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Santiago and
Wines of Colchagua |
Chile's central region has
earned worldwide fame as home to some of the finest wine
producing valleys in the world. A combination of ideal
temperatures, soils and grapes form the perfect trilogy
that together with Chilean and foreign knowledge permit
the production of the finest of new world wines.
You'll easily find out why Chilean winemakers are
earning awards and pleasing even the most demanding
palates around the world with Cabernets, Merlots and
Chardonnays, including the recently rediscovered and
thought-to-be extinct Carménére.
This is an ideal tour for
wine and food connoisseurs that also includes sampling
of Chilean history and culture, landscape and Pacific Coast. |
Sample
itinerary
Day 1
A private transfer will be waiting for you at the Santiago
National Airport to take you to your hotel. After lunch on
your own (we provide a list of recommendations), we’ll begin
a tour of the civic areas of Santiago.
The tour begins in the Plaza de Armas learning about its
history and admiring the important buildings that encircle
the plaza. Next we’ll visit the National Congress on the way
to Constitution Plaza and La Moneda governmental palace; at
these sites took place some the most historical moments in
Chilean history. We’ll continue on to the colorful
neighborhood of París-London, with its typical cobblestone
streets, here we visit the oldest church in Santiago, San
Francisco (1572).
We continue walking another 10 minutes and reach the
Bellavista neighborhood*. We’ll stroll and take in its
bohemian flavor and artistic constructions. We finish with a
highlight, a visit to the “La Chascona,” the house and
museum of Pablo Neruda, the great poet of Chile and Nobel
Prize winner of Literature. Dinner tonight is on your own.
*Optional: You may choose to visit the Pre-Columbian museum
instead of the Bellavista neighborhood.
Itinerary: 14:45 hrs. Depart hotel for the Plaza de
Armas.15:15 hrs. Tour of Plaza de Armas and area.16:15 hrs.
Tour the París –London neighborhood and the Church of San
Francisco 17:00 hrs. Head toward Bellavista
neighborhood.17:30 hrs. Tour of “La Chascona” Pablo Neruda's
house and museum (or Pre-Columbian Museum option)18:00 hrs.
Return to hotel.18:30 hrs. Arrive to hotel.
(Night in Hotel Orly or similar)
Day 2
As we start our second day, we head south, approximately two
and one half hours, toward Santa Cruz and the Colchagua
Valley, where we’ll enjoy knowing the Central area of our
country.
Arriving to Santa Cruz we head straight to our hotel for
check-in.
You will have a chance to rest before we have lunch at the
hotel’s restaurant “La Higuera,” serving traditional Chilean
cuisine on their open air terrace.
In the afternoon, we will visit the interesting, Museum of
Colchagua, a great place to learn about Chilean and Andean
cultures. Some of the historical exhibits include; the
constitution of the first Chilean Government, a piano
belonging to the Chilean hero, Bernardo O'Higgins, a
collection of carriages, machinery, farm equipment and
trains, and an interesting hall of Andean jewelry. Today has
been a good opportunity to form a solid base of knowledge
about Chilean history and culture. We end our day with a
dinner in a classic restaurant, the Club Social, serving
authentic Chilean food.
Itinerary: 09:00 hrs. Leave our hotel en Santiago for Santa
Cruz 11:30 hrs. Arrival to Santa Cruz hotel 13:00 hrs.
Lunch, Hotel/Restaurant Santa Cruz 14:30 hrs. Tour the
Museum de Colchagua (3.5 hrs. approx.)17:30 hrs. Return to
hotel20:30 hrs. Dinner, Restaurant, the Club Social
(B-L-D) (Night at Hotel Santa Cruz Plaza)
Day 3
We begin the day with a visit to the winery, Viña Mont Gras,
known for its modern wines and an annual production of 8.5
million liters. We’ll enjoy a wine tasting and a visit to
the cellars.*
We continue on to our second winery of the day, Viña El
Huique, with its colonial architecture and original
plantings, we’ll have a wine tasting straight from the
barrels. We’ll enjoy a delicious lunch at this vineyard.
After lunch, we visit the Huique Museum, and the “casa
patronal” (owner’s house). The original property owners were
a Chilean family of Basque descent and included the
president of the Chilean Republic, Federico Errázuriz
Echaurren (1896 – 1901).
We continue driving about 20 km from El Huique to an area
called, Marchigue, where the artesian life is alive; we’ll
see works of alpaca, knives, shoes and more. Finally, we
return to Santa Cruz and a rest before dinner. Tonight we
dine on Mediterranean cuisine at the Isidora Goyenechea, in
the Hotel Santa Cruz.
*Optional horse back ride to the vineyard US$60 per person.
(Not included in the program price)
Itinerary: 09:00 hrs. Leave Hotel in Santa Cruz, head toward Viña Mont Gras09:45 hrs. Arrival at Viña Mont Gras, wine
tour.11:00 hrs. Leave Viña El Huique11:30 hrs. Visit Viña El
Huique, tour, wine tasting and lunch. 14:30 hrs. Visit El
Huique museum. 15:30 hrs. Leave for artisan visit in
Marchigue.16:00 hrs. Arrive to Marchigue.16:45 hrs. Return
to Santa Cruz hotel.17:30 hrs. Arrive to Santa Cruz.20:30
hrs. Dinner at Isidora Goyenechea, Hotel Santa Cruz.
(B-L-D) (Night in Hotel Santa Cruz Plaza)
Day 4
Today we visit the winery, Laura Hartwig, just one kilometer
from Santa Cruz. This low profile vineyard is known for its
dedication to finding and matching one of their wines with
complementary food. It is a traditional winery and
represents women of Chile, seen in their use of Doña Laura
Hartwig on their labels. We will visit the cellars and taste
two “Reserve” level wines.
The second winery we visit today is, Viña Viu Manent. Here
we are treated to a tour of the property in an antique
carriage, then for a tasting of these excellent wines.
Today’s lunch is at this vineyard, their restaurant is known
for their excellent paring of wine and cuisine.
We continue on after lunch to the Montes winery, one of the
most famous Chilean vineyards in the world. We’ll have a
visit of their property and of course have a taste of these
wonderful wines. We return to Santa Cruz. Dinner tonight is
at, Los Varietals, another gem located in the Hotel Santa
Cruz, known for its well prepared Chilean specialties.
Itinerary: 09:30 hrs. Depart hotel for Viña Laura Hartwig
09:45 hrs. Arrive to Viña Laura Hartwig, wine tour.10:45
hrs. Depart for Viña Viu Manent11:30 hrs. Arrive Viña Viu
Manent, tour y wine tasting. Lunch at Viu Manent. 14:30 hrs.
Depart for Viña Montes.15:30 hrs. Arrive Viña Montes, tour y
wine tasting. 16:30 hrs. Return to hotel en Santa Cruz17:30
hrs. Arrived Santa Cruz.20:30 hrs. Dinner, Los Varietals,
Hotel/Restaurant Santa Cruz.
(B-L-D) (Night at Hotel Santa Cruz Plaza)
Day 5
We bid farewell to Santa Cruz and travel toward the Pacific
Ocean in the direction of the coastal town, Pichilemu (85
KM), known for its ideal surfing waves and tasty seafood
dishes, caught only meters away from the same restaurants.
On the way to this town we stop along the way for one final
wine tasting. The Viña Bisquertt is recognized for its prize
winning merlots, a grape grown widely in this valley. After
a visit around the vineyard which includes a museum, and an
elegant wine tasting, we continue on our way toward the sea.
Just before arriving to Pichilemu, we stop to visit a few
important sites, the hotel and park, Ross, the “Punta de
Lobos” beach (with waves of international levels) and ending
in Cahuil, where they process salt using artesian methods.
We have lunch in Pichilemu at the Hostería Gloria, where we
can enjoy a variety of seafood. We wander in the town a bit
more in the afternoon enjoying this welcoming city before
returning to Santiago.
Itinerary: 09:30 hrs. Depart Santa Cruz to the Viña Bisquertt.
10:00 hrs. Arrive to Viña Bisquertt. Tour and wine tasting.
11:00 hrs. Continue to Pichilemu. 11:30 hrs. Arrive to
Pichilemu and visit the surrounding areas. 13:00 hrs. Lunch
in the restaurant Hostería Gloria.14:30 hrs. Depart for
Santiago18:00 hrs. Arrive to the hotel in Santiago
(B-L) (Night in Hotel Orly)
Day 6
Transfer from the hotel to the Santiago International
airport.
(B)
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Chile
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