Cono Sur adds new vineyards

Chilean producer Cono Sur has planted and acquired two new vineyards, one in the southern region of Bio Bio and the other in Aconcagua.

The estate planted a 105 hectare site in Aconcagua in the foothills of the Andes in 2012 and it intends to produce a wine from the vineyard for the first time this year.

The San Felipe Estate is at an altitude of 1,100 metres and planted with over 10 varieties including: Cabernet Sauvignon Carmenere, Malbec, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Mourvedre, Grenache, Carignan, Tempranillo, Alicante Bouschet and Cabernet Franc.

Chief winemaker Adolfo Hurtado (pictured in Casablanca) explained that one of the reasons the area was so attractive was its “great thermal amplitude, with temperatures rising up to 37° centrigrade during the day followed by cool nights. Sometimes the temperature difference can be of 27 degrees or more.”

If the site in Aconcagua is for reds, the newly acquired 212 hectare site in the south is very much for cool climate whites – and a little Pinot Noir.

As Hurtado continued: “Our next challenge is a new Estate Cono Sur recently purchased in the Bio Bio Valley, in Mulchén. In the next couple of years, we plan to grow 212 hectares of varieties that excel with low temperatures like Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Noir.”