Cautín Valley
Cautín Valley corresponds to the homonymous province and it is one of two provinces in the southern Chilean region of La Araucanía, bounded on the north by Arauco and Malleco provinces, on the east by the neighbor Republic of Argentina, south by Valdivia Province, and west by the Pacific Ocean.
The Cautín Valley corresponds to the homonymous province and it is one of two provinces in the southern Chilean region of La Araucanía, bounded on the north by Arauco and Malleco provinces, on the east by the neighbor Republic of Argentina, on the south by Valdivia Province, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Its population at the 2002 census was of 667,920. The most important communes are Temuco, Villarrica, Padre Las Casas, and Nueva Imperial. Cattle, forestry, and agriculture make up most of Cautin’s economy. Its climate is humid, rainy in winter, and generally warm in summer.
Soils
The volcanic soil in the province of Cautín is composed mainly of sand and clay, and it is reasonably well drained. The soils partially correspond to the Arenales series (Dystric Xeropsamments; Entisol), which are recent deep alluvial soils with scarce development. These soils are derived from black volcanic andesitic and basaltic sands and are coarse-textured throughout the entire profile. Other soils correspond to the Cauquenes Association (Ultic Palexeralfs; Alfisol), which are deep soils formed in situ from granitic rocks with clay textures throughout the entire profile. There are also soils corresponding to the Lumaco Series (Fluventic Dystrudepts; Inceptisol), which are formed from metamorphic rocks and have a silty clay loam texture, a brown reddish color and gravel and quartz gravel throughout the entire profile. Finally, there are soils corresponding to the Correltúe Series (Andic Haplohumults; Ultisol), which are deep soils developed from old volcanic ashes deposited on a metamorphic complex that is located mainly in the coastal range in central Chile.
Climate
The climate is cool, with a high level of rainfall (51 inches (1300 mm) a year), a short growing season, and high temperature variation between day and night, which is challenging for wine producers. Most vineyards are located around the town of Traiguén, just south of the Bío Bío Valley. Although the valley has high rainfall, vines have to make extra effort to hydrate due to the well-drained soil, which results in less foliage and lower grape yields. All these factors produce grapes with more concentrated flavour and excellent structure, which in turn leads to the crispy and fresh wine produced in the region.