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Santiago City Tours

This tour is for those ‘loco’ for ‘vino’ that jut can’t get enough of the stuff! If you’ve already traveled to other wine regions in France, Italy, or California, and are looking for something new, in the “new world” - this tour is just for you! Now you can experience Latin America and indulge your curiosity while tasting some amazing food and wine. This tour will pack in lots of visits to Chile’s top vineyards – from the ultra-modern & cutting edge, to the family owned garage boutiques, to the centuries-old traditional classics – we will only visit and taste the best! You will leave with a full understanding of Chile’s diverse wine regions and most important wineries. All lodging has been reserved at quaint, top-quality lodges, restored mansions, and boutique hotels. And then of course, all included meals are top-notch and are paired with quality wine selections.

Departure Dates:
February 13, 2011, March 20, 2011; April 17, 2011

"...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

Day 1 - Santiago – Intro to Chilean wine. 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 see 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.

Our tour will end at a local boutique wine shop where we will enjoy a special Chilean wine tasting hosted by a local sommelier. We will learn important information about the Chilean wine regions and enjoy several wines representing the different regions and varieties.

Tonight we will have a special dinner at one of Santiago’s top restaurants Astrid & Gaston. Owned and run by a Peruvian couple the menu highlights Chilean seafood and adventurous fusion options. It has an elegant atmosphere and a great Chilean wine list.

Day 2 – Maipo – Classic Wine Country. The Maipo Valley, the oldest and most famous of Chile’s wine valleys, is home to many of Chile’s famous wineries such as Concha y Toro, Cousino Macul and Santa Rita and the valley is also famous for its Cabernet Sauvignons. In the town of Pirque is Concha y Toro, the largest wine producer in South America. Here we will have a private tour of the facilities followed by a private tasting led by the Concha y Toro sommelier. The tasting will include their premium chardonnay – Amelia and their premium cabernet sauvignon – Don Melchor. Our second visit will be to Chile’s top premium wine producer, Almaviva, a joint venture between Concha y Toro and Baron Philippe de Rothschild. The Bordeaux-style assemblage is the first wine in Chile to receive an “Excellent” rating from Wine Spectator (Almaviva 2001 – 95 points). The visit and tasting is topped off with a gourmet lunch at the Santa Rita Winery.

Day 3 – Maipo – Classic Wine Country. The Maipo Valley has seen a growth in new boutique wineries and 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!

Day 4 – Aconcagua – In the Shadow of the Andes. An hour north of Santiago 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. Our first visit is to Von Siebenthal, a boutique winery producing only 4 wines, 1 silver and 3 gold medal winners at the Brussels Wine Expo in 2004 including their Premium Montelig which won best red wine in the world at the Expo. Next we will visit Errazuriz Winery, once the largest wine producer in the world, they now hold the title of most beautiful winery in Chile. A special tour and tasting await us followed by a delicious lunch.

Day 5 – Aconcagua – In the Shadow of the Andes. On the east side of the Aconcagua Valley and in the foothills of the Andes is Vina 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.

Day 6 – Casablanca & San Antonio - Coastal Wine Country. Today we will head west to the Casablanca Valley known for its premium Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc wines. Our first visit today will be to Viña Organica Emiliana a leader in the Chilean organic movement and recognized internationally for their premium wine Coyam. Our lunch will be next door at the House of Morande restaurant where you will experience an interesting food and wine pairing.

After lunch we will continue to the San Antonio Valley. This is the closest Chilean valley to the Pacific Ocean and the ocean breezes provide the ideal climate for white varietals. Casa Marin is the story of a dream by Maria Luz Marin, who was named “Business Woman of the Year” in 1998 being the first female winemaker in Chile to have her own winery. She and her husband Andy will share with us the results of her dream. Viña Matetic describes itself as “the future of Chilean wine!” Stunningly modern, this new all-organic winery has named their wine “EQ” which stands for “Equilibrio,” the Spanish word for balance - the harmony of soil, climate and vine. Our day will end in boutique hotel at the Matetic winery.

Day 7 – Cachapoal – Brimming with Hidden Wine Gems. Our first stop in this valley one hour south of Santiago is 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. Then on to Altair, a partnership between Chile’s second largest winery San Pedro and Chateau Dassault in Saint Emilion, France. Nestled in a remote corner of the Cachapoal Valley, the winery provides fantastic views of the central valley and a great lunch spot. Heading south another 30 minutes we will arrive at the eastern end of the Colchagua Valley and Casa Silva, the oldest winery in the Colchagua Valley and known for their award winning Carmeneres, the signature grape of Chile.

Day 8 – Colchagua – Pride of Chile. The Colchagua Valley is emerging as the new king of Chilean reds and today’s winery visits will no doubt demonstrate the quality of new wines coming from Colchagua, particularly of the Carmenere, Syrah and Malbec varieties.

Our day will start with a visit to Viña Clos Apalta, created in 1994 by Alexandra Marnier-Lapostolle (of the Grand Marnier family) and produces some of the best QPR (quality/price ratio) wines in Chile. Since its outstanding debut 1997 vintage, Casa Lapostolle's Clos Apalta bottling has helped to establish Chile as a premier red-wine region. Owner Marnier-Lapostolle and her team created a blend of Chile's distinctive Carmenère variety, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from the estate's oldest vines in Colchagua's Apalta sub-valley, then kept refining: fermenting in smaller lots, hand-de-stemming berries and constructing a gravity-flow winery. In 2008, they were awarded a 96 in Wine Spectator for their Clos Apalta wine which was also chosen as the top wine of the year. Next, we will visit Montes, one of Chile’s most internationally-recognized wineries. Aurelio Montes started the winery with three other Chileans in the late 1980s and their success as quality wine producers is now world famous. We will have a light lunch at the Montes’ café before our final visit of the day. At the end of the road in Apalta, is the Neyen winery which focuses all its production on one Bordeaux-style blend from their 115 year old carmenere vines.

Day 9 – Curico – birthplace of the Chilean wine boom. We continue driving south arriving in the Curico Valley. The valley is home to some of the big names in Chilean wine including San Pedro, the second largest winery in Chile, and Miguel Torres, the famous Spanish winemaker who first introduced modern winemaking techniques to Chile. We will stop in to the Miguel Torres winery for a bit of a history lesson about their arrival in Chile and taste some of their innovative wines. Next, we will visit the small family bodega of Echavarria where meticulous vineyard management and a great winemaker are producing some excellent reds. Finally, we will visit the new Viña Altacima winery. Owner/winemaker Klaus Schröder has been making wine in Chile for over 40 years – previously with wineries such as San Pedro, Santa Rita and Errazuriz. It is a small, modest winery, but very well-designed and producing first-rate results. We will have lunch in the Schröder’s home after the visit.