Aconcagua (wine region) both from the province where it is located, San Felipe de Aconcagua, and also from the Aconcagua mountain, the highest peak in the Andes at 6,956 meters (22,828 feet). The snow-capped peak of Aconcagua and the surrounding mountains delivers essential melt water to the valley below. The small, 1,098-hectare winegrowing area is well known for its red wines, which have earned international acclaim, with Vina Errázuriz’s “Seña” placing ahead of both Château Lafite and Château Margaux in blind tasting held in Berlin in 2004, a milestone for the Chilean wine industry. Although the valley is primarily known for the red
Ojos del Salado of fumaroles high on the mountain and recent-looking lava flows, albeit of uncertain age, also argues in favor of a categorization as "active." By these definitions, Ojos del Salado is the highest historically active volcano on Earth. If the older date is accepted, the title of "highest historically active volcano" might reside instead with the somewhat lower Llullaillaco volcano, which certainly has erupted in historic times (most recently in 1877) and is considered active. Salado's rock is predominantly potassium-rich dacite and rhyodacite. Its lavas are high in biotite, hornblende, plagioclase, and opaques, with lower levels of augite, quartz, and hypersthene.