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| Chilean Wine Harvest Tour |
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You’ve come at just the right time! Not only is the weather on its best behavior, but the grapevines are heavy with fruit, the olives are begging to be picked, and the locals are ready to share all their abundant summer fruits and vegetables with you. Leave the dreary northern winter behind and come join us for our summer harvest experience!
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Departure Date: April 7, 2012
Price Per Person:
$2,865 double occupancy, $725 single supplement
Price Includes:
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- Welcome dinner and Chilean wine tasting hosted by our professional sommelier
- Vists to eight top Chilean wineries with tastings
- Hands on harvesting and winemaking participation
- Visit to a 18th century hacienda with horseback riding in orchards and traditional Chilean BBQ
- Tour of Valparaiso and Pablo Neruda Museum
- Professional English speaking guide
- All lodging and ground transport
- Breakfast and lunch days 2-7
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| Chilean Wine Harvest Tour - Itinerary |
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Day 1 – Santiago
Your Santiago Adventures representative will meet you at the Santiago International Airport upon your arrival. Our tour begins with an afternoon departure from the hotel to explore the city of Santiago. We will visit the most important sites of the city including the historic downtown area and the traditional food markets including the Mercado Central, Santiago’s most important fish market and the nearby La Vega vegetable and flower market.
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"...the winery selections were the key to our trip's success."
Austin George, Trip Leader, Chile & Argentina Wine Tour 2006
International Wine & Food Society of Baltimore
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Our tour will end at a local boutique wine shop where we enjoy a special Chilean wine tasting hosted by our own sommelier. You will receive important information pertinent to upcoming wine visits including Chile’s unique wine history, the scoop on the infamous Carmenere grape, and how Chilean winemakers are cultivating grapes in places as extreme as the Limari Valley desert! Capture it all while enjoying some of our favorite wine picks representing the diverse regions and varieties that Chile has to offer.
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Our evening will be spent at Santiago’s oldest restaurant – Confiterria Torres. Founded in 1887 and named after their original pastry chef Jose Domingo Torres – it has always been known as the meeting point for Santiago’s most important intellectuals, politicians, artists and businessmen. Today, after an extensive two year restoration, the restaurant has re-established itself as a gastronomic center of traditional Chilean cuisine and culture.
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Day 2 – Maipo Valley
The Maipo Valley is Chile’s oldest and most famous wine valley, well known for its Cabernet Sauvignons and home to many famous wineries such as Concha y Toro, Cousiño Macul and Santa Rita. Our visits today will focus on smaller innovative wineries that are leading the way and influencing the future of Chilean wine.
First we will have a very interesting visit to Antiyal, a labor of love for Álvaro Espinoza, arguably Chile’s most well-known winemaker. Here we will try his celebrated namesake wine, Antiyal along with Kuyen both of which are produced out of his home in very small quantities. We will also learn about the bio-dynamic process the winery embraces from Alvaro’s charming wife Mariana.
Next we will drive into the Maipo Canyon and visit the Corcoran Gallery one of Chile’s smallest wineries with just 1 acre of 30 year old cabernet sauvignon vines and one of the highest altitude vineyards in the Maipo Valley. Here you will pass the afternoon and enjoy a relaxed lunch in the home of our friends Javier and Madeline (she is originally from the US) who make great wine and an amazing lunch. You won’t want to leave!
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Day 3 – Casablanca Valley & Valparaiso
Today we depart Santiago and head west to the Casablanca Valley. Towards the coast in the direction of the port city of Valparaiso, this valley is well known for its premium Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc wines. Winery development began here in the 1980s and all have a very modern feel. We will visit the Kingston Family Vineyards and learn how the vineyard project, which sources quality grapes to many of Chile’s top wineries, has evolved into one of Chile’s hottest boutique wineries offering amazing Pinot Noirs and cool climate syrahs. After a brief visit to their little winery you will taste their great wines.
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We will continue to the coastal city of Valparaiso one of the first ports founded by the Spaniards and now a UNESCO World Heritage site. We will lunch at the restaurant Caruso which has a relaxed café atmosphere and captures the essence of Valparaiso’s eclectic rhythm. Their excellent dishes combine flavors from Chile, Peru, and Easter Island, reflecting the homelands of its owners.
After lunch we tour the downtown area learning about the history of Valparaiso and its importance in South American trade and commerce. Spread along spectacular steep hills and splendid aging buildings we will ride the century-old hillside funiculars and walk through the 19th century’s most elegant neighborhoods of Concepción and Alegre.
We will end our tour in the eclectic home of Nobel Laureate Pablo Neruda and learn of his love for Valparaiso and why he continues to be Chile’s most beloved poet.
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Day 4 – Cachapoal Valley
Today we visit the heartland of Chilean agriculture near the city of Rancagua, one hour south of Santiago. Our day will begin with a visit to one of Chile’s largest alpaca farms with over 200 alpaca. Their impressive shop has some of Chile’s finest woven alpaca goods which are all handmade by locals. Traveling deeper into the valley we will visit Viña Anakena founded by school friends Felipe Ibáñez and Jorge Gutiérrez, they are making wines of quality and originality. The winery is committed to protecting the environment and practices sustainable production methods throughout all the stages of wine production. Here you will learn the characteristics of the different grape varieties of the valley and have a tasting. In the afternoon we will visit an 18th century hacienda where we ride horseback through their orchards, experiencing Chile’s abundant agriculture firsthand. Following our ride, a traditional Chilean ‘Asado’ (BBQ lunch) awaits us. Arriving at our hotel in the late afternoon you will have the opportunity to partake in one of Chile’s most beloved traditions, the ‘once’ or ‘teatime’. Indulge in some fresh summer fruit tarts to finish the day.
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Day 5 – Colchagua Valley
Time to work! We depart early this morning as we are off to harvest grapes at the Errazuriz Ovalle winery. Aprons, scissors and basket in hand we will harvest premium grapes and then follow their journey through the wine making process. Our hard work is rewarded as we taste the fruits of our labor and snack on Chilean empanadas.
Our lunch will be in the Colchagua countryside at the Los Maitenes Dairy Farm, a locally-run family business. We will tour the premises, learn how the family makes their savory cheese & sweet manjar (Chile’s most popular treat), and finally sit down to a gourmet picnic prepared by the farm’s owners Sergio and Patricia, using the best ingredients Los Maitenes can offer. Afterwards there will be plenty of time to relax and roam the grounds with the family’s clan of alpacas, ducks, chickens, horses, and cattle.
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"Santiago Adventures provided a trip through Chile's wine country that exceeded our most optimistic expectations in every respect."
Dick West
Reno, Nevada
Seven Day Custom
Wine Tour
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Day 6 – Colchagua Valley
Our harvest activities culminate as we become winemakers for the day at the Viu Manent winery. In our blending session with their winemaker we will create our own blends and learn how different taste components merge to create the best possible wine. Lunch is at the winery’s charming outdoor restaurant. The afternoon is free to spend poolside at the Hotel Santa Cruz or visit the Santa Cruz Museum right next door. |
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Day 7 – Colchagua Valley
The Colchagua Valley is emerging as the new king of Chilean reds and our last winery visit will no doubt validate their reputation. Aurelio Montes started the Montes winery with three other Chileans in the late 1980s and their success as quality wine producers is now world famous. The ultra modern winery is well worth a tour and a special tasting in the vineyards.
Our farewell luncheon will be in the Clos Apalta winery. Their 2005 blend was rated the number one wine in the world for 2008 by Wine Spectator. The intimate lodge with spectacular views of the Apalta valley makes a great spot to enjoy the beauty of Chile’s wine country and start thinking about your next visit!
After lunch, it’s off to the airport and “adios” before our flights home or other travel arrangements.
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| To make a reservation call in US to 802-904- 6798, us or use our convenient reservation form. |
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