A Chilean wine region located north and west of Santiago, CHILE’s capital city. It has two major subregions— Aconcagua Valley and Casablanca Valley.  The Aconcagua Valley, located in the northern interior of the country, is Chile’s most northerly and hottest growing area. Within this subregion is the cooler Panquehue area, where Viña Errázuriz, the area’s best-known producer, is headquartered. The Casablanca Valley is near the coastal city of Valparaiso, the location making it much cooler and therefore most promising for high-quality white wines. The ocean breezes combined with gently elevated slopes have made this subregion Chile’s most popular new area. The most widely planted grape is CHARDONNAY, although SAUVIGNON BLANC can be quite distinctive here. Some producers are also successfully producing small quantities of CABERNET SAUVIGNON, MERLOT, and PINOT NOIR.