Chile: wine, wine, pisco sours, more wine in Maipo Valley

The morning is a bit grey and overcast but for the Flash Pack Chile group it is wine day! We pile into a minibus for a ‘school trip’ to the wineries of Maipo Valley, about an hour’s drive from Santiago. We have 3 enjoyable stops.

1) Huelen Winery

This is a small family-run winery with a working farm feel to it. We meet the winery owner who has expressive eyebrows and cracks jokes constantly in Spanish which our guide Sergio partly translates but it is not always necessary given the accompanying gestures! We are followed by his excitable dog Agustina.

We have the opportunity to drink red wine from the big vats in the open air production zone then walk through the vineyards to a covered seating area for more wine and nibbles. Our host is very thoughtful and even provides gluten-free crackers for one member of our group. This winery’s “Amicus” wine has a paw print on the bottle. A paw print is not a symbol that says good wine to me! That said, it goes down very well (an excellent breakfast wine given it is pre 11am!) and my favourite is the Carmenere, a grape variety I have not tried (I think) in London. I have had a little read of the history of it and it seems to be a lost grape variety that Chileans initially thought was a type of Merlot (see http://winefornormalpeople.com/the-best-grape-story-of-all-time-carmenere/ for more on this.)

2) Santa Rita Winery

This place is an extreme contrast to the previous one. It is a polished tour complete with an English speaking guide and a information video. This reminds me of the slick Moët & Chandon tour in the Champagne region I went on a couple of years back.

We have the opportunity to learn about the processes involved in wine making… fermentation, maceration, second fermentation, blending, filtering etc. Quite a lot of de ja vu given I like to go wine tasting whenever holidaying in a wine region. I did love seeing a real bottling factory!

The gardens and cellars are beautiful in this fancy winery. Two nuggets of information stand out. First, the pretty rose bushes placed at the ends of the vines are not there for decoration but to serve as a canary in a mine. It is easier to spot diseases on the roses that might attack the vines. Secondly, Santa Rita does a range of wines called “120.” According to legend, 120 patriots, exhausted after a long, hard battle during the fight for Chile’s independence, reached the land belonging to Santa Rita. In 1814, these soldiers were given food and shelter by the lady of the house (yes, a lady owned the house in that era we are told!) I thought it is excellent marketing to make a wine a patriotic choice. However, the consensus amongst our group was that we preferred the wine at the smaller winery.

3) Lunch at Tesoro de Chile Restaurant

This a gorgeous small restaurant with a flower-filled courtyard where our group can sample small plates of classic Chilean dishes and share stories of romance (and online dating!) The food and drink highlights are plentiful:

Pisco sours that are very lemony
Sopaipillas are small fried pastries made of flour and pumpkin. In this case they are still hot and accompanied by a salsa made of tomato, chilli, onion and coriander. Divine! I could have eaten 10 but limit myself to 3.
Pastel de Choclo which is a corn pie. It is a bit like a shepherd’s pie with meat and onions on the bottom and a creamy top made of sweet corn. The flavour of the corn is outstanding and we get mini versions so we are not too full to continue eating!
Creamy fish and prawn curry with white rice.
Creme caramel with chocolate garnish and dulche de leche.
More red wine!