Chilean wine history | For the collector of wine bottles and wine ...

History EuropeanÂ*Vitis viniferaÂ*vines were brought to Chile by Spanish conquistadors andÂ*missionariesÂ*in the 16th century around 1554. Local legend states that the conquistadorÂ*Francisco de AguirreÂ*himself planted the first vines.Â*The vines most likely came from established <a href="http://www.salehandbagsbags.com/"><strong>cheap Chanel handbags for sale</strong></a> Spanish vineyards planted inÂ*PeruÂ*which included the “common black grape”, as it was known, thatÂ*Hernán CortésÂ*brought toÂ*MexicoÂ*in 1520. This grape variety would become the ancestor of the widely plantedÂ*PaisÂ*grape that would be the most widely planted Chilean grape till the 21st century.Â*JesuitÂ*priestsÂ*cultivated these early vineyards, using the wine for the celebration of theÂ*Eucharist. By the late 16th century, the early Chilean historianÂ*Alonso de OvalleÂ*described widespread plantings of “the common black grape”,Â*Muscatel,Torontel,Â*AlbilhoÂ*andÂ*Mollar. During the Spanish rule, vineyards were restricted in production with the stipulation that the Chilean should purchase the bulk of their wines directly from Spain itself. In 1641, wine imports fromÂ*ChileÂ*and theÂ*Viceroyalty of PeruÂ*into Spain were banned, severely damaging the wine industry in the colony. The market loss caused the huge surplus of grapes to be made intoÂ*piscoÂ*andÂ*aguardiente. The concentration solely on pisco production, nearly eliminated wine production in Peru. For the most part the Chileans ignored these restrictions, preferring their domestic production to theÂ*oxidizedÂ*andÂ*vinegaryÂ*wines that didn’t fare well during the long voyages from Spain. They were even so bold as to start exporting some of their wines to neighboring Peru with one such export shipment being captured at sea by the EnglishÂ*privateerÂ*Francis Drake. When Spain heard of the event rather than being outraged at Drake, an indictment was sent back to Chile with the order to uproot most of their vineyards. This order, too, was mostly ignored. In the 18th century, Chile was known mostly for itsÂ*sweet winesÂ*made from the Pais and Muscatel grapes. To achieve a high level of sweetness the wines were oftenÂ*boiledÂ*which concentrated the grapeÂ*must.Â*Following his shipwreck off the <a href="http://www.salehandbagsbags.com"><strong>lv handbags</strong></a> coast atÂ*Cape Horn, AdmiralÂ*John ByronÂ*(Grandfather of the poetÂ*Lord Byron) traveled across Chile and came back to England with a glowing review of Chilean Muscatel comparing it favorably toÂ*Madeira. The 19th century wine writerÂ*André JullienÂ*was not as impressed, comparing Chilean wines to a “potion ofÂ*rhubarbÂ*andÂ*senna”. Despite being politically linked to Spain, Chile’s wine history has been most profoundly influenced byÂ*French, particularlyÂ*Bordeaux,Â*winemaking. Prior to theÂ*phylloxera epidemic, wealthy Chilean landowners were influenced by their visits to France and began importing French vines to plant. DonÂ*Silvestre ErrázurizÂ*was the first, importing Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot,Â*Cabernet franc,Â*Malbec,Â*Sauvignon blancÂ*andÂ*Sémillon. He hired a FrenchÂ*oenologistÂ*to oversee his vineyard planting and to produce wine in the Bordeaux style. Errázuriz saw potential in Chile and even experimented with theÂ*German wineÂ*grapeÂ*Riesling.Â*In events that parallel those of theÂ*RiojaÂ*wine region, the entrance of phylloxera into the French wine world turned into a positive event for the Chilean wine <a href="http://www.ecsis.biz/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5261075#5261075"><strong>Shoes Shopping Online » Blog Archive » Gucci has always made use ...</strong></a> industry. With vineyards in ruin, many French winemakers traveled to South America, bringing their experience and techniques with them.Â*At the time, DonÂ*Silvestre OchagavÃ*a EchazarretaÂ*foundedÂ*Ochagavia WinesÂ*in 1851 and DonÂ*Maximiano ErrázurizÂ*foundedÂ*Viña ErrázurizÂ*in 1870, bringing and using grapes from France. Political instability in the 20th century, coupled with bureaucratic regulations and high taxes tempered the growth of the Chilean wine industry. Prior to the 1980s, the vast majority of Chilean wine was considered low quality and mostly consumed domestically. As awareness of Chile’s favorable growing conditions for viticulture increased so did foreign investment in Chilean wineries. This period saw many technical advances in winemaking as Chile earned a reputation for reasonably priced premium quality wines. Chile began to export extensively, becoming the third leading exporter, after France andÂ*Italy, into the United States by the turn of the 21st century. It has since dropped to fourth in the US, being surpassed byÂ*Australia, but focus has switched to developing exports in the world’s other major wine markets like theÂ*United KingdomÂ*andÂ*Japan.