Casablanca Valley
The Casablanca Valley is located in the coastal plain of the Aconcagua region. The relief shows mostly far mountains and soft hills below 400 m.a.s.l. Heights increase where the Coastal Range rises. Vineyards are cultivated in flat or softly sloping lands; water for irrigation is obtained from deep wells, Los Sauces brook and La Vinilla and Perales reservoirs.
The Casablanca Valley is located in the coastal plain of the Aconcagua region. The highway, which goes from Santiago to Viña del Mar, crosses the valley which is 80 kilometres northwest of Santiago and only 41 kilometres from the city port of Valparaíso. The relief shows mostly far mountains and soft hills not above 400 m.a.s.l. Heights increase northeast and southeast, where the Coastal Range rises. Vines are cultivated in flat or softly sloping lands; water for irrigation is generally obtained from deep wells, from Los Sauces brook and from La Vinilla and Perales reservoirs.
The Casablanca Valley is a transversal valley within the coastal mountains range, that crosses Chile from east to west, from the Andes mountain range to the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by mountains from the area where is located the Zapata tunnel in the Ruta 68 highway from Santiago to Valparaíso to the area of Lo Vásquez before the highway enters into the last coastal mountains before reaching the coastline. The Ruta 68 highway crosses the bottom of the valley as a guideline towards the coast. The Casablanca Valley has a longitude of 24 km giving place to 5.680 hectares of planted surface with vines for wine production, out of the 22.000 hectares of the whole surface of the valley.
The Casablanca Valley is Santiago’s gateway to the Pacific Ocean. The coastal mountains that separate the valley from the sea, just 30 minutes away driving, cannot stop the influence of maritime breezes but moderate them. The higher, warmer, and frost free areas of the valley are adequate for more permissive red varieties. The lower, cooler areas of the valley produce excellent fruit in cold loving varieties, the soil and climate provide ideal conditions for the production of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir, and Syrah. Many soil types and microclimates are currently identified and included in vineyards’ planning processes.
Denomination of Origin: Casablanca
Region: Aconcagua
Sub-Region: Casablanca
Complementary Area: Costa
Wineries with presence at the Casablanca Valley
Bravados Wines, www.bravadowines.com
Bodegas RE, http://bodegasre.cl
Carmen, www.carmen.com
Casablanca, www.casablancawinery.com
Catrala, www.catrala.cl
Casas del Bosque, www.casasdelbosque.cl
Concha y Toro, www.conchaytoro.com
Cono Sur, www.conosur.com
El Cuadro, www.elcuadro.cl
Emiliana, www.emiliana.cl
Errázuriz, www.errazuriz.cl
Indómita, www.indomita.cl
Kingston Family Vineyards, www.kingstonvineyards.com
Loma Larga, www.lomalarga.com
Matetić, www.matetic.cl
Morandé, www.morande.cl
Quintay, http://wp.quintay.com
Santa Rita, www.santarita.com
Tunquén Wines, http://tunquenwines.wordpress.com
Ventisquero, www.ventisquero.com
Veramonte, http://veramonte.com
Villard, www.villard.cl
Viña Punto Alto, www.vina-punto-alto.com
Viña Mar, www.vinamar.cl
Vistamar, www.vistamar.cl
William Cole Vineyards, www.williamcolevineyards.cl
Soils
Many soil types are present in the valley: alluvial soils of moderate development prevail, but soils of scarce development which form inclusions in the whole Valparaíso region can also be found. These generally derive from high marine terraces, have flat to slightly steeped reliefs and are reddish-brown in colour. Additionally, there are well-developed soils, which evolved from granitic rocks and have high clay content in depth. Granitic soils of variable depth, resting on bedrock. This allows roots to explore the entire profile.
Climate
The Casablanca valley has a warm temperate climate. Its location and relief make it prone to moderate winds and morning mists from the coast, which create conditions for a Mediterranean climate. We find a warm temperate Mediterranean-type climate in the Casablanca valley, it is characterised mainly as being drier and having a wider thermal range than the coast. The average annual temperature is of 15,5 °C and rainfalls increase with altitude varying from about 250 mm. up to 450 mm. The rains fall mostly between the months of May to October; November to April are considered dry. Casablanca is an area with cold climate, influenced by the Pacific Ocean breeze. There are usually morning fogs that give way to clear skies in the afternoons.