The Countryside
The Maipo Valley
Latitude 33º 40''
Longitude 70º 35"
This picture of the Maipo Valley clearly illustrates the way the
soil was,
and continues to be formed: Volcanic eruptions in glacial valleys. An
ongoing process that started 120 million years ago when the Andes
mountains rose from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
The Santa Alicia Estate
The Santa Alicia Estate in the locality of Pirque, in the Maipo Valley, near the Andes foothills. On this picture, the winery can be seen on the right with its white roofs, the vineyards are on the center top and the Chapel is in the lower left part photo.
Chile's vineyard zone destined for wine production extends mainly from parallels 32° and 37° Latitude South.
Coming from the North, the Maipo Valley is that zone of the country that practically opens the Chilean wine region, and is represented by a great diversity of soils such as fine-textured alluvial soils, coarse-textured alluvial soils, granitic slopes and hills and granitic alluvial soils, the latter located in the region near the coastal mountain range.
Embedded between two mountain ranges, the Andes Mountains and the Coastal Range, the Maipo Valley originates from the sediments left by the waters of the rivers born in the Andes heights and die in the Pacific Ocean. This geographical characteristic defines a diversity of soil qualities that are in function of the flora and fauna contributing with organic matter as well as on the degree of mineral richness given by the physical fragmentation and chemical decomposition of the rock.
In their path through the rocks, the waters enrich with minerals, becoming harder waters and modifying their pH reaching ranges of even 7.5 to 7.8. This is the same water that will give life to the valley, as considering its semi-desertic climate, no agriculture is possible without irrigation.
Average rainfall is 360 mm per year, concentrated between the months of April and November. As a result, our vineyards count with a privileged climate as the growing months and the maturation stage of the crop until harvest are practically free of rains, and therefore, free of fungous diseases. Base 10 grade days from September to March fluctuate between 1200 to 1500, with different microclimates within the same valley. This allows placing each variety in the best conditions for the best achievement of its quality.
The Maipo Valley, formed mostly of flat, stratified, medium to deep alluvial soils, with slight undulations, possesses a loam to clayey loam texture and a medium to high fertility. The valley enjoys a Mediterranean climate, featuring low rainfall, hot summers and moderate winters, with no frosts in normal years. Irrigated by the cold waters melting from the high snows and glaciers of the Andes Mountains, irrigation during summer finds its source in the Maipo River prioritizing drip irrigation systems that improve the soil use and the vineyard handling.