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| Chilean Wine & Culture Tour |
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This tour emphasizes Chile’s unique history, culture, and geographic diversity while still allowing plenty of time for sipping one of its most delicious exports – vino! Dig deep to explore Santiago’s historical highlights and hidden gems. Discover the secrets of the port city of Valparaiso, a UNESCO world heritage site, while taking a funicular up the picturesque hillside neighborhoods, visiting the home of Chilean Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda, and reveling in all the amazing seafood that this rich coastal city has to offer. Plant yourself at the base of the awe-inspiring Andes for awhile as we visit an 18th century Chilean hacienda and cross the border into Argentina for a day to visit Aconcagua National Park. Finally, indulge your inner cowboy or cowgirl spirit and ride off into the countryside – alpacas, horseback riding, rodeo, & authentic Chilean BBQ ‘asado’ await! In every region we visit – from coast to mountains to countryside - you will tour some of Chile’s top wineries as we embark on a cultural journey through this captivating country.
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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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Departure Dates:
November 14, 2010, December 12, 2011, January 9, 2011
February 6, 2011, March 6, 2011, April 3, 2011
November 13, 2011, December 11, 2011
Price Per Person:
$2,115 double occupancy, $890 single supplement
Minimum group size required
Price Includes:
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- Welcome dinner and Chilean wine tasting hosted by our professional sommelier
- Four winery visits
- Insider tours of Santiago and Valparaiso
- In-depth visit to the Pablo Neruda Museum
- Exploring the coast and tasting amazing Chilean seafood
- Picnic lunch in Aconcagua National Park in Argentina
- Visits to two 18th century hacienda and horseback riding through Chilean orchards, Chilean Rodeo & BBQ
- Professional English speaking guide
- All lodging and ground transport
- Breakfast and lunch days 2-8
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| Chilean Wine & Culture Tour - Itinerary |
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Day 1 – Santiago – The Capital City. Your Santiago Adventures representative will meet you at the Santiago International Airport upon your arrival. Our tour begins with a late morning departure from the hotel to see the city. We will visit the most important sites 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. We’ll stop for a pisco sour (Chile’s unofficial national drink) at Santiago’s oldest bar before our seafood lunch in the Mercado Central.
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Our city tour will end at a local boutique wine shop where we will enjoy a special Chilean wine tasting hosted by the Santiago Adventures sommelier. We will learn important information about the Chilean wine regions and enjoy several wines representing the different regions and varieties.
Our evening will be spent at Santiago’s oldest restaurant – Confiterria Torres. Founded in 1887 and named after the first 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 established itself as a gastronomic center of traditional Chilean cuisine.
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Day 2 – Exploring the coast. We depart at 9am for the Pacific coast. Along the way we’ll make our first winery stop at Casa Marin in the San Antonio Valley. This is the closest Chilean valley to the Pacific Ocean and the ocean breeze provides the ideal climate for white varietals. Casa Marin is the story of a dream by Maria Luz Marin, named “Business Woman of the Year” in 1998, who is the first female winemaker in Chile to have her own winery. She and her husband Andy will share with her dream with us.
We will continue to the coast and the small resort town of Isla Negra where Chile’s most famous poet, Pablo Neruda, had his favorite home. We’ll take a guided tour and learn of his love for the sea and why he remains deep in the souls of the Chilean people.
Continuing up the coastline our lunch will be in the small fishing town of Quintay on the patio of Los Pezcadores where we’ll sample local seafood offerings such as locos (abalone) and manchas a la parmesan (razor back clams baked with parmesan cheese) along with Chile’s great Sauvignon Blancs and Chardonnays.
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Day 3 – Exploring the Coast. Today we’ll explore Valparaiso, one of the first South American cities founded by the Spanish and now a UNESCO World Heritage site. We will begin our tour in the downtown sector of the port learning about the history of Valparaiso and its importance in South America trade and commerce. Spread along spectacular steep hills and splendid aging buildings we will ride the century old hillside ascensors (elevators) and walk through the Concepcion and Alegre neighborhoods.
Our lunch in Valparaiso will be at Caruso which has a relaxed café atmosphere and captures the essence of Valparaiso’s rhythm. Their excellent dishes combine styles from Chile, Peru and Easter Island and reflect the homelands of the owners.
After lunch, our destination will be the resort city of Viña del Mar, also known as “ciudad jardin” (city of gardens) because of its lush gardens and palm-lined boulevards.
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Day 4 – Aconcagua – In the Shadow of the Andes. An hour northeast of Valparaiso is the Aconcagua Valley and on a clear you can see the stunning peak of Aconcagua (actually located across the border in Argentina) which gives the river and valley its name. At 22,800 feet, it is the highest peak in the Americas. We will first visit Errazuriz Winery, once the largest wine producer in the world, they now hold the title of most beautiful winery in Chile. On the east side of the Aconcagua Valley and in the foothills of the Andes is Viña San Esteban, a mid size family winery. The important Guia de Vinos de Chile selected their 2003 Laguna del Inca as one of the top 10 assemblage wines of 2006. We will tour their hillside vineyards, some of the first hillside plantings in Chile, which include some interesting petroglyphs left by the valley’s earliest settlers. Our lunch will be in the warm home of Marcela and Alexis at Casa San Regis a beautifully restored 18th century hacienda.
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Day 5 – Aconcagua – In the Shadow of the Andes. Today we will rise early and head into the Andes. Bring your passport as our drive will take us through spectacular scenery and over the mountains into Argentina. We will walk into the Aconcagua National Park for stunning views of the Aconcagua peak. Here we will have time to take pictures and delight in the stunning surroundings along side Horcones Lake where we’ll have our picnic lunch. Returning to Chile, while still in the shadow of Aconcagua, we will stop at the internationally renowned Portillo Ski resort for a special wine tasting on the shores of Inca Lake.
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Day 6 – Maipo & Cachapoal Valleys, the heart of Chilean wine country. We’ll drive south of Santiago to the Maipo Valley to a very interesting little winery. Antiyal is the personal winery of one Chile’s most famous winemakers, Álvaro Espinoza. Often referred to as Chile’s first “garage wine” it is home to the celebrated namesake wine Antiyal. We will learn about the bio-dynamic winemaking process from Alvaro’s charming wife Mariana and taste both of their premium wines. After lunch at Antiyal we will drive south to the Cachapoal Valley. Here we will visit one of Chile’s largest alpaca farms with over 200 alpaca. Their impressive shop has some of Chile’s finest woven alpaca goods all hand made by locals. Arriving at our hotel in the late afternoon we will have Chilean ‘onces’ (tea time) with fresh summer fruit tarts to finish the day.
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Day 7 – Cachapoal Valley the heart of Chilean wine country. After a country breakfast at the hotel we’ll explore more of Chile’s rural roots. At the 18th century La Hacienda we will ride horseback through grape, apple, kiwi and plum orchards to see first hand Chile’s thriving fruit production. Following our ride a rodeo exhibition and a traditional BBQ lunch (asado) await us.
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Day 8 – Maipo Valley/Santiago. We will have a relaxing morning before driving back towards Santiago. We’ll make a stop in the Maipo Valley for a very unique lunch experience. We will visit an organic agricultural school in the town of Pirque. The food is absolutely wonderful and all the benefits go to supporting local teenagers who may not otherwise have the resources to attend school. Here they grow fruits and vegetables, make cheeses, honey, jams and breads to sell locally and use in their on site restaurant and hotel which the students also assist in running.
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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