A brief history of wine in Chile
The geography of Chile is quite unique. Stretching over 4,300 km with only 350 km between the Pacific coast and the Andes mountain range at its widest point. Insulated from pests and disease due to surrounding natural barriers (Chile is the only large-scale producing country to never have experienced an outbreak of the vine destroying Phylloxera) and with large climatic differences throughout, Chile has garnered a large international following due to its diverse offering of wines that hit the international markets at very competitive prices.
The first vines believed to be planted were Pais, or Mission grape, by Jesuit priests in the 16th century, and were intended to make wine for the celebration of Eucharist in the Catholic Mass. The Pais grape was the most widely planted until the 21st century and is still used as the main grape to make Pisco, the local brandy.
Chilean wine has had its ups and downs. Wines were already being exported successfully in the mid-1880s and continued to do well up to the beginning of WWII. In the 70s and 80s, under the rule of General Pinochet, Chile saw a massive drop in domestic demand for wine. Around half of the vineyards were uprooted.
The return of democracy brought new, if light, demand for Chilean wines. That demand has been steadily growing since 1990, attracting foreign investment and resulting in the introduction of modern grape growing and winemaking techniques. This, with the introduction of the major European varietals has culminated in a vibrant and proactive wine culture that is steadily growing. In 2013, Chile was listed as the world’s 7th largest wine producer and 4th largest in terms of volumes exported.
Most of the time you won’t doubt what you’re being told as the wine quite often is very good, sometimes spectacular – which is why I became enchanted with one particular wine from Chile called Don Melchor. So rarely does one sole wine encompass all of the usual selling points.
The Don Melchor has its own unique character and stubbornly high standard. This wine also boasts geological and geographical excellence, as well as costly and detailed scientific investment in the vineyard and winery, not to mention consistently high scores since its conception. To top it all off, there’s even an interesting human aspect to it all!
The parent company, Concha Y Toro, started way back in 1883 with vines carried all the way from Bordeaux by Don Melchor de Santiago Concha Y Toro, however, it wasn’t until 1986 that the winery, synonymous with the founder, began to take shape.
The 1980s saw a time of viticultural revolution in Chile. With the modern techniques that were being adopted raising the general quality of the wines all over the country and a favourable currency exchange rate against the dollar, wines from Chile were starting to be noticed throughout the world.
It was decided that something special had to be made. The winemaker and a representative crossed the globe to meet with the Godfather of modern wine, Emile Peynaud. Peynaud quickly recognised the potential of a specific vineyard and recommended his partner and successor, Jaques Boissenot, become involved. A few years later, in 1986, the first Don Melchor was made, never missing a vintage since.
In 1999, full responsibility for Don Melchor was passed to Concha Y Toro’s young winemaker, Enrique Tirado, who has managed to raise standards even higher and earned citation on a number of occasions as one of the world’s top 100 wines.
Since the first release almost 30 years ago, there is no doubt that Don Melchor has achieved the status of Chile’s number one wine. It has also become an icon. A beacon and ambassador, it draws in oenophiles throughout the world to the wines of Chile.
