Chile has benefited from an influx of foreign investment and wine making talent that begin in the late 20th century. Flying winemakers introduced new technology and styles that helped Chilean wineries produce more international recognized wine styles.

One such improvement was the use of oak. Historically Chilean winemakers had aged their wines in barrels made from rauli beechwood which imparted to the wine a unique taste that many international tasters found unpleasant. Gradually the wineries began to convert to French and American oak or stainless steel tanks for aging.

For the purpose of this website, I will focus on two of the primary wine regions that are located near the Capital City of Santiago. These two regions, the Maipo Valley and the Colchagua Valley have better tourism infrastructes in place and are easy to access whether via guided tour or on a self-driven adventure.

The Berlin Wine Tasting of 2005 held in Brazil featured five Chilean wines in the top seven. In the Tokyo Wine Tasting of 2006, Chilean wines won four of the top five rankings. For additional information on the wine regions of Chile, visit Wines of Chile