Country, Region and Sub-Regional Profiles — Country Profiles
Wines from Chile
Chilean Vineyard, Clos Apalta Overview and History Vines were planted in Chile in the 16th century by Spanish conquistadors and missionaries; today, Chile is the seventh largest producer of wine in the world. And while large volumes of more moderate quality for domestic consumption once dominated, Chile today produces truly great wines, especially its Cabernet Sauvignon blends. Chile’s growing reputation for quality wine, resulted in an influx of prominent foreign wine makers, starting with Miguel Torres in the 1970s, and in the late 1980s and throughout the 90s, the likes of the Rothschilds of Lafite Rothschild (owners of Los Vascos), the Marnier...
Wines from Australia
Vines at Tyrell's Vineyard, Australia Overview and History Australia has had a wine “industry” for over 200 years but much of their original focus was on fortified wine styles like Sherry and Port. However, it was only in the 1950s and 1960s that saw the emergence of some table wines showing global relevance and potential. In fact, a national awareness and appreciation of fine wine beyond a very niche group of consumers only became apparent in the early seventies. Since then an explosion of production and quality occurred in most of Australia’s states. Australia’s wine evolution moved from cheap and...
Wines from Argentina
Argentina is the fifth largest wine producer in the world and has a rich winemaking history. Originally planted with vines by the Spanish colonisers in the early 16th century, for many years the focus was on producing large volumes of wine for local consumption, and little was exported. In the late 1980s, vines began to be planted in cooler areas to prolong the ripening process thus producing more sophisticated wines. And since the 1990s Argentina has benefitted from foreign investment and expertise, which has hugely improved winemaking equipment and vineyard techniques thus further improving the wine quality thus leading to a much healthier export market for their wines.