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Bulk and other wine accounted for an additional US$233.5mn of exports in that year
making a total export value of US$1245.6mn in 2007 (Banco Central, 2008). Wine has
thus become the fastest growing sector in terms of exports in the democratic period. In
1989 only 7 per cent of Chilean wine was exported but by 2007 the percentage had risen
to around 70 per cent in terms of litres produced.
Chile possesses a whole range of comparative advantages in terms of vineyards and wine
production. Chilean wine is presently produced within a huge range of latitudes - from
the Elqui wine region at 30°S to the Malleco valley and Traiguén at over 38°S. Within
these more than eight degrees of latitude, there are already thirteen wine regions and sub-
regions with significant exports defined, each with a different combination of terroir in
terms of climate, soils and local growing conditions. Chile has good solar exposure,
frequent winds, low ambient humidity and rainfall, as well as geographical isolation
(which kept away the phylloxera bug). All of these factors help reduce the incidence of
pests and diseases, giving Chile a reputation for relatively trouble-free viticulture.
Most of these wine regions are defined according to the advancing latitudes but two
regions break this pattern - the Casablanca and San Antonio (or Leyda) valleys. These
are effectively coastal wine regions between the Maipo wine region and the coast. This
introduces a relatively new theme to the comparative advantage and terroir of Chile for
producing wine as both these regions are eminently white wine regions (with some Pinot
Noir as well). The east to west variation is governed largely by the impact of coastal fogs