In the cool-climate South American wine regions of Argentina's Uco Valley and Chile's Casablanca, Chardonnay has started to develop a presence.

Despite being politically linked to Spain, Chile's wine history has been most profoundly influenced by French, particularly Bordeaux, winemaking.

Chile's topography with the location of most of Chile's wine regions highlighted.

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.

For the rest of Chile's wine regions, the Coastal Ranges serve a buffer from the current and also acts as a rain shadow.

However the climate in Chile's wine regions is much more temperate than those regions, comparing more closely to California and Bordeaux.

Casablanca is one of Chile's cooler wine regions and is often compared to the Californian wine region of Carneros and grows similar grape varietals like Chardonnay and Pinot noir.

The northern region of Aconcagua is Chile's warmest wine region and is primarily planted with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

This is Chile's most productive and internationally known wine region, due in large part to its proximity to the country's capital Santiago.

Chile's system went into effect in 1995 and established the boundaries of the country's wine regions and established regulations for wine labels.

While sparkling wines have been made since 1879, they have not yet established a significant place in Chile's wine portfolio.

In 1997, Château Mouton Rothschild teamed up with Concha y Toro of Chile to produce a quality Cabernet Sauvignon-based red wine in a new winery built in Chile's Maipo Valley: The Almaviva.

In 1997, under the direction of Rothschild's daughter Philippine, Château Mouton-Rothschild teamed up with Concha y Toro of Chile to produce a Cabernet Sauvignon based, Bordeaux-style red wine in a new winery built in Chile's Maipo Valley, the Almaviva.

* Chile's Matrimony and Civil Registry laws come into effect.

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 vineyards are found along an 800-mile stretch of land from Atacama Region to the Bio-Bio Region in the south.

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

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.

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

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.

According to the CIA World Factbook, Chile's " sound economic policies ," maintained consistently since the 1980s, " have contributed to steady economic growth in Chile and have more than halved poverty rates.

* 1730 – An estimated magnitude 8. 7 earthquake causes a tsunami that damages more than of Chile's coastline.

The archipelago administratively belongs to Chile's Valparaíso Region ( which also includes Easter Island ), and more specifically forms one of the nine communes ( comunas ) of the Valparaíso Province named Juan Fernández.

Copper is Chile's single most important export ( more than half of Chile's export receipts were from this sole commodity ).

Swimming at Chile's popular beaches in the central part of the country, where the water gets no warmer than in the summer, requires more than a bit of fortitude.

Based on the number of people killed per capita, Ríos Montt was probably the most violent dictator in Latin America's recent history, more so than even other notorious dictators such as Chile's Augusto Pinochet, Argentina's Jorge Rafael Videla, and Bolivia's Hugo Banzer.

Most economic exploitation of the coastal region was being conducted by Chilean companies and British interests, under the aegis of Chile's more robust economy and more stable institutions.

Puerto Williams, since 1982, is considered an urban entity by Chile's National Statistics Institute ( INE ), although the department itself classifies a city to be an urban entity with more than 5, 000 residents

As with almost half of developing countries, more than 50 per cent of Chile's export receipts were from a single primary commodity 1997.

The small but significant support of the PCCh is believed to have aided in the electoral victories of former socialist president Ricardo Lagos in the 2000 elections, and in the more recent victory of Chile's first female president, the socialist Michelle Bachelet in January 2006, both of whom won in competitive second round runoffs.