Winemakers in Chile are struggling to see the vines for the trees, as huge forestry concerns impact vineyard plantings.
© Montes | Some vineyards in southern Chile are suffering from their proximity to forestry plantations.
Chile has a biodiversity dilemma.
Three decades ago, visitors to a top Chilean winery would be given a lengthy tour of the new cellar followed by a bells-and-whistles tasting. Today, international guests are whisked straight into the vineyard to gaze at native flora and, after the sun sets, listen to the haunting rhythms of Chilean myotis, a species of native bat. Encouraging a biodiverse agricultural environment, with a vibrant ecosystem of plants and animals, is a major priority for leading brands in 2025.
Yet Chile’s biodiversity story, charming and seductive, has become mired in controversy of late. According to Roberto Henriquez, winemaker at Roberto Henriquez Wines in Bio Bio, forestry companies are doing “horrendous damage” to the once vibrant ecosystems (and adjacent vineyards) of southern Chile.
“This is an ongoing issue concerning the removal of indigenous flora (including vines) by forestry companies. These companies, a ‘hug’ business between the state of Chile and rich families, plant pines and eucalyptus, taking out the native environment,” he explains.
“This is displacing people, pushing out generations of farmers who help to keep the lands alive. Moreover, the fires that occur in a territory become a convenient excuse for the big firms to buy land for a massive discount, assuming control and deciding what to grow in our area and ecosystem.”
Heart of darkness
This ecological fracas is unfolding in what is arguably Chile’s most mesmerizing region: situated on the border with Maule, the Zona Sur is cooler and wetter than the intensely farmed Central Valley to the north. It lacks a sophisticated infrastructure, vineyard hotels, and, in some places, decent phone signal. Yet the landscape, dotted with snow-capped mountains, Valdivian temperate rainforests and lakes, and is achingly beautiful and blissfully serene.
“Here, people still ride around in horse and cart and trade vegetables in the market place – it’s like a trip back in time,” observes winemaker Robert Echeverria Jnr. Moreover, the region contains a treasure trove of old bush vines, typically dry farmed Pais and Moscatel that were first introduced by Spanish Missionaries in the 16th Century. These unique viticultural resources have encouraged both large companies and ambitious pioneers to invest in Chile’s romantic south, including Miguel Torres Jr, Concha y Toro, the Garage Wine Co., and Francisco Baettig. Yet the increasing loss of biodiversity is a major concern for several winemakers in the Zona Sur, arguing that it poses a grave threat to their cherished way of life.
“Small vineyards are part of a local economy where neighbors sell their goods at local markets,” says Derek Mossman Knapp, co-founder the Garage Wine Co. in Maule. “The producers engage in many agricultural pursuits beyond wine grapes. They typically have fruit trees, vegetable gardens, animal husbandry, and grains. This approach reflects their history when they were self-sufficient on the land. Until recently, farmers grew their own wheat using traditional methods, harvesting with a scythe and saving seeds for replanting.
Knapp and his wife Pilar Miranda have worked tirelessly with local communities to protect old vineyards and provide growers with a fair income. Unfortunately, they can do little about the increasing habitat loss as indigenous flora (and fauna) are removed to make way for pine.
“The greatest challenge to biodiversity in Maule, Itata and BioBio is misguided forestry. The government has subsidized the planting of pine forests for decades and these simply dry up the earth and cause forest fires,” reveals Knapp.
“In 2017, our green vines served as firebreaks and we suffered the error, and horror, of their ways first hand. The calculations someone made of how many trees the valleys could support were as corrupt and misguided as any decision ever taken by an organization in Chile. What’s more, the companies do not, to this day, follow the rules about planting a safe distance back from roads and neighbors so fires can not leap across and spread – to say nothing of including sensible fire breaks to protect their own trees.”
A rock and a hard place
This all sits uneasily with the image Chile is keen to project onto the world: a nation that places the highest value on sustainability and promoting biodiversity. Meanwhile, the issue of pine and eucalyptus encroachment is not going away any time soon.
According to the Center for Climate and Resilience Research: “Pine trees are highly adapted to fire, effectively reproducing and colonizing native forests after fire events.” As a result, “pine invasion is an emerging pressure due to the positive feedback associated with future fires and the competition it generates with native species in conservation categories”. Leading wine producers, however, are often reluctant to take sides or fire pot shots at the antagonists identified by Mossman Knapp. Instead, they maintain a more emollient tone.
© Tourism Chile | Growers understand the economic imperatives behind forestry, but would like to see a more coordinated approach to biodiversity.
“The Chilean wine industry has made significant strides in protecting biodiversity, particularly in recent years,” says Josefina Astaburuaga, head of impact, Montes Wines. “Many wineries are adopting sustainable practices, such as using cover crops, preserving native forests, reducing agrochemical dependency, and reusing water and organic waste. Certification programs like Sustainable Wine of Chile and initiatives toward regenerative farming further reflect the industry’s commitment.
“However, there is always room for improvement, especially in collaborating with other sectors, like forestry, and amplifying efforts to protect fragile ecosystems in regions like the Zona Sur. Continued innovation and partnerships with local communities will be key to ensuring long-term biodiversity conservation while maintaining the industry’s global reputation.
She adds that forestry companies are now adopting more sustainable forestry practices, “making selective logging instead of clear cutting and integrating native tree species into plantations”.
They are also expanding existing native forest reserves to create biodiversity corridors according to Astaburuaga
Emily Faulconer, chief winemaker at Viñedo Chadwick, believes that the concerns raised by Roberto Henriquez are completely valid.
“Forestry is certainly one of the most important industries in Chile, however, unsustainable practices, such as monoculture plantations and deforestation, can harm local ecosystems.”
Faulconer urges both the wine industry and forestry sector to “work together towards more sustainable practices, ensuring the preservation of native flora and fauna. Increased awareness and collaboration will be key to mitigating these impacts”.
Indeed, the environmental stakes cannot be underestimated. The relatively wet climate of the Zona Sur (around 1000 mm of rainfall per year in Malleco) supports many acres of native rainforest and Chilean oak that is different from the quercus you find in Europe and the US. Rare condors, puma, foxes and the smallest species of deer in the world all make their home here. Or at least, they do for the time being.
Environmental tension
As one of the region’s headline investors, one might expect Francisco Baettig, co-founder of Baettig Wines, to be strident in his criticism of the forestry business. During our conversations last week, however, he maintained a certain ambivalence about the whole issue, in sharp contrast to Roberto Henriquez and Derek Mossman Knapp.
“The encroachment of pine and eucalyptus is troubling from one perspective: these imported species absorb a lot of water; their leaves acidify the soil, killing local plants and increasing erosion levels,” he said.
“At the same time, we have to understand that a lot of families are given subsidies to plant and grow pine trees – their livelihoods depend on the forestry companies and their investment. Personally, I would prefer to maintain and champion native species in the Zona Sur. Yet I understand that, for some people, this is a vital economic resource. So I’m reluctant to demonize the industry notwithstanding the above.”
Baettig, who is also Viña Errázuriz’s consultant winemaker, regards Chile’s forestry dilemma as an allegory for the whole debate about net zero: the tensions and trade-offs between pursuing environmental goals and maintaining economic development.
“This issue is merely a symptom of a far larger problem,” he opines. “Environmental law is being used as a political tool in Chile to stop energy or mining projects – companies invest a lot of money into mitigation studies, yet after years of investment, the final answer they are often given is ‘no’.
“This strikes me as very unjust; it’s all well and good to maintain a robust regulatory framework, however, certain projects do need to take place. The cultivation and export of pine and eucalyptus is one pertinent example of economic interests coming first.”
Baettig adds that, of course, he does not advocate a “drill, baby drill” approach to bulldozing over Chilean rainforests in the Zona Sur, exterminating rare birds of paradise in one fell swoop. He merely recognizes that pine and eucalyptus generate much-needed income.
And there’s the problem. Lobbyists succeed when they inject some financial pragmatism into their environmentalism; Bodegas Enguera in Valencia was encouraged to allow a population of bats to nest near its vineyards, eradicating a pest problem with no recurring cost to the winery, removing the need for artificial pesticides.
But, in the majestic terrain of the deep south, a loss of biodiversity is a price that many believe is worth paying.
To join the conversation, comment on our social media channels.