Most of Chile's premium wine regions are dependent on irrigation to sustain vineyards, getting the necessary water from melting snow caps in the Andes.

Many of Chile's vineyards are found on flat land within the foothills of the Andes.

The soil composition of Chile's vineyards varies from the clay dominated landscapes of Colchagua, which is thus heavily planted with the clay-loving Merlot, to the mixture of loam, limestone and sand found in other regions.

And as New World viticulturists have better understood the soils and climates of their vineyards, terroir has come to the New World, with the ' terra rossa ' of Coonawarra known for its Cabernet Sauvignons, and the Eden Valley and Clare Valley and Chile's Bío-Bío Valley for Riesling.

Many of Chile's vineyards are found on flat land within the foothills of the Andes.

In the 1950s, Chile's vineyards were made up of over 75 % Sémillon.

Chile's congressional elections are governed by a unique binomial system that rewards coalition slates.

Chile's trade talks with Malaysia and Thailand are also scheduled to continue in 2008.

In Chile's Chiloé Archipelago, potatoes are the main ingredient of many dishes, including milcaos, chapaleles, curanto and chochoca.

Chile's northern neighbors are Peru and Bolivia, and its border with Argentina to the east, at, is the world's third longest.

There are also several clinics like Universidad de Chile's Clinica Barón, Hospital Aleman ( due to close ), and the former Naval Hospital on Playa Ancha Hill.

Chile's largest oil refinery is located in Concón ( on the mouth of the Aconcagua River and about 20 km north of Valparaíso ) and there are two important copper ore refineries: the state owned Ventanas ( on the coast and north of Concón ) and the private works in Chagres, about 55 miles ( 90 km ) inland.

Other versions of this story say this happened in the 19th century, or that the Chilean flag was placed second after the French flag ; there are even variations that talk about Chile's national anthem, placing it either in the first place or second, after La Marseillaise.

Chile's most famous contributions to literature have come from Nobel Prize poets Pablo Neruda and Gabriela Mistral, whose homes and birthplaces are now museums that attract literary pilgrims to Chile.

Most commercial and administrative centers are located in the region, including Chile's main international airport, Arturo Merino Benítez.

The Churches of Chiloé in Chile's Chiloé Archipelago are a unique architectural phenomenon in the Americas and one of the most prominent buildings of Chilota architecture.

Other " chillanejos " are also part of Chile's best artistic and literary traditions: Marta Brunet, a writer ; Marta Colvin, a sculptress ; Pacheco Altamirano, a painter ; and numerous others who, however, did not reach the international acclaim achieved by Arrau and Vinay.

Chile's reforms under the government of Augusto Pinochet are held as the origin of neoliberal shock therapy.

Chile's wine laws are more similar to the US appellation system than to France's Appellation d ' origine contrôlée that most of Europe has based their wine laws on.

Los Lagos Region (, literally Region of the Lakes ) is one of Chile's 15 regions, which are first order administrative divisions, and comprises four provinces: Chiloé, Llanquihue, Osorno and Palena.

Its organisation and its powers and duties are defined in articles 42 to 59 of Chile's current constitution.

Chile's congressional elections are governed by a unique binomial system that rewards coalition slates.

Remembered as Ercilla's 60-something elder widely respected by mapuche people, among his captains we can find headchiefs whose names are part of Chile's present geography: Paicaví, Lemo, Lincoyán, Elicura and Orompello, just to name a few.

Huasos ( plural ) are generally found in Chile's central valley.

Tigres are playing home and away qualifying matches against Chile's Unión Española.

Activists believe that conservative attitudes are changing, finding greater public tolerance as Chile's Congress debates striking " offenses to morals and good customs " clauses " that police have used to harass gays, even for behavior such as holding hands in public ".

One of Chile's Antarctic research facilities, Arturo Prat Station, and the Chilean Naval Academy, Escuela Naval Arturo Prat are named after him.

From France, the grape spread across Europe and to the New World where it found new homes in places like California's Napa Valley, Australia's Coonawarra region and Chile's Maipo Valley.

However, in Chile's bicameral parliament, they had no majority in the Senate, a situation they found themselves in constantly for over 15 years.

He was a Marxist physician and member of Chile's Socialist Party, who headed the " Popular Unity " ( UP or " Unidad Popular ") coalition of the Socialist, Communist, Radical, and Social-Democratic Parties, along with dissident Christian Democrats, the Popular Unitary Action Movement ( MAPU ), and the Independent Popular Action.

He, along with Elías Figueroa and Iván Zamorano, has been one of Chile's most prestigious footballers.

Many new sections were built or upgraded substantially: through Chile's Atacama desert, and along the western margin of Lake Titicaca, serve as two examples.

The Cementerio General de Santiago, Chile is one of the largest cemeteries in Latin America with an estimated 2 million burials. The cemetery was established in 1820 after Chile's independence when Bernardo O ' Higgins inaugurated the Alameda de las Delicias along the old course of the Mapocho River.

Several authors argue that the first community that populated the valleys of Chile's Norte Chico were the Molle people, which initially combined farming with hunting and gathering to become, over time, full time farmers along with the development burnished red pottery, and did work with stone and copper.

The Popular Unity platform included the nationalization of U. S. interests in Chile's major copper mines, the advancement of workers ' rights, deepening of the Chilean land reform, reorganization of the national economy into socialized, mixed, and private sectors, a foreign policy of " international solidarity " and national independence and a new institutional order ( the " people's state " or " poder popular "), including the institution of a unicameral congress.

More than half of Chile's land surface is volcanic in origin.

Many of Chile's distinctive animal species have been decimated as they have been pushed farther and farther into the remaining wilderness areas by human occupation of the land.

Afterwards, Chile's land campaign bested the badly equipped Bolivian and Peruvian armies, leading to Bolivia's complete defeat and withdrawal in the Battle of Tacna on May 26, 1880, and the defeat of the Peruvian army after the Battle of Arica on June 7.

The Mapocho River () ( Mapudungun: Mapu chuco, " water that penetrates the land ") flows from the Andes mountains onto the west and divides Chile's capital Santiago in two.

Only after Chile's victory at the battle of Chacabuco in 1817, was he able to return to his home land.

Puerto Montt is the capital of the Los Lagos Region and the Llanquihue Province, and the main sea port at the lower end of Chile's western continental land.