Have a romantic escapade to the south, complete with the best wine
In Chile, love is celebrated with a toast of Chilean wine, in some of the best vineyards of the world. An ancient culture born from the valleys between the mountain range and the sea offers wines of international fame.
Are you looking for a destination for your next romantic escapade? Or maybe you just happen to love the taste of good wine? Then visit Chile.
This land was described by old poet Pablo Neruda as a “long petal of sea and wine and snow”. It fits more than properly; Chile houses five productive, welcoming and beautiful vineyards, hidden in its fertile valleys and completely opened to tourism (and lovely couples).
Let’s know more about Chilean vineyards, romance, and Chilean wine.
Santa Cruz (Colchagua Valley)
Located in the valley of Colchagua, one of the most prestigious wine areas in Chile with more than 23,000 hectares of vineyards, the vines of this vineyard are planted 40 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean. They are influenced by the sea and the culture of the Mapuche, Aymara and Rapa Nui villages that surround it.
In Santa Cruz, “a vineyard with body and soul”, you have to ride a bicycle among its vines to enjoy with all your senses these lands of volcanic echoes. But there are more options, from the tastings inside their wineries to the cable railway that climbs to the top of the Chamán hill, where you are able contemplate the constellations through a high-power telescope. All of them, magical ways to savor their wines.
Vik (Millahue Valley)
‘Golden Place’, this is how the natives baptized the Millahue Valley, and what the Norwegian businessman Alexander Vik and his wife Carrie Vik thought of it when they were looking for the best terroir in Chile to establish their wineries. These holistic winemakers combine cutting-edge technology and tradition to create unique blends of cabernet sauvignon, syrah, merlot and cabernet franc.
Far from the traditional image, in architectural and manufacturing terms, the winery has innovative techniques such as maintaining a constant temperature of 57 °, using the thermal amplitude of the valley. The newly opened bungalows of the Puro Vik hotel are luxurious transparent structures that defy gravity and offer views of the entire valley without leaving the room. Just ask for a glass of wine and taste it in the bathtub.
Concha y Toro (Maipo Valley)
In some tastings the wine is spit; in others, it is swallowed. This is something that must be clear before diving into the exceptional wines of Concha y Toro, the largest winemaker in Latin America and one of the oldest wineries in Chile. From these vineyards come some of the most recognized Chilean wine lines in the world of Cabernet Sauvignon, such as Don Melchor or Casillero del Diablo, which since winning the best harvest on the planet in 2005 have not stopped winning prizes.
A restaurant, gardens and a 19th century mansion are part of this great vineyard, located an hour from Santiago de Chile. The perfect place for a dinner with pairing in privacy, under the stars or by a fireplace.
Errazuriz (Aconcagua Valley)
About 100 kilometers north of Santiago, on the gentle slopes of the Aconcagua Valley, the vineyards open to share their secrets and traditions in one of the pioneer areas in the production of Chilean wine. The syrah modality, considered the most emblematic wine of the valley, was born in Errazuriz.
In the heart of this vineyard, founded in 1870, is the modernist building Don Maximiano and the wineries that offer an underground journey through time through the Historic Enoteca. In this enoteca, almost 400 bottles of each one of the most important wines that the vineyard has given are conserved. The know-how of its creators moves to its restaurant, where any flavor rises with a glass of Single Vineyard Carmenère, aged in oak barrels to give it a spicy finish.
Indómita (Casablanca Valley)
It looks like a white fairytale castle perched on a hill, but it is actually Indómita Vineyard. A viticultural landscape that makes its way to the Pacific along route 68 leading to Valparaíso, and that extends through the Casablanca valley, the birthplace of some of the best white wines in the country and the largest producer of Chardonnay grapes in Chile. Immerse yourself in its barrel room embedded inside a hill, or try the dishes of the Chilean chef Tomás Olivera in his celebrated restaurant, it can be the anticipation of a perfect evening, which ends with a tour of his vineyards on horseback to enjoy a romantic sunset.
