Although the appellation of origin places the zones
or valleys of Cachapoal and Colchagua in a single
sub-region, under the wing of the “Rapel Valley
or Sub-Region”, we feel that it it relevant to consider
them separately, because they have different and
specific characteristics.
The topographical traits of the Cachapoal valley
allow one to find sectors of great climatic contrasts,
from the cold piedmont at the bottom of the Andes
to the hottest area of the whole Chilean Central
Valley, centered around Rapel Lake, among the highest
areas of the coastal range.
Following our scheme of longitudinal sub-division,
the Andes sector is made up by the Rancagua area,
including Graneros, Mostazal, Codegua and Oliver,
and the urban areas of Requinoa and Rengo. The vineyards
in this sector are concentrated in the foothills
of the Andes range, where the wide swings in temperature
make it the most propitious for obtaining generous
red wines.
The Andes-pacific sector consists of an area with
a more temperate climate, round about San Vicente
de Tagua and Peumo, where paradoxically, they do
not receive the fresh “rebound” from the Andes,
and a warmer area around Las Cabras. The great height
of the Coastal Range in this zone, which shuts off
the opening towards the Pacific, helps to explain
the phenomenon known as “shadow effect”. In sector
we have called Pacific, there are no important vineyards.
The grape varieties found in the vineyards in the
Cachapoal Valley are strongly biased towards red
varieties, which occupy almost 80% of the total
area of vines for wine-making. There is a consensus
among enologists that this valley should be ranked
as one of the foremost producers of excellent red
wines.
The Cachapoal Valley, or Zone, totals 9,021 hectares
of vineyards for wine-making, including mainly
the grape varieties Cabernet Sauvignon (4,573
hectares), Merlot (1,671 hectares), and Carménère
(512 hectares) in reds, and sauvignon blanc (583
hectares) and Chardonnay (547 hectares) in whites.
It has an average rainfall of 340 mm and is irrigated
by the Cachapoal River.
Due to its very benign mesoclimatic conditions,
in addition to the growing of vines for wine-making
and varieties of grapes for the table, this zone
produce a prolific array of other fruit-trees,
including citrus fruits and avocados.
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