The Winery Lucia Torres Peñailillo of Bio-Bio Valley of South

Discovering the wine region of Bio-Bio Valley

Bío Bío Valley, which is one of Chile's most Southern wine-producing regions, has enjoyed a dramatic rise to fame since the start of the New millennium. The global appetite for its crisp, Aromatic wine styles is the major reason, coupled with the determination of Chilean winemakers to prove they can produce more than Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Just as Casablanca has done with Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, Bío Bío has provided an excellent place for Chilean winegrowers to work with varieties such as Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Viognier. The region Lies 435 kilometers (270 miles) south of the Chilean capital of Santiago, between the Andes Mountains and the Coastal Range.

Itata Valley is just North of Bio Bio, and the Malleco Valley is the only commercial wine region further south. The port city of Concepcion is just west of the region, on the Pacific coast. Bío Bío Valley is one of Chile's more extreme wine-producing regions, experiencing more wind, rain and climatic variation than most of the rest of the country. The cool Climate – and the extended growing season it allows – is much better suited to the development of Complex aromatics in white wine than the hot, Dry climates of the Maipo Valley or Cachapoal further north.

The region sits at a latitude of 36°S, which is mirrored in the northern hemisphere by the southern regions of Spain and the similarly cool and windy region of Monterey in the United States. Altitude is not a factor that comes into play here; few vineyards require the cooling effect it provides and most sit between 50 and 200 meters (150-600ft) above sea level. It is interesting to compare the differences between Argentina's distribution of white varieties and that in Chile. High altitude allows white grapes to grow quite successfully in Argentina's mountainous regions – some 1,500km (930 miles) north of Bío Bío.