Chono

Chono is the cutting edge of Chilean winemaking—a micro-estate that produces world-class wines from some of the most unique terroirs in the country. Led by two of South America's leading winemakers and enologists, Alvaro Espinoza and Juan Carlos Faúndez, Chono too is the future of the Chilean wine industry, as producers move away their quantity-over-quality past to focus on Chile's terroir strengths.

The heart of Chono is in the Maipo Valley, the starting point of Chilean viticulture in the late 18th century. It is here where enterprising winemakers brought back vine cuttings from Bordeaux to plant in the foothills of the Andes Mountains, on alluvial soils not too different from those on the banks of the Dordogne. Chono's home base is the eastern side of the Maipo Valley called Isla de Maipo. Here the soils are sandy; vineyards sit between 1,800 and 2,000 feet above sea level; and temperatures are warmer than in more coastal areas, moderated by the cooling winds from the Andes. Red grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, not to mention Chile's signature grape, Carmenère, thrive here.

Photo Courtesy of North Berkeley Wine Imports.

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