Chilean wine has a long history for a New World wine region, as it was the 16th century when the Spanish conquistadors brought Vitis vinifera vines with them as they colonized the region. In the mid-19th century, French wine varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carmenère and Franc were introduced. Given that the most widely planted variety in the country is Cabernet Sauvignon, many of the most famous Chilean wines over the past twenty to thirty years have been Cabernet Sauvignons or Bordeaux blends, especially from the Maipo Valley, just south of Santiago.

Since December 1994, the Chilean wine-producing regions have been officially defined as the following regions: Atacama Region, Coquimbo Region, Aconcagua Region, Central Valley Region and Southern Chile. These five (5) regions help identify the different features of wines produced in different parts of Chile's variable geography.