Chilean Terroirs: the wines of Casablanca

They say that the soils possess characteristics that deliver a perfectly balanced grapevine, a key factor for making the quality wines that originate here. This makes them special and distinctive. Here we’ll tell you a little more about this corner of the Valparaíso Region.

Just as Chile Travel reminds us, this zone is recognized internationally for its wines, offering some of the best examples in the country. That’s why in 2013 it received the title of Great Wine Capital by Great Wine Capitals Global Network, an association comprised of the most prestigious wine growing region around the world.

Located in the Valparaíso Region, just 40 km from the Pacific Ocean and less than 80 km from Santiago, its strategic location makes it one of most highly recommended valleys for wine lovers.

Just as we saw with the Apalta wines in the Colchagua Valley, Casablanca has its own particularities with its wines.

What makes the Casablanca Valley unique?

The first thing to highlight is that Casablanca is a very extensive valley, with many sub-zones with unique characteristics that make their wines different, despite coming from the same Denomination.

In general, the soils can be classified as alluvial in origin with a sandy loam texture, good permeability and little water retention in these shallow soils. They also have low levels of organic material and little alkalization.

They’re formed by the decomposition of granite from the Coastal Mountains, which are older than the Andes. Some areas have larger amounts of clay, and in other areas, more sand.

In the areas with more clay, the soils have an increased capacity for moisture retention, which translates into greater aromatic intensity but less structure in the wines, compared with those produced on soils with a higher level of sand, which have less aromatic intensity but greater body.

Because of its size, as we mentioned before, within the valley there are substantial differences. In the case of Viñedos Veramonte, our soils are more granitic and mineral thanks to our location at the foot of the Coastal Mountains (when compared to vineyards found in the flatter areas).

Other factors like the morning fog and the coastal influence also add a distinctive character to the wine. These are cool-climate wines, which is why a Merlot from Casablanca is fresh and light, where you can better appreciate its fruit, versus a Merlot from Colchagua, which tends to be more concentrated with sweeter aromas in a more rounded, substantial wine. The same occurs with Syrah from cool climates.

And because of the climate, Casablanca produces fresh wines with aromas of tropical fruit, unlike very cool climate valleys like San Antonio.