The Elqui Valley is a

wine region Wines are produced in significant growing regions where vineyards are planted. Wine grapes berries mostly grow between the 30th and the 50th degrees of latitude, in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, typically in regions of Mediterranea ...

situated alongside the

Elqui River The Elqui River starts in the west Andes and flows into the Pacific Ocean near the Chilean city of La Serena. It flows through a wine and pisco producing area. Vicuña, the main town of the middle valley, was the home of Nobel Laureate poet Gab ...

in northern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. The region lies 400 km (250 mi) north of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, at the southern end of the

Atacama Desert The Atacama Desert () is a desert plateau located on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of South America, in the north of Chile. Stretching over a strip of land west of the Andes Mountains, it covers an area of , which increases to if the barre ...

in the

Coquimbo Coquimbo is a port List of cities in Chile, city, Communes of Chile, commune and capital of the Elqui Province, located on the Pan-American Highway, in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Coquimbo is situated in a valley south of La Serena, Chile, La S ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

. It is known for cultivating table grapes, various fruits, and Chile’s popular

pisco Pisco is a colorless or yellowish-to-amber-colored spirit produced in winemaking regions of Peru and Chile. Made by distilling fermented grape juice into a high-proof spirit, it was developed by 16th-century Spanish settlers as an alternativ ...

brandy, the country's favored

liquor Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through ethanol fermentation, alcoholic ferm ...

. It is considered the most commercially successful wine-producing region in northern Chile. The region’s vineyards extend from the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

in the west to the

Andes Mountains The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...

in the east, and rise to an elevation of 2,000 meters above sea level (6,500 feet). Viticulture in the Elqui Valley began in the 1990s when Chilean wine producers sought potential sites beyond the

Chilean Central Valley The Central Valley (), Intermediate Depression, or Longitudinal Valley is the depression between the Chilean Coastal Range and the Andes Mountains. The Chilean Central Valley extends from the border with Peru to Puerto Montt in southern Chile, wi ...

. Over the years, they have planted of vines, primarily along the

valley, where grape growers have access to high-quality water for irrigation. The region has clay, silt and chalk soil, and is characterized by a sunny, desert-like climate with less than of annual rainfall. The landscape features dry rocky terrain, steep valleys, and temperate hills cooled by strong winds from the Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains. These conditions contribute to the production of excellent results for varietals like

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse ...

.See Elqui Valley Chart
www.winesofchile.org retrieved September 25, 2013 The Elqui Valley has been granted the Denomination of Origin (DO) status within the Chilean

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated, most often used for the origin of wine grapes. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, s ...

system. This legally protected geographical indication allows for identifying the specific location where the grapes used in the wine were grown.

Grape distribution by varietal

References

{{Chilean wine Wine regions of Chile