After nearly a year of enjoying the spoils of living within hours of many of the world’s best wine valleys, it was time for a Chilean wine weekend. Though we had previously spent a long weekend exploring Argentinian wine country in Mendoza, we were excited to tour some of Chile’s iconic vineyards. We set our sights on Santa Cruz, located about 2.5 hours south of Santiago in the heart of the Colchagua wine valley.
Though there are some incredible vineyards closer to the city in the Casablanca, Aconcagua and Maipo wine valleys, the Colchagua valley is consistently ranked as one of the top regions in the country, and home to many beautiful and esteemed vineyards. We were ready for a weekend getaway, so we set off toward the south, leaving the hustle (and the smog) of Santiago in our rear view mirror.
On the advice of a friend, we made a booking at the small, quaint Bellavista B&B. If you’re looking for a little oasis, away from the noise this place is for you. Our room opened up directly to a small swimming pool, and was the perfect place to kick back and relax.
But enough about the pool, let’s talk wine. The hotel staff helped us pre-arrange tours and tastings at 3 different wineries, as well as a private taxi to transport us to and from each, and back to the hotel. Here’s the rundown of each of the tours + a post tasting lunch:
Montes
Stop #1 took us to Montes winery. Founded in 1987, Montes has an important role to play in putting Chile on the map as a premium wine producer. It’s 1987 Cabernet Sauvignon was Chile’s first “premium” wine to be exported, and opened the door for many others to come in the following years and decades. Montes continues to take great care to preserve the quality of their wine, and to do so in a sustainable way. They operate their vineyards using various environmentally friendly practices, and are dedicated to sustainable growing, earning certifications as a sustainable grower. Similar to their sister winery Kaiken, which we visited in Mendoza, they also add a little whimsy to the aging process. While in barrels, classical music is played for the aging wine. The vibrations from the music are believed to give more depth of flavor to the finished product. Whether or not this is true, it did add to the ambiance.
Viu Manent
Stop number 2 was Viu Manent . While known for its delicious Malbec, this vineyard was specifically recommended to us for a lunch visit so we could experience a meal at Rayuela Wine & Grill. After hopping into a horse drawn wagon to tour the grounds and sip wine still in process out of the giant metal vats, we made our way back to the tasting room. After another great tasting, we were seated for lunch and sampled oysters, ceviche, lamb and salmon paired with more Malbec. If you’re passing through the valley, I highly recommend making a stop for lunch at Rayuela, both for the food and the beautiful outdoor seating area overlooking the vineyard.
Lapostolle – Clos Apalta
Our final stop of the day was at Lapostolle’s impressive Clos Apalta Winery. While Lapostolle has various vineyards across Chile, the facility in Colchagua is used exclusively to produce their famous Clos Apalta wine. The building itself is impressive, and the wine is produced using gravity to move it through the various stages of production. Likewise, our tour took us from to the building’s rooftop, with stunning views over the valley, down several levels of spiral staircases. With each level we followed the wine making process, from hand selection of the grapes, fermentation in large vats and aging in oak barrels. Each step of the process is completed on a separate floor with the wine moved downward through hoses using gravity. Finally, we reached the tasting room, a dark cold oval shaped room with a large glass table in the middle. As we got closer, we saw that below the clear surface of the table was a staircase which led down even further to an incredible wine cellar full of the owner’s personal collection. Surrounded by barrels of aging wine, we had our last tasting of the day.
There are certainly many more great wineries in this valley, but we were happy with our first trip and the selection of vineyards we visited. Of the 3 we visited, I would probably skip Montes and add a trip to MontGras if I were to do it again. While the wine at Montes was tasty, the tour itself wasn’t anything special and felt a bit more rushed than those at Viu Manent and Lapostolle. I would definitely recommend a stay at Bellavista B&B as well, both for the beautiful grounds as well as their willingness to help arrange our taxi and tours for us, free of charge. Happy sipping!