This episode is designed to help you think like the examiner under pressure. Chile is not tested as a list of valleys; it is tested as a system where geography, water access, cooling influences, and economics explain why styles, quality levels, and prices differ so sharply within one country.
As you listen, anchor each region to its dominant cause → effect → exam payoff logic. In the north, extreme sunlight is only workable because of ocean and altitude cooling, which explains both freshness and premium pricing. In Aconcagua, the Costa–Entre Cordilleras–Andes framework finally makes sense because it visibly maps to shifts in alcohol, acidity, and volume. In the Central Valley, shelter, fertility, and irrigation explain Chile’s global export success and why premium wines must move to hillsides, foothills, and coastal edges. In the Southern Region, higher rainfall and latitude flip the viticultural risks but open the door to freshness, old vines, and stylistic rediscovery.
Numerical anchors matter here: rainfall figures, altitude ranges, latitude bands, export volumes, and per-capita consumption are not trivia — they justify structure, style, and business outcomes. If you can narrate Chile this way in the exam, you are no longer describing regions; you are demonstrating control of climate logic, site selection, and market positioning — exactly where distinction marks sit.
Listen once for flow. Listen again asking yourself one question only: If I had to explain why this wine tastes like this and costs what it does, could I do it in one clean sentence?
Looking for all episodes in one place?
I’ve created an evergreen “Start Here” hub for this unit so you can access the full series without inbox overload.
You’ll find the complete list of episodes, organized in syllabus order, here:
https://thesommpour.substack.com/p/wset-diploma-d3-wines-of-the-world
