The vineyards on the other side of the mountain range, near the Pacific Ocean, are located in areas with soft hills amidst valleys whose soils are simple and contain clay and sand.The stressed amplitude between day and night temperatures, the copious rainfall during the winter and teh strong winds that produce dryness in the atmosphere, thus avoiding the outburst of diseases make this place suitable for growing the vines and making organic wines.Here we present the most famous wineries located in this area of Chile:
Requínoa - IV Región - Chile
Viña Porta
Valles de Aconcagua, Maipo, Cachapoal y Bío Bío
Telephone: (56-72) 2407600 Fax: (56-72) 2407601
Half a century old, this vineyard used to belong to the Hispanic Gutierrez-Porta family, who planted the first roots of a vineyard brought from Europe in the Valley of Cachapoal. For decades, they sold wine to traditional wineries until in 1991, they launched into the adventure of the emerging segment of the “boutique vineyards”. At present, it belongs to Viñedos y Bodegas Córpora, which has doubled the extension of the original vineyards, thus causing its expansion into foreign markets to adopt a more important role. In the last few years, the wines from Viñas Porta have reached international acknowledgement and obtained the maximum distinction in 2003 with the gold medal in the Japan Wine Challenge with its Private Reserve Shiraz/Merlot 2002.
Cauquenes - Maule - VII Región - Chile
Viña Lomas de Cauquenes
Av. Ruperto Pinochet 690
Telephone: (56-73) 560000
With a vineculture tradition dating back from 1939, Lomas de Cauquenes Vineyard has become a pioneer winery in the launching of its first organic wine in 1998. The scenery around the vineyards is made up by a group of valleys and hills, close to the Pacific Ocean, where there exists a micro-climate very suitable for vinegrowing. At present, there are 50 hectares devoted to organic vines, where varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Syrah, Malbec/Cot Rouge and Vignonier are harvested. Countries of Europe and Asia have tasted the quality of its wines as a result of exports, but above all, as a result of the large growing amount of supporters of organic products.
Requinoa - IV Región - Chile
Viña Gracia
Valles de Aconcagua, Casablanca, Maipo, Rapel y Bío Bío
Telephone: (56-2) 2407600 Fax: (56-2) 2407601
Just like Porta Vineyard, Gracia de Chile Vineyard belongs to Viñedos y Bodegas Córpora. In 1989, the first plantations destined to produce fine wine started, but it was not until 1996 that the winery was built in the core of the Cachapoal valley, in the Bío Bío region. The idea of this vineyard is to generate a unique wine concept of excellent quality and with an image that may reflect the modernity of the wines from the South of the world. The history of the winery of which it is part provides enough support to make it worldwide famous. Its Merlot Reserva Lo Mejor 2001/Misterioso and Shiraz-Carmenère Reserva were awarded two silver medals during the First Annual Wines of Chile Awards.
San Javier / Talca - Chile
Viña Carpe Diem
Fundo Las Cañas - Camino El Morro S/N
Tel./Fax: (56-73) 1972276
It is located inside the spot framed by the 35º and 36º southern latitude, on the eastern slope of the coast mountain range, very close to the Pacific Ocean. The morphology of the scenery corresponds to a group of valleys and soft hills, where a micro-climate very suitable for vine growing is generated. Copious rainfall in the winter, very hot summers, with stressed differences among day and night temperatures, transparent skies and long hours of sunshine contribute to an excellent vine production. The southernmost vineyard in the world is on the shores of the Itata stream, which gives origin to the valley bearing the same name. Across its 100 hectares, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Syrah vines are grown, to mention the most outstanding. Its wines have been acknowledged worldwide and they have obtained awards such as the double gold medal granted in the Chile Fital 2001 National Wine Contest; the Wine Magazine International Wine Challenge gold medal in Brussels, in 1998; and also the bronze medal granted at Catad´Or Hyatt in 1998.
Foil Cutter:In order to remove the foil that covers the wine bottle cork, it is no longer necessary to resort to knives. The foil cutter is a small device that cuts it perfectly and without making any efforts.
Drip Collar:This device is extremely simple and its use avoids any stains on the tablecloth. It consists in a flexible circular plate that is introduced in the bottle neck and makes it possible to pour the wine into the glass by impeccably cutting the final drop without any need to use a napkin.
Wine Vacumm Pump:This is a pump that works as a syringe and comes with a plastic cork that replaces the original cork. When using it, the air is extracted and the wine remains vacumm-bottled. This way, it may be kept without losing its properties. This enables you to open a bottle and drink only one glass if you wish, without wasting the rest of the wine in the bottle.
Cooler Sleeve:This is a kind of wrapping whose inside is lined with gel bags. It is kept in the refrigerator and used to cool a bottle of white wine when you have forgotten to keep it in the refrigerator. Just cover the bottle for five minutes, and the wine temperature will drop to 12 degrees.
