Chile's wine industry : historical character and changing geography
Before the Pinochet regime, Chile's wine industry was restricted and protected by national laws. Chile's wine was a low-quality beverage to satisfy a thirsty nation ; most of the wine grapes were dry farmed in the Coast Range south of Cauquenes
and on adjacent parts of the Central Valley. In the 1980s a dramatic drop in wine drinking forced surviving and new wineries to adopt the technology of the wine revolution. Today, Chilean wineries emphasize premium varietals and production for export. Although
wine production has shifted northward, Santiago still articulates the industry. - (SLD)
Crowley, an authority on the geography of wine, discusses wines in the Languedoc-Roussillon (L-R), area of southern France. French wines, in supposed order of declining quality, are designated : Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC), Vin de Qualité
Supérieure (VDQS), Vin de Pays, and Vin Ordinaire. Traditionally, L-R has been the land of table wine for the average Frenchman (and Frenchwomen) to enjoy daily. Recently, some growers in L-R have received AOC designation for wines made from traditional