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| Chilean
Wine Fanatic's Tour |
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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. |
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Departure
Dates:
February 13, 2011, March 20, 2011; April 17, 2011
Price
Per Person:
$3,185 double occupancy, $1275 single supplement
Minimum group sized required
Price Includes:
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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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- Welcome
dinner and Chilean wine tasting hosted by our professional sommelier
- Vists
to 20 top Chilean wineries with tastings
- Professional
English speaking guide
- All lodging
and ground
transport
- Breakfast
and lunch days 2-9
- Five
gourmet dinners
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| Chilean
Wine Fantatic's Tour - Itinerary |
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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.
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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.
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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. |
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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!
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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| 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. |
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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
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. |
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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.
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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.
Our
journey through Chile’s wine country has come to an end
and we will return to Santiago in the late afternoon for departing
flights or other travel arrangements. |
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