Winemaker Notes
One of Chile’s oldest wineries, Santa Carolina was established in 1875 by Luis Pereira, named after his wife, Carolina Iñguez. In 1889, the Reserva de Familia Cabernet Sauvignon was awarded a gold medal in “Exposition Universelle de Paris”, France, which made it the first Chilean wine to earn international recognition. The cellars in Santiago, Chile were declared a National Monument in 1973 to protect them from demolition due to city expansion. In 1974 the winery was bought by the Larain Family from Chile. In 2015, Santa Carolina celebrated it’s 140th anniversary and was awarded the “New World Winery of the Year” award by Wine Enthusiast magazine. Annual sales now exceed 25 million bottles, and Santa Carolina has a strong international presence with markets all over the world offering wines in all price ranges,
More than 20 million US dollars have been invested over 2014-2019 to ensure the highest quality in the production of their wines. These investments and continuous innovation provide consistent quality and numerous accolades across all wine ranges.
Touching the Pacific in the west and stretching up into the Andes on its eastern side, the Rapel Valley is one of the more substantial fine red wine producing regions of Chile and contains both the Colchagua Valley in its south and west and the Cachapoal in its north and east. While it is recognized for its exceptional warm-climate reds, the region does produce some fine Pinot noir and Sauvignon blanc on its coastal side.
Some of the country’s finest Cabernet Sauvignon comes from the Rapel’s Andean foothills—with significant individualized smaller zones already identified. Soils here are mixtures of loam, clay, and sand; Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, and Merlot are the most prolific varieties throughout the region.
Dark, full-bodied and herbaceous with a spicy kick, Carménère found great success with its move to Chile in the mid-19th century. However, the variety went a bit undercover until 1994 when many plantings previously thought to be Merlot, were profiled as Carménère. Somm Secret— Carménère is both a progeny and a great-grandchild of the similarly flavored Cabernet Franc.