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-VIA WINE MAP(Pdf)
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VIA WINE GROUP
Central Valley, Chile. Producer of
Oveja
Negra, Chilcas and
Chilensis wines
VIA Wine Group is a Chilean-American company that is the leading
exporter of Chilean wine world wide, with more than 2.3 million cases in sales
annually.
VIA was established in 1998 with the first plantings of 988 acres of vineyards
in an area known as Fundo Las Chilcas, which lies in the sub region of San Rafael in the Maule Valley. Endowed with great natural beauty, this estate vineyard is located
in the shadow of the Descabezado Volcano, 12 miles north of Talca, the capital
city of Maule Region.
The Las Chilcas estate vineyard became the center of the VIA project with the
establishment of a modern winery and bottling plant for vinifying high quality
wines.
VIA’s innovative winemaking spirit began with its first harvest in 2002. In just
4 years the
project grew from a 3.5 million liter winery to a 17 million liter
facility with world class technology and equipment.
In addition to the Las Chilcas facilities, four more strategically located
cellars in Chile’s major wine producing areas of Tapihue (Casablanca Valley), Santa Cruz and Lolol (Colchagua Valley), Curicó
Valley, and San Rafael (Maule Valley) were added during that time.
With the addition of these vineyards, VIA’s plantings expanded to more than
2,200 acres spread throughout the very best wine growing zones in Chile. This
provided VIA the advantage of incomparable access to the best soils and wine
growing climates to achieve the purest expression for each variety; making the
finest Chardonnays from Casablanca; big, full-bodied Cabernets from Maipo;
mineral and aromatic Cabernets from San Rafael; fruity and refreshing Sauvignon
Blanc from Maule; and soft Merlots from Colchagua.
Casablanca Valley
The Casablanca Valley is Santiago's gateway to the sea. With striking
similarities to California's Napa Valley, this region is fast becoming a tourist
attraction with the development of its wine route.
VIA’s new cellar in the Casablanca Valley is strategically located in the
Tapihue sector, with easy access to the country’s two largest ports of
Valparaíso and San Antonio. This vineyard was designed and constructed to
produce the finest Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir of this renowned
valley. Built into a hillside, this facility includes a barrel room, tanks that
can hold a combined capacity of 7.2 million liters, fully equipped laboratory,
and a reception area with selection tables.
The Casablanca Valley’s climate is marked by four well-defined
seasons. Winters are cold and rainy, and springs are temperate, with continuous
coastal breezes. Summer mornings start with heavy coastal fog, which clears to
allow the temperatures to rise to 86°F. Coastal breezes later in the day cause
the temperature to drop to 41°F by nightfall. Water is scarce in the Casablanca
Valley, so most of the vineyards are irrigated from deep water wells, an added
advantage in creating greater health for the vines due to the purity of the
water.
The valley’s most commonly-grown varieties are Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and
Viognier in white grapes, and Pinot Noir and Merlot in reds.
Colchagua Valley
Just 25 miles inland from the coast,
Colchagua lies closer to the low and rolling Coastal Range than to the higher
Andes, and benefits from the cooling breezes that blow in directly from the sea.
Located in the hills of the Coastal Mountains of the Lolol Valley in Colchagua,
Bodega Nilahue is VIA’s most recent acquisition in late 2002. The
facility is surrounded by four vineyards combining 500 acres of vines that date
back more than 30 years. The facility has temperature controlled stainless steel
tanks that can hold a combined capacity of 6.4 million liters of juice.
With long, hot summers (98°F)
and cool, frost free nights (68°F),
Colchagua provides the ideal climate and soils that vines thrive in. This area
is the leading producer of some of Chile’s finest red wines, especially Carménère
and Cabernet Sauvignon, which reach maximum maturity while still retaining full
acidity, sweetness and color. The region is also renown for producing
exceptional white wines such as Viognier and Chardonnay.
The valley’s most commonly-grown varieties are
Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Carménère, Chardonnay, Viognier,
Tintorera, Cabernet Franc, Viognier, Syrah, and Riesling.
Curicó Valley
This is Chile’s second largest wine producing valley, only its southern neighbor Maule
has more area planted to vine. Winemaking is the region’s primary economic
activity and is also home to the country’s largest vineyards. Curicó’s winding
rivers and diverse geographic landscape provide the opportunity to work with
many different varieties.
The Mediterranean climate, a dry five month
summer season, average temperature of 68°F and a maximum of 86°F, sufficient
rainfall of 28 inches, and well-drained alluvial soils make this valley ideal
for producing world class grapes.
VIA's 460 acre Los Niches vineyard is located on the
banks of the Lontué River of the Andean sector of the Curicó Valley. The Andean
sector is ideal for early-ripening, highly aromatic and well balanced white
wines, especially Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
National statistics list 32 different types of wine
grapes grown in the area (17 red and 15 white). However the valley’s most
commonly-grown varieties are Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc, Viognier, and early
ripening reds; Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carménère.
Maule Valley
With almost 200 years of viticulture, this most southerly part of the Central
Valley is also Chile’s largest producer with 43% of the country’s total planted
area concentrated here.
This is one of Chile’s most geographically diverse valleys, and can be divided
into the Pacific, Inter-Andes-Pacific, and Andes regions. The Pacific section,
closest to the Coastal Mountain range, has higher temperatures and lower
rainfalls, 28 inches annually, while the opposite is true when moving toward the
Andean piedmont, with average annual rainfalls of up to 39 inches. The climate
is temperate Mediterranean, with warm summers and temperatures that reach highs
of 91°F and cool nights 59°F.
The combination of climatic variations in the
different sectors and a broad range of soil types helps to promote diverse
flavors and styles in the vineyards.
VIA has two vineyards located within the Andes
region of Maule; Bodega Rio Claro and Bodega Las Chilcas, with a combined 1,300
acres of vines planted.
Las Chilcas is the largest property with 988 acres
of vineyards, and is also the central headquarters for VIA Wine Group, that includes the
main office, cellar and bottling plant. Las Chilcas has two separate
fermentation area's for red and white wines with temperature controlled
stainless steel tanks that can hold a combined capacity of 17 million liters of
juice. The facility also has a barrel room that can hold up to 3,700
barrels. The Las Chilcas winery includes a fully equipped laboratory, including
microbiological analysis, and state-of-the-art temperature controlled
7,500-bottle-per-hour bottling line.
Varieties grown in these vineyards include
Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Vert, Viognier, Pinot Blanc, Riesling,
and Gewürztraminer. Red varieties include Pinot Noir, Malbec, Syrah, Cabernet
Franc, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carménère, Tempranillo, and
Sangiovese.
VIA also has 94 acres of organically managed vineyards that are cultivated in
conjunction with nature, which helps to care for the environment and promote
biodiversity.
http://www.viawinegroup.com/
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