Elqui Valley Wine

Elqui Valley is a wine-growing region in Coquimbo, northern Chile. Were it not for Atacama's wine and Pisco (eau de vie) production, Elqui would be the most northerly of all Chilean wine regions. Located at a latitude of 29 degrees south, at the southern edge of the Atacama Desert, Elqui's northern hemisphere equivalents are Cairo, Egypt and central Baja California, Mexico.

Elqui, like the Limari Valley to the south, is being explored by Chilean winegrowers as they search for new terroirs with which to strengthen the country's wine portfolio.

Pedro Ximénez, Carmenere, Syrah, and Chardonnay are among the grape varieties grown sucessfully in Elqui, and even Sauvignon Blanc, which prefers cooler regions, is produced in this hot, dry climate.