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.
A very old grape variety grown in the Italian Piedmont. It has a great resemblance with the Freisa, which also comes from the same Italian region. Among the various massal selections made in Italy, we find lampia, michet and rosé. It can be found in Italy, Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Mexico, the United States (California), Australia, etc. In France, it is practically unknown, perhaps because it is a delicate and demanding grape variety with, among other things, a fairly long phenological cycle.
wines from the region of Maule Valley go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, spicy food or pork such as recipes of borscht (russia), original francesinha (portugal) or pork roll with tomato sauce.
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