healthier grapes?
by John Fanning
On a recent trip to South America, I was fortunate enough to spend several days touring the vineyards and tasting the wines of Chile. I had heard this extremely long and narrow country described as a ‘winegrowing paradise,’ and it did not take long to understand why. Chile is blessed with a near perfect situation and climate for growing grapes; while the days are long and warm enough to allow the grapes to fully ripen, the cooling influence from both the Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains keeps them from overheating. And although the country can suffer from a lack of rainfall, there is plentiful irrigation available from snow-melt off the Andes. The climate assures that mold and disease rarely develop in the vineyards, and there is little to no problem with insects or pests.
Such ideal conditions allow grapes to grow in an extremely healthy, natural manner with minimal interference; insecticides or pesticides are hardly used. In many parts of the world grape-growers must change their practices over the course of several years in order to have their vineyards certified as ‘organic.’ In Chile, the majority of the wine is made organically with little fuss or fanfare; it’s simply how they have always made their wine because of how conducive their environment is to grape-growing.
Due to Chile’s extreme isolation, it is also the only wineproducing country in the world not to have been devastated by phylloxera, the vine-eating pest that destroyed most of the world’s vineyards in the late 1800s. Subsequently, the grapevines in Chile are the only ones in the world that are ungrafted, that is they still grow on their original rootstock. In his book Wines of South America , Monty Waldin writes, ‘Some Chilean producers claim that ungrafted vines are the reason why Chile’s red wines are alleged to contain the highest levels of ‘heart-friendly’ compounds compared to wines from other countries.’
The Catholic University of Santiago, Chile’s top enology school, has even focused a study entitled ‘Science, Wine, and Health’ on the health benefits of Chilean wines. Wines from around the world were analyzed for their content of flavanoids, the antioxidants which have been proven to benefit cardiac health and slow the growth of some cancers. Wines from over eight major wine-producing countries were studied, and it was found that Chilean red wines contained the highest level of these antioxidants.
Chilean studies on wine and health are relatively recent, as is Chile’s modern wine industry itself. Some attribute the health benefits of Chilean wine to their ungrafted vines, while others attribute it to their long growing season that allows the grapes to receive plentiful sunshine. Either way, as an increasing number of studies throughout the world focus on wine and health, it appears that Chilean wine may come out on top as the most natural and healthy, as well as delicious, wine on earth.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: John Fanning became interested in wine several years ago. He has worked at both vineyards and wineries all over the world, including the Finger Lakes, Oregon, and Tuscany. He is currently a Wine Specialist at Marketview Liquors in Henrietta.