The Colchagua Valley is due south of the Colchagua
Valley, separated from it by a transverse chain
of mountains which forms the Angostura de Pelequén.
The characteristics of this zone are significantly
different from those of the former valley, with
a cooler climate that makes it possible to obtain
good red wines and even better white ones, and a
very large area of vineyards (almost double that
of Cachapoal).
The sea obviously has a greater influence in this
valley than in Cachapoal, because the Coastal Range
is considerably lower, what allows there to be,
large vine-growing areas in the mountainous sector
that we called “Pacific”. It is important to remember
that in the Cachapoal Valley there are almost no
vineyards in the Pacific sector.
Irrigation comes basically from the Tinguiririca
river, which rises in the Andes. Its cold waters
run along near the town of San Fernando, crossing
the Longitudinal valley. On its way towards the
sea, the river flows north-west up to point where
it ioins the Cachapoal river to form the Rapel river.
The urban areas of San Fernando and Chimbarongo,
which we classify as “Andes”, are particularly cold
sectors, with moderate temperature swings due to
the morning mists caused by the water evaporation
of the Tinguiririca river. This particular condition
makes it possible to obtain good wines from grape
varieties with short ripening cycles, such as Pinot
noir.
The inter Andes-Pacific sectors, consisting on the
districts of Nancagua, Santa Cruz, Palmilla and
Peralillo, contains most of the area under vine
in this valley. The enclosed land crossed by the
Tinguirirca river is renowned for its deep, fertile
soils, which, together with the existence of subterranean
apuifer layers, offers optimum conditions for large-scale
grape production. The new approach of the producers
in this area towards making better quality to the
hillsides, where the poorer soils and better drainage
give rise to wines with great personality. Before
the invention of technified irrigation, these soils
were not viable for vine-growing. The most well-known
examples of hillside plantations are Apalta and
Ninquen, where the grapes produced make wines of
an outstanding quality.
The Pacific sector is made up with the district
of Marchihue and Lolol. The Marchihue sector corresponds
to a relatively hot valley between the mountains,
where the influence of the sea is slight due to
the greater height of the Coastal Range in this
area. This sector has great potential for red wines
production, by contrast with the Lolol, Paredones
and Pumanque, where the climate is colder because
of the moisture-laden winds blowing in from the
sea. This could be a place for producing good white
wines, although it has no sources of water.
This valley has a total of 17701 hectares under
vine, mainly with red grape varieties such as cabernet
sauvignon (9157 hectares), merlot (2379 hectares),
Carménère (1517 hectares), Syrah (670 hectares),and
Cot (337 hectares). As regards to white varieties,
there is a large area planted with Chardonnay (1028
hectares) and a smaller one with Saunignon Blanc
(332 hectares).
Apart from the strictly wine-producing aspect, this
valley is outstanding for its organized system of
tourist visits, called “Rutas del Vino”. It has
a good hotel serving this purpose in the town of
Santa Cruz, and an original plan under way to restore
old steam trains and start a regular service between
the town of San Fernando, on the main north-south
road, and Santa Cruz, 50 kilometers towards the
coast. This will allow direct access to the different
vineyards, in addition to providing a beautiful
panoramic view of the valley.
Because of its traditions and the characteristics
of the valley, the Province of Colchagua is known
as Chile’s “huaso” province. |
