards of Brazil are concentrated in the province of Rio Grande do Sul, in the southern part of the country, and are mostly controlled by foreign companies, such as Moët & Chandon, Rémy Martin and Heublein. In sharp contrast to Chile and Argentina, excessive rainfall and humidity are a problem, which hybrid varieties better withstand. It is only since the mid-1970s that Vitis vinifera varieties, such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, have been planted. Even so Isabella and Concord are still important on the domestic market.

Uruguay has some 55,000 hectares/135,850 acres under vine and produces generally old-fashioned wines from a large variety of grapes, among them Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Nebbiolo, Grenache, Barbera, Pedro Ximénez, Riesling, Isabella, Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Blanc. About half the vineyards are in the south; the rest in the northwest at Maldonado on the Plate River.

Peru's wine industry, with an annual production of less than a quarter of a million cases, is one of the smallest in South America. Some is exported, but by far the largest proportion is distilled into Pisco brandy. Most wines suffer from old-fashioned wine-making. A little is exported. Ecuador also produces a small amount of wine, from Labrusca vines. Most of the wine in Bolivia, produced in the La Paz region, is distilled into local brandy. There is limited production of table wine. In Paraguay the region of Villa Rica is the main source of the country's modest wine production. The Isabella grape is the most widely planted variety in Colombia. Principal producers include Bodegas Andaluzas, David and Eduardo Puyana and Bodegas Arejas.

We highly recommend the following books, click on the pictures to see more information about the books and to purchase at a reduced price.
(worldwide delivery)