Best winery tour?

[jtb123]

We will be in Santiago for 4 days before our cruise. We are not really into wine tours but everything I have read makes me think we should al least visit one winery. Which one would be the best with interesting things to see there?

 

We do plan a tour of Santiago and tour Valparaiso and Vina del mar on the way to the ship. Any other must see's for the other 2 days besides wine tours?

[greatam]

You may not want to stay in Santiago for 4 days unless you have friends, relatives or specific things you want to do. I can find no reason to stay in Santiago for 4 days and I am there at least 4 times per year for business.

 

For a special treat, you may want to spend the night at Casa Silva Winery. One of my favorite places/hotels in Chile. They have a polo pitch and also a guacho rodeo, so if you are there on a day when these are happening, it is an extra treat. They have a winery tour of their winery, plus they have an additional tour of the area with many wineries. I am not a big wine drinker nor am I into winery tours, but I sure enjoy the hotel and ambiance. The carriage ride around the winery is one of my favorite all time things to do. You just feel "regal".

 

Here is the website: http://www.casasilva.cl/

 

But it is CHEAPER and you get extra goodies (like free wine, breakfast and winery tour) by booking the hotel through this agency:

 

http://www.kiwicollection.com/property/casa-silva-hotel-chile

 

There is also the "wine train", which is a tour via a small train through quite a few wineries in the area. Unless they have changed the tour, it is only given on Saturdays. AND you must get from Santiago to either Santa Cruz or San Fernando. If you are interested, let me know and I will point you in the right direction.

 

If it was my trip, I would spend 2 days in Santiago (day of arrival and next day), go to Casa Silva the third day and the fourth day stay in Vina. In fact, I leave Sunday night for my first business trip of the season and that is exactly my schedule, with about 4 days in Vina (business-fruit shipping out of Valpo). What ever you decide to do, ENJOY!!!!

[SmartTraveller]

If you are a wine lover, avoid Vina Indomita in the Casablanca Valley near Santiago. Many tours go there. The architecture and location is spectacular but the wine is vin ordinaire! Industrial, commercial mass produced wine - call it what you like but it is not worth drinking.

[dileep]

Concha y Toror has a nice tour and it is not too far from Santiago. We were on a bus tour.

[On2CDWrld]

:) First we wish to thank you all for being wonderful info sources for those of us seeking insights. Great Am your experiences have probably saved many travelers many hours and much grief. Dileep, your reviews, photos and videos are resources we use and enjoy for our future travels.

 

:confused: Now for the questions: We will be in Valparaiso on NCL Sun 11 April, continuing on to Miami. While we are in port, please recommend tour operators and tours which will return us to ship. It seems as if, all the tours listed, recommended etc. always go Valparaiso onto Santiago, or reverse.

Thank you, Les and Ruth

[bradshore13]

michael@winetoursvalparaiso.cl

 

The best winery tours are with this guy. He took us to 3 in the casablanca valley great for whites but they still do Merlot Syrah and Pinot. Also Carmenere and Cab Sav.

 

The first vineyard was Indomita which does a good Pinot which is served cold, as they do in Chile and the vineyard is on a hill and has the best view of the valley to take photos and study the valley.

 

William cole vineyard does a fantastic Sauvignon Blanc.

 

Emiliana organic vineyard is very interesting with a walk through the vines, looking at the alpacas and peacocks and having a talk on biodiversity and biodynamics. There is a real difference in the taste with these organic wines my favorate was the Coyam blend.

 

Lastly lunch at the Morande restaurant four wines with four small dishes and the combinations were first class. I highly recomend it.

[On2CDWrld]

Thanks for the recommendations. :confused: Is this in Vina Del Mar?

[jameila]

Greatam, Loved the look of this winery- (http://www.casasilva.cl) just sent them a message asking if we can book in for 2 days just before christmas.

 

What's vina like? We have a night booked in Valpo when we dock, but were not sure about vina from the pictures since it reminded us of surfers paradise in oz. (Too many high rise and an ordinary beach.)

[greatam]

Greatam, Loved the look of this winery- (http://www.casasilva.cl) just sent them a message asking if we can book in for 2 days just before christmas.

 

What's vina like? We have a night booked in Valpo when we dock, but were not sure about vina from the pictures since it reminded us of surfers paradise in oz. (Too many high rise and an ordinary beach.)

 

MAKE SURE you get all the "goodies" if you book direct. When I tried a direct booking a couple of times, it was extra for the "goodies". KiwiCollection offers the same price for the rooms PLUS breakfast, free winery tour and a bottle of wine.

 

Vina is the beach. Not particularly a surfer beach-in fact, a good portion of it is pretty upscale. Vina has a nice casino, four star hotels. I particularly like the drive up the coast towards Renaca/Concon to see the sea lions and the old fort. Valpo is much "grittier"-working class dock/industrial area. I spend a lot of time in Valpo for business (international logistics) BUT I sleep in Vina. They are directly adjacent to each other-in fact, if you don't pay attention to the signs, you would be hard pressed to tell when you cross the border between towns. Enjoy!!!