Sepia

Rapel Valley

Chile's Rapel Valley DO is actually made up of two smaller valleys; Cachapoal and Colchagua. Cachapoal is the warmer of the two, located further inland, entirely cut off from Pacific Ocean breezes and storms by the peaks of the Chilean Coastal Range. This area is well-known for old vine Carménère, which ripens best on the sun-drenched valley floors and foothills of the Andes Mountains. Colchagua lies southwest of its sister valley with warm vineyards and greater exposure to sea breezes, making it an idyllic home to Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. The Rapel Valley focuses primarily on red wine production, famous for full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Carménère, with bold fruit flavors alongside signature herbal and earthy characteristics. Chile’s Denominación de Origen (DO) classification system focuses on separating wines by the physical location of origin. To use the DO classification on a label, a producer must have pulled 85 percent of the fruit used in a wine from a defined regional location. The DO system names wine regions in the country from north to south.