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If we go to Casa Lapostolle, which has the highest price per litre in Table Two.
Innovations in the ‘bodega’ (or winery) dominated in the 1990s and since then it has been
more of the grapes themselves (see next section). Eguiguren (2008) thinks that today is a
mix because in the winery you can also improve things to boost your wine. In Viu
Manent, Grant Phelps (2008) thinks that it can depend on your philosophy as a wine
maker. In Colchagua, most wineries are huge and many see wine as a commodity. They
are not people who say that they are really proud of their wine. You have to have both a
commercial and artistic side. “I am here because you can make great wines in Chile”
(Phelps, 2008: 4). We need small wineries championing different styles.
Process upgrading:
It was not until the 1990s that a new viticultural era began, one that has radically altered
the country’s wine-growing scene and brought about a new awareness of Chile’s vinous
potential (Richards, 2006: 11). Between 1995 and 2000 when the country’s vineyard
underwent a massive expansion, effectively doubling in size. Chilean viticulture pushed
up into the hills and toward the country’s limits in all directions in the search for diversity
- in the north (Elqui), the east (Andean Foothills), the south (Bio Bio) and west
(Casablanca, San Antonio and parts of coastal Colchcagua).
Water and irrigation are of increasing importance in Chilean viticulture. Irrigation is
needed in most of the country’s vineyards because the growing season is so dry. In
2007/08 there was no rain from the end of July to a small amount of rain in February
(Lapostol, 2008). During this period, those that did not have access to water suffered