Phylloxera, a grape louse, kills vines. In 1870s, phylloxera attacked the French vineyards and killed almost all vines. Luckily, it was discovered that American Vitis labrusca vines are immune to this louse. So all the European vines were pulled up and grafted onto this american rootstocks.
Chilean wine producers imported their wines from France in the 1860s, before the phylloxera attack. The climate in Chile is somewhere between California and Bordeaux. The main red grapes (parentheses are names of the regions) grown in Chile are Cabernet Sauvignon (Maipo Valley), Carmenere (Rapel Valley), Merlot (Rapel Valley), and Syrah (It was recently discovered that 40% of the Merlot planted is not really Merlot, but is Carmenere). The 1997 and 2003 vintages were two of the best ever produced in Chile. Some of the top wine producers are (parentheses are names of the best wines):
- Concha y Toro (Don Melchor, Almaviva)
- Cousino Macul (Finis Terrae, Antiguas Reservas)
- Vina Errazuriz (Don Maximiano)
- Los Vascos (Reserva De Familia)
- Vina Montes (Alpha M)
- Santa Rita (Casa Real)
- Sena
- Veramonte (Primus)
Some of the foreign investment in Chile:
- Domaines Lafite Rothschild (France) - Los Vascos
- Baron Philippe de Rothschild (France) - Concha y Toro
- Quintessa (California) - Veramonte
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