 After
all, it was not gold and silver that they found when
they first arrived here, but fierce natives who halted
their thus-far unstoppable conquest train dead on its
tracks. So, they settled down at the spots they could
hold, and planted the vines they had brought along from
the Old World.
And lo…! Superb wines and a particular way of life infused with tradition
were soon to sprout from that one simple act. Rich soils, rainy winters and warm,
dry summers proved to be the perfect combination for producing some of the best
wine grapes in the world.
The French, who have always had a keen nose for good wine, replaced the Spaniards
in the winemaking business in Chile during the second half of the 19th century,
and brought still finer grapevine stock with them.
Luckily, the Phylloxera pest that wiped out grapevines throughout most of the
world -particularly in Europe- in the late 19th century did not affect Chile,
the original French grapevine stock still growing today without graft of any
kind. In fact, Chilean grapevines were used later to repopulate the French vineyards
and, more recently, to lure into this country such savvy international investors
such as the Rothschilds or Miguel Torres.
Wine Today in Chile
Today, wine has become one of Chile's best ambassadors,
making inroads even into such wine fortresses as California,
Germany and France. The country boasts over a dozen wineries
that have achieved international recognition. Several
of them are now over a century old, and most combine
traditional methods, such as harvesting by hand, with
the latest high-tech wizardry in processing, aging and
bottling.
The families who owned -some still own- these vineyards
not only had a good taste in wines, but also in beautifying
the land surrounding their manor houses: they brought
renowned landscape architects from Europe to create some
of Chile's finest private parks. Still well tended, some
of these parks are open to the public in arranged tours
to the wineries.
Article © 2002-2006, lanchile.com.
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