We got up late, which is unusual for us, but since we had the morning open, we went to breakfast around 9:00 and then walked about ten minutes away to a huge mall in the lower levels of El Costanera, the tallest building in South America. The mall is five floors of a mix of department stores, a huge grocery store, and a variety of stores familiar in the US and around the world. While Jim sat in a comfy chair, I wandered around to see if there was anything worth buying. H&M and Zara were busy as usual, but otherwise, the stores weren’t too busy. Pesos saved! We did buy some apples and bananas to eat on the van for our afternoon tour.
We were picked up at 1:45 PM to go to the Concho & Toro winery. The van picked us up, along with others going to the same winery, and after one hour of picking up others and the drive, we finally got to the winery about two hours later. There was lots of traffic but Cesar, our driver, was a maniac on the roads and flew around the traffic.
We arrived to the Maipo Valley to get to the winery, a familiar name to us in Mexico, and were divided up into groups depending on which language our guide at the winery would be using. We had to wait for another 45 minutes for our English-speaking guide, so we had a quite bite in the restaurant. Our guide, Walter, has been leading tours for eight years and was very charming. Our group included a couple from the Dominican Republic who have lived in Santiago for the past 15 years, a couple from Leeds, UK, a group of five from Seoul, Korea, a couple from Tokyo, Japan, and a young man from San Francisco. This eclectic group melded well and we enjoyed our visit with them.
Our first stop was the original home of the family that started the winery with 42 hectares of land. You couldn’t find a more beautiful place, with trees from all over the world, a small lake covered in water lilies. It was a most idyllic setting. There are many grape vines close to the lake but they are really for the visitors to touch and see up close. The real vineyards are not far away, out of reach for the average tourist. They grow twelve different varieties, six white and six red grapes. The grounds are not to be believed. Many of the trees were planted in the 1800’s and provide examples of species you normally would not see together
We went to one of the covered areas to have our first wine tasting. We started with a very nice Sauvignon Blanc, moved to Cabernet Sauvignon, and finally to a Carmenere. They gave us lovely wine glasses to keep and use for the tasting. Walter took great delight in serving us. We especially liked both red wines. They were smooth and full-bodied. After the tasting, we moved to the grape plants themselves. They are not the ones that are harvested but an excellent example of how they are grown.
Our next stop was the underground area where the wines are aged. They are first put into new French oak casks, then transferred to casks that are one year old, and finally into casks that are three years old. Each cask imparts a special identity to the wine from the age of the wood. It was fascinating. Below, at four meters underground, there are casks for special wines. They are treated to a highly-chilled environment in casks that give them the aging they need.
Our last stop was in another area for a different wine tasting. We were able to sample different wines with and without cheeses and the results are significant. The first wine was a Chardonnay/Pinot Noir that paired very well with goat cheese. The second was a Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah to have with a buttery cheese. Next, we had a Carmenere with a Camembert. Finally, we had a Malbec/Merlot blend to enjoy with a delicious Parmesean. The white wine is perfect with seafood or even a salad. The others were excellent with pasta or lighter foods, and finally the heartier reds should be paired with fatty meats, like beef or lamb. It was an education.
We didn’t buy any wines in the shop, although it was very tempting. We have our lovely engraved wine glass to bring home as a souvenir and a nice memory of nice folks to share this in this experience.
Tomorrow, we are off to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar on the coast, where we will be exploring a different area.