In previous posts, I’ve argued that Pais is Chile’s true national grape and not Carmenere while Sauvignon Blanc could be Chile’s most internationally marketable grape. However, none of these varieties can claim to be Chile’s only true native wine grape. This title belongs to Tamarugal, which was only recently discovered in 2003 and officially designated uniquely Chilean in 2016. I finally got to taste it last weekend.
What is a native American grape?
North America
First of all, almost all grape varieties used for wine production today are a type of Vitis Vinifera grape, which originated from Europe and southwest Asia. However, there are other species of grapes like Vitis Labrusca, which are wild grapes native to North America. This means they were growing in North America before the Europeans arrived. For example, the Concord grape, which is most often used to make grape jelly in the US, is a type of Vitis Labrusca grape. Still, Vitis Vinifera currently dominates all grape wine production around the world due to years of colonization and globalization as well as the lack of quality of the other species of grapes for winemaking.
One type of wine grape that is becoming trendy in the US are hybrid grapes, which are an intentional cross of a Vitis Vinifera grape with another species like Vitis Labrusca to make a completely different type of grapevine. Some of these hybrids are still being used in Europe and around the world since they were originally created to combat disease. This is because hybrids can help create a more weather, disease and fungal resistant vine while still having some of the same qualities of European wine grapes mixed with, in this case, North American species of grapes, which are often characterized as being foxy (musty and floral) and lacking sugar on their own.
South America
A variation of Vitis Vinifera grapes in Latin America are called criolla grapes. These are Vitis Vinifera grapes from Europe that were crossed (intentionally or accidentally) with other European Vitis Vinifera grapes in Latin America to make a new type of Vitis Vinifera grape. Torrontes is probably the most famous criolla grape.
Some call criolla varieties “native” South American grapes even though they weren’t here before Europeans arrived like Vitis Labrusca, Vitis Rotundifolia or other native North American grape species. There may have also been pre-Colombian grapes in the Caribbean, but there’s no evidence of pre-Colombian grapes in South America that I know of. So can criolla grapes be called “native?”
Defining “Native”
The term “native” can mean different things. In the most basic sense, it means some living thing was born somewhere. Some hybrid and criolla grapes were technically born in the Americas, so one can call them “native,” despite all or some of their DNA coming from Europe.
The history of race and immigration in the US provides insight on how we might label such varieties. For example, descendents of early European settlers called themselves “nativists” to combat the immigration of Irish, Italians and Eastern Europeans to the US in the 19th century. Think Gangs of New York. Eventually, after a few generations, these immigrants are now considered “American” too.
On the other hand, certain groups have tended to be labeled by some as less than or non-American due to political and economic power structures no matter how long they live in the US such as Latinos, Asians and African Americans. However, nowadays “Native American” only refers to the people living in the Americas before the Europeans arrived.
Labeling a grape variety doesn’t have as many political, social and economic consequences, but it definitely can affect marketing and economic development for grape growers and winemakers. Bottom line, by most definitions pre-Colombian species of grapes in North America, hybrids and criolla grapes in South America should all be considered “native” grapes because they have been in the Americas a long enough time to become their own thing through crossing with other groups and adapting to their environment. On the other hand, there should still be some distinction between the grapes that existed before the Europeans immigrated to the Americas.
Tamarugal: Chile’s Only Native Grape
History
The case of Tamarugal is different from criolla or hybrid grapes. Although there’s been recent evidence to show that Native Americans in Texas may have made wine from grapes before the Europeans arrived and we know other plant products have been used to make alcoholic beverages like chicha for thousands of years in South America, the story of wine in the Americas most likely starts with the Spanish who introduced Vitis Vinifera to the Americas and the knowledge of winemaking in the 16th century.
Wine was being produced in the Tarapacá region from the 16th Century up until the early 20th century when they completely stopped between 1937-1949. This was mainly because they were diverting most of the water for use in the city of Iquique, taxes and the increase of saltpeter mining in the region.
In 1949, a German researcher named Hinrich Froehlich decided to plant a small farm, including grapevines in a 50 hectare area in Canchones along the Pampa (plains) del Tamarugal. Froehlich also made wells to source aqueducts for irrigation. That’s how this area, now called “Viña Canchones,” was set up as a station for research and development.
By the way, Tamarugal is the name of the trees found in this area. The area is called Canchones, because of the mounds natives created to clear the minerally top layer of the soil into mounds while using the lower layers for farming, where all the grapevines are now planted.
Tamarugal vines
The Discovery
In 2003, the Department of Desert Agriculture at Arturo Prat University (UNAP) in Iquique started to look for surviving old vines in the Tarapaca region. These vines were then taken to be planted at Viña Canchones for research. Vines were planted in 2006 and the first harvest for what they called “Vino del Desierto,” (Wine of the Desert) was in 2007. 
They found some typical Chilean varieties like Pais, Moscatel de Alejandria and Torontel Riojano. However, they also identified two obscure grapes that are not found anywhere else in Chile: Gros Golman and Ahmeur Bou Ahmeur. The latter is originally an Algerian grape that probably made its way to Spain (and then Chile) via Morocco. It’s considered more of a table grape. On the other hand, Gros Colman has become the main red grape of the Vino del Desierto project. It’s a Georgian grape also known as Kharistvala Kolkhuri or Dodrelyabi.
The most amazing find though was a completely unknown white variety which they named Tamarugal after the region and local trees. After genetic testing and comparing it with genetic databases around the world, Tamarigual was proven to be a new type of Vitis Vinifera grape that exists nowhere else except in the Tarapaca region of Chile. As a result, in 2016, Tamarugal was registered as the first and only Vinifera Chilena.
Is Tamarugal a native Chilean grape?
Tamaragul is most likely not a criolla (crossed) grape. Instead, it is probably a mutation that developed to adapt to the desert climate over the years. The climate here is different than some of the other hot desert/semi-desert wine regions in Chile which tend to have coastal influence like the Elqui Valley and/or high elevation like the wines made around San Pedro de Atacama. The elevation here is only 1,000m with summer temperatures reaching 38 degrees Celsius and winter nights going below freezing.
Which variety mutated to become Tamarugal? Some have speculated that it is related to Moscatel de Alejandria, but nobody really knows.
Is Tamarugal native? Yes. It has been around for at least decades and was born in Chile, adapting to its environment. Unlike the criolla grapes, this grape is not just native to South America, but it is native exclusively to a specific part of Chile.
How to Taste Tamarugal
Because the Vino del Desierto project is first and foremost a research project and not for profit, the only way to taste varietal Tamarugal and Chilean Gros Colman is by visiting Viña Canchones or possibly finding their wines at one of the following restaurants in Iquique: Hotel Caiti, Rayu, Doña Filomena, or Club Naútico. They currently do not export to anywhere else in Chile or internationally although that may change soon.
Until now though, they’ve just tried to sell enough and do enough local tourism to continue to fund their research. The ultimate goal of the research is to provide economic development for the region through agriculture and tourism. Hence, they have started sharing their vines and knowledge with local farmers to possibly sell commercially,
In addition, because their purpose is mostly experimental, each vintage of Tamaragul and the other grapes are made in different ways from each other. You can see some of those differences in the tasting notes below, such as choosing to use native yeast for some and commercial yeasts for others. However, they generally make one dry and one semi-sweet version of Tamarugal along with one dry varietal Gros Colman and one bottling of Pais.
Visiting Viña Canchones
Viña Canchones is located about 90 minutes from Iquique. You have a choice of 3 types of tours, which mainly differ in terms of how many wines you get to taste and if you want to taste the wines with food pairings. The food pairings consist of some local products too. The tour takes you through the vineyards and wine making facilities while telling you the story of the vineyard, Tamarugal and their research.
They do not provide transportation, but you can try arranging that with local tour companies. One tour company, called Altos del Norte, specifically does trips to Viña Canchones with the price of the tour included. There’s also a bus, but it is infrequent and goes through the whole province.
If you attend their harvest festival in the Fall (April/May), you can also experience some of the food, music and dance of the local Aymara culture.
Other Attractions in the Region
I labeled this post as “Wine Tourism in Chile,” because in order to taste the Vino del Desierto wines, you have to travel to Iquique and the Atacama desert. If you’re a super wine geek like me, being able to taste the only native Chilean wine grape is enough of an attraction. However, there are other tourist attractions worth checking out while you’re there.
Most people know Iquique as a major port city. It’s even a “zona franca,” which makes it a great place to shop for duty free goods.
It’s also known as a beach city, with some of the best beaches for surfing and bodyboarding in the country. The beaches have a lovely backdrop of coastal mountains which look like super-sized dunes. Of course, there’s also good seafood.
As I alluded to earlier, the culture of the region is historically different since this part of Chile used to be part of Peru. Hence, there’s influence from the Aymara culture, who are mostly connected with Peru and Bolivia today.
There are Chinchorro mummies in the regional museum. Some have elongated skulls, which were a feature of the fourth Indiana Jones film.
There are also thousands of geoglyphs in the region. These are ancient drawings on the ground. Although a few are huge like the Nazca lines in Peru with kilometers long drawings, most of the drawings here can be measured in tens of meters.
In more recent history, Iquique was at the center stage of the War of the Pacific (1879-1883). Therefore, you can tour a replica of Chilean Navy officer Arturo Prat’s boat the Corbeta Esmeralda, which was key to their victory in the war, because the sinking of Prat’s ship helped to garner national support for the war.
Isluga
The old parts of Iquique remind me of an Old American West mining town, and you can visit old saltpeter mining towns like Humberstone and Santa Laura.
It was saltpeter that was the main dispute of the war. Its use for fertilizers and gunpowder made it highly valuable. In a nutshell, an alliance of Peru and Bolivia wanted to charge more for it while Chile fought to control this resource and gain more power in the region to help their informal ally the British to continue to get this resource cheaper. The territory they gained helped Chile to monopolize mining in the region, which is still the most important economic resource for the country today.
Finally, there’s some awesome landscape in Tarapaca. There’s the Atacama desert and the high elevation, altiplan part of the Andes, where you can get more immersed in the Aymara culture, check out wildlife like vicuñas and bathe in thermal waters next to volcanoes and lamas. We took a tour with Desierto Verde Expeditions.
Lamas & Alpacas
Vinification & Tasting Notes
The Tamarugal vines are trellised, and their grapes grow generously, so they have to work to control the yields. They were about a week away from the Tamarugal harvest, so we got to taste the grapes on the vines. Given the climate, temperature control is crucial during vinification. They typically destem, use some sulfur and filter their wines. They only use stainless steel for all their wines. They generally use commercial yeasts, but have used native yeasts in the past. The Tamarugal wines don’t undergo any malolactic or spend much time on lees. All the Tamarugal I tasted were fermented with skins. Total production of all their wines is about 10,000 bottles (~60% white, 40% red) although the Tamarugal wines are usually half bottles. I was able to taste 4 wines. Although it’s not on the front of the label, the semi-sweet Tamarugal wines are called abocado, which means it’s in between sweet and dry.
2018 Viña Canchones Vino del Desierto Tamarugal Pampa del Tamarugal
90% Tamarugal. 10% Torrontes Riojano. The nose is slightly oxidative with honey, nuts but also aspects of the skin contact. It’s medium-bodied with medium-low acid. There’s some upfront fruit with a savory side on the back end with spices and a touch of bitterness. Don’t feel the 15.6% alcohol.
2020 Viña Canchones Vino del Desierto Tamarugal Pampa del Tamarugal
This was their first pandemic wine, so unlike the 2018, they used native yeasts. However, it’s also fermented with skins. Medium-light bodied. Apple. Some vegetal, leafy notes but contrasted with bright fruit. It has the most acidity of the 3 whites I tasted. Darker color than the 2018, almost orange.
2022 Viña Canchones Vino del Desierto Tamarugal Pampa del Tamarugal (Abocado)
100% Tamarugal. Fermented with skins. Darker than the 2018 but similar nose. However, there’s more fruit. Obviously, a lot more sweetness and roundness, body on the palate as a semi-sweet wine. There’s a touch of spice.
2019 Viña Canchones Vino del Desierto Gros Colman Pampa del Tamarugal
Dark purple color. Fruity on the nose and palate with some yeasty notes. Medium-bodied with a touch of tannic structure, but it’s generally a round wine. A bit of spice. Ripe berry fruits. It’s sort of like a fruit-dominated Syrah or fuller Gamay, but it’s completely different from anything else in Chile.
Conclusion
Overall, none of the wines tasted raisiny like one might expect from a desert wine. However, my favorite was the 2020 Tamarugal because it was the freshest. Ultimately, they’re still experimenting on how to maximize this grape, but wine geeks should love it for its obscurity. On the other hand, the fruitiness of the Gros Colman should make it more of a crowd pleaser.
Although production is tiny and there’s no current distribution, Tamargual has a marketable story as Chile’s only native grape and the genes to survive climate change. Therefore, I expect to see it on the open market soon and production to increase along with other wines from Northern Chile. In the meantime, visit Iquique/Tarapacá. It’s a vastly underrated tourist destination in Chile.