Chile has a biodiversity dilemma.
Three decades ago, visitors to a top Chilean winery would be given a lengthy tour of the new cellar followed by a bells-and-whistles tasting. Today, international guests are whisked straight into the vineyard to gaze at native flora and, after the sun sets, listen to the haunting rhythms of Chilean myotis, a species of native bat. Encouraging a biodiverse agricultural environment, with a vibrant ecosystem of plants and animals, is a major priority for leading brands in 2025.
Yet Chile's biodiversity story, charming and seductive, has become mired in controversy of late. According to Roberto Henriquez, winemaker at Roberto Henriquez Wines in Bio Bio, forestry companies are doing "horrendous damage" to the once vibrant ecosystems (and adjacent vineyards) of southern Chile.
"This is an ongoing issue concerning the removal of indigenous flora (including vines) by forestry companies. These companies, a 'hug' business between the state of Chile and rich families, plant pines and eucalyptus, taking out the native environment," he explains.
"This is displacing people, pushing out generations of farmers who help to keep the lands alive. Moreover, the fires that occur in a territory become a convenient excuse for the big firms to buy land for a massive discount, assuming control and deciding what to grow in our area and ecosystem."
Heart of darkness
This ecological fracas is unfolding in what is arguably Chile's most mesmerizing region: situated on the border with Maule, the Zona Sur is cooler and wetter than the intensely farmed Central Valley to the north. It lacks a sophisticated infrastructure, vineyard hotels, and, in some places, decent phone signal. Yet the landscape, dotted with snow-capped mountains, Valdivian temperate rainforests and lakes, and is achingly beautiful and blissfully serene.
"Here, people still ride around in horse and cart and trade vegetables in the market place – it's like a trip back in time," observes winemaker Robert Echeverria Jnr. Moreover, the region contains a treasure trove of old bush vines, typically dry farmed Pais and Moscatel that were first introduced by Spanish Missionaries in the 16th Century. These unique viticultural resources have encouraged both large companies and ambitious pioneers to invest in Chile's romantic south, including Miguel Torres Jr, Concha y Toro, the Garage Wine Co., and Francisco Baettig. Yet the increasing loss of biodiversity is a major concern for several winemakers in the Zona Sur, arguing that it poses a grave threat to their cherished way of life.
"Small vineyards are part of a local economy where neighbors sell their goods at local markets," says Derek Mossman Knapp, co-founder the Garage Wine Co. in Maule.
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