The soils of the valley also are a factor. The first vineyards were planned on sandy loam soils, Cuneo noted, producing wines with "riper, tropical fruit aromas." Moving toward the northeastern reaches of the valley, the soil becomes heavier clay, which imparts an herbal or vegetal character to wines.

Chardonnay was the valley's first big grape variety; it remains the region's most planted grape. Sauvignon blanc is in second place. Far behind these whites are the reds, including merlot, pinot noir and syrah. Merlot has more acreage than the others but pinot is getting the cred, Cuneo insisted, followed by syrah.

Casablanca winemakers will continue to work to keep their valley the best place in Chile for sauvignon blanc, Cuneo predicted, while working to improve their pinot noir. Interestingly, she said the first pinot noir clones in the valley came from Oregon. Then there's syrah. Little is planted now but Cuneo said the results are more than encouraging.

"The aromas of Casablanca syrah recalls … black fruits and notes of leather instead of plum jam,'' she said. "And in its best representatives, minerality is its most seductive element."

Stay tuned; Casablanca's cool is surely going to make its wine very, very hot.

wdaley@tribune.com

By the numbers

9518

Number of vineyard acres in Chile's Casablanca Valley

4559

Number of acres planted with chardonnay vines in the Casablanca Valley

1982

Year first wine grape vines planted in the Casablanca Valley.

Sources: Wines of Chile; Asociacion de Empresarios Vitivinicolas del Valle de Casablanca; The World Atlas of Wine

Whites rule Casablanca

White wine grapes clearly dominate the Casablanca Valley as shown in these acreage statistics from the region's wine groups.

1 Chardonnay: 5606 acres

2 Sauvignon blanc: 4771 acres

3 Pinot noir: 1754 acres

4 Syrah: 264 acres