The Elqui Valley is East/ West oriented and there are several very important factors that have a big influence on the character of the wines: altitude, climate conditions (sea water, temperature, solar radiation, freshness index, phototermic index, rainfall amount and light), soils, viticulture.
The altitude of the vineyards in the valley is between 350 and 2000 meters (1150-6200 feet) above sea level; temperatures are very different in the various sectors of the valley; there is a very cold area close to the ocean (between 15 and 25 km; 9-16 miles) and warmer and drier area close to the Andes where the altitude is between 550 and 2000 metres. There are also a very big temperature gap between day and night time, in summer there are (30°C down to 10°C – 86ºF to 50ºF and 76/50 in the coolest area); the number of days with temperature between 25ºC -28ºC with nights at 10ºC combined with solar radiation is very important for aromas and quality of the tannins.
Soils are very different in the valley giving different characters to the wines, normally they are quite rich in minerality, poor in fertility and with excellent drainage. For this and for the fact that the valley is quite windy, drip irrigation is necessary all the time.
Light is also very important, having a big influence on the photosynthesis of the leaves, in order to get the best ripening level. The valley is one of the best places in the word for “quality” of the light and of the air. and are the reasons why there are 8 observatories, 2 of them very important.
