Maule Valley is the largest wine-producing region in Chile other than the Central Valley, of which it is a Part. It has 75,000 acres (30,000ha) under Vine, and has traditionally been associated with quantity rather than quality. But this is rapidly changing – the bulk-producing Pais vine is gradually being replaced with more international varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenère, and careful winemaking practices are being employed to make some world-class red wines from old-vine Carignan.
The Central Valley itself runs between the Andes and the Coastal Mountains from the Chilean capital of Santiago in the North to the up-and-coming region of Bío Bío in the South.
The Maule Valley stretches for around 60 miles (100km), and the Center of its wine production Lies 180 miles (290km) south of Santiago at a latitude of 35°S. Maule is further south than the Central Valley's star regions of Maipo and Colchagua. The large amount of land covered by the Maule Valley DO (Denominación de Origen) means there is a multitude of terroirs, from low-lying river valleys to Andean hillsides.
Maule Valley was one of the first areas in Chile to be planted to vine, and its viticultural history stretches back to the start of colonisation by the Spanish.
The region has Long been one of Chile's most successful bulk-production wine districts, as evidenced by the large amount of Pais still found planted here. It has only been in the past 20 years that Maule vignerons have made a move toward quality, pioneered by the Kendall-Jackson empire of California, which set up a winery here in the mid-1990s.
Despite this push toward modernity, some of Maule's better throwbacks have survived – the region is fast becoming known for some 70-year-old Carignan vines that are being used to produce Soft, earthy red wines with Richplum and black-fruit characters.
One of the more southern of Chile's wine-growing areas, Maule is slightly cooler than its northerly cousins and has higher annual rainfall, most of which occurs during winter.
Marsanne is a white grape variety that originated in Montélimar in the Drôme, several centuries ago. Marsanne is also found in Cassis, Savoie, Languedoc-Roussillon and Saint-Péray in the Ardèche, where it produces remarkable sparkling wines. The warm, sunny climate of the Rhone Valley, Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence, as well as the dry, stony soil, are ideal conditions for its development. Its bunches are quite large and provide small, juicy berries that are sensitive to grey rot and strong winds. These two grape varieties complement each other perfectly: together they give light wines with little acidity, aromas of yellow fruit, white fruit and flowers with notes of honey and liquorice. This is for example what the appellations Saint-Péray, Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, Saint-Joseph, Côtes-du-Vallée du Rhône, Corbières, or Cassis express... which represent about 700 hectares.
wines from the region of Maule Valley go well with generally quite well with dishes of pork, rich fish (salmon, tuna etc) or spicy food such as recipes of flammekueche (with laughing cow), grilled tuna with mediterranean marinade or coral lentil dahl.
