April 28

April 28, 2018 - May 12, 2018

Leave the U.S.

April 29 - Santiago (D)

City Tour and dinner

Arrive in Santiago in the morning where you will be met and transferred to your hotel

*Our transfers will be available between 7-10am

Accommodation:  The Singular Hotel, 1 night

You're steps away from the hipster cafe/restaurant scene along Jose Lastarria. Inside a slinky bar where you can enjoy a Pisco sour, a house specialty.  Singular by style as well as name, the hotel underwrites its individuality with its own signature-brand coffee, and even beer.  Guest rooms are light and bright. In the stylishly appointed subterranean spa is the chromotherapy treatment, you choose the color!.  There is also a rooftop bar, already a hit with the after-work crowd.

4:00pm – Gather in the Lobby for our introduction to Santiago City Tour.  The tour will conclude with dinner at El Galeon

Restaurant which opened in 1935 in the Central Market.  It is a lively place highlighting local ingredients in a typical Chilean atmosphere.

April 30 -SANTIAGO, Colchagua Wine Valley (B/L/D)

Wine Tasting at Casa Silva. Wine tasting and lunch at Lapostolle Vineyard

This morning we will drive two hours south to reach Chile’s outstanding wine area.

Accommodation:   Viña La Playa, 3 nights 

Viña La Playa is the fruition of a long held dream of Soren Axelsen who left his home in Denmark in 1952 to see the world. The Axelsen family made a name for themselves in the Californian wine industry, but the Colchagua Valley stayed in Soren’s memory. In 1989 he founded Viña La Playa with his two sons as a joint venture with the Errazuriz and Sutil families of Chile, both of which are very well known in the Chilean wine industry.  In 2004 they built this eleven room Inn in a typical Chilean Colonial style surrounded by 250 hectares of vineyardsand expansive gardens.  For dinner this evening we will enjoy a special Chilean ranch barbeque of ‘Cordero al Palo’, slowly roasted lamb on a pit.

Vina La Playa

Chile’s Colchagua Valley is a historic agricultural hotbed located roughly 100 miles south of the capital city of Santiago, beginning at the foothills of the Andes Mountains and reaching west to the Pacific Ocean. It looks much like Napa Valley with its ubiquitous vineyards, valley floor, river and tree-studded foothills. Though the majority of its vineyards lie in the center of the valley, new plantations are extending into the hillsides and west towards the sea. Overall, Colchagua is an oasis of rural calm blended with just enough sophistication for wine aficionados.

Viña Casa Silva is one of the most attractive wineries in the Colchagua Valley, and the colonial architecture of its old cellar makes this the perfect place to experience Chilean wine. Enjoy the best wines from the Andean and coastal terroirs along with the sensational landscape of the Chilean countryside, birthplace of our country’s traditions. Immerse yourself in the incredible world of wine and the history of a family that has been passionate about producing Chile’s finest wines for five generations. Their restaurant and wine bar offer the opportunity to taste wines with different varieties, textures, and aromas and an unforgettable cultural and gastronomic experience that includes the pairing of our wines and traditional Chilean cuisine.

Afterwards we will visit Lapostolle Vineyard for lunch and wine tasting. Lapostolle was founded by Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle and her husband Cyril de Bournet in 1994. The Marnier Lapostolle family, founders and owners of the world-renowned liqueur Grand Marnier, is famous for producing spirits and liqueurs, but the family has also been winemaking for generations.

In creating Lapostolle, they have pursued the same uncompromising approach to quality that made Grand Marnier a global success. Its objective is as simple as it is ambitious: to create world- class wines using French expertise and the superb terroirs of Chile.  Today, Lapostolle owns 370 hectares in three different vineyards and produce a total of 200,000 cases of  Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carmenère, and Syrah. Lapostolle is distributed in more than 60 countries around the world.

*Return to our hotel for dinner.

May 1 - Colchagua Wine Valley (B)

Visit of the Colchagua Museum in the town of Santa Cruz with time for shopping

From its beginnings, Santa Cruz was a center of handcrafted artifacts and agricultural development, with wheat, tomatoes, and wine being the main products of the area. Santa Cruz offers an authentic look at the rural traditions of Chilean culture expressed in the wine, the food, and the traditional sports such as the rodeo.

The Colchagua Museum was designed to incorporate the concept of a journey through the history of the planet and humankind in the Americas. The tremendous variety of collections that founder Carlos Cardoen has gathered over the years allows visitors to explore paleontology, archaeology, and Pre-Colombian art from Chile and throughout the Americas, as well as the History of the Conquest, Colonial times and Independence of Chile and the Americas and through the Republican era. It also includes thematic rooms dedicated to such topics as Modernity, the History and Development of Arms, traditional huaso gear, Coaches and Carriages, Agricultural Machinery, and the Railroad.

*Proposed lunch on our own at Hotel Santa Cruz giving us time to shop afterwards.

*Return to our hotel to relax.  Dinner on own

may 2 - Colchagua Wine Valley (B/L)

Wine Tasting and lunch at Montes Winery.  Wine tasting at Viu Manent

Montes Winery is right in the heart of Apalta, a beautiful area of the Colchagua Valley.  This large, modern and sustainable winery is impressive with its inventive design, feng-shui approach and Gregorian chants played to mature barrels. In 1987 Aurelio Montes, head winemaker and Douglas Murray partnered with a great dream.  Montes also produces wines in Napa Valley under Napa Angel and Mendoza, Argentina under the label Kaiken. The first premium wine that brought fame to the winery, was the Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon which is still produced today.  Several of the Montes wines continue to score 90+ points through the Wine Advocate and Wine Enthusiast.  A feature of the winery is the impressive, semi-circular underground cellar that lies at the heart of the building. Its concentric half-rings of 800 new French oak barrels give it the appearance of a theater stage, on which the quiet maturation of the finest Montes wines plays out. Its silence and tranquility (sometimes broken by the sound of Gregorian chants) must make it a favorite resting place for the Montes angels.  And if you want to take away mementoes of your visit, drop by the Tienda Montes shop, where you will find all of their wines at special ‘winery gate’ prices and a large selection of attractive souvenirs, gifts and award-winning books.

From here, we will continue to a family owned vineyard, Viu Manent.

A horse-drawn carriage takes you through the vineyard as part of the tour, before finishing with a wine tasting. Viu Manent was founded in 1935 when Catalan immigrant Miguel Viu García and his two sons, Agustín and Miguel Viu Manent, founded Bodegas Viu in Santiago de Chile. The winery began by marketing wines purchased from other suppliers and bottled under its own brand name. More than thirty years later, in 1966, Miguel Viu Manentrealized his dream of producing his own wines by acquiring the old Hacienda SanCarlos de Cunaco vineyards and winery in the heart of the Colchagua Valley wine growing region.

*Return to our hotel to relax.  Dinner on own

May 3 - Colchagua Valley - VAlparaiso - Vina del mar (B/d)

We depart early from our hotel in Colchagua and head to the Pacific coast, crossing the Coastal Mountain Range and the Casablanca and Curacaví Valleys (Approx 4 hour drive). Visit of Valparaiso including Pablo Neruda’s La Sebastiana.

 Accommodation:  Atton San Martin Hotel, 2 nights Ocean View rooms

Our modern hotel is situated on the famous Vina del Mar coast and close to many restaurants and Vina’s popular Casino. From this traditional hotel we can explore this historic city where the wealthy Chilean and Latin American families came to spend their summers.  Valdiviam Port , just next to Vina del Mar, shows its bohemian and colorful past in its buildings and narrow winding streets.

The colonial city of Valparaiso presents an excellent example of late 19th-century urban and architectural development in Latin America. In its natural amphitheatre-like setting, the city is characterized by a vernacular urban fabric adapted to the hillsides that are dotted with a great variety of church spires. It contrasts with the geometrical layout utilized in the plain. The city has well preserved its interesting early industrial infrastructures, such as the numerous ‘elevators’ on the steep hillsides.  The character of Valparaiso was strongly marked by the geography of its location: the bay, the narrow coastal plains (largely artificial) and the steep hills scored by multiple ravines together created the city’s amphitheatre-like layout. Pass parliament building as well as other examples of the historical architecture that makes Valparaíso a World Heritage Site since 2003. Come across Cerro Concepción, and discover it on foot with its Anglican and Lutheran churches, and the Paseo Atkinson alleyway with its famous Brighton Restaurant. Walk over to Paseo Gervasoni where the famous Café Turri and the house of the cartoonist Lukas are located. Cross over to Cerro Alegre where the Paseo Yugoslavo and Baburitza Palace, once home to a Croatian immigrant and now home to the recently renovated Fine Arts museum of Valparaiso.

*Dinner at a local restaurant to be determined.

May 4 - Casablanca wine valley (B/L)

Visit of Vina del Mar and continue to Casablanca Wine Valley for wine tasting at Casa's del Bosque and Matetic Vineyards for wine tasting and lunch

Our city tour will begin in Viña del Mar, known as the Garden City because of its many beautiful gardens, parks and beaches.  We will stop at the Quinta Vergara built by one of the founders of Vina and Palacio Carrasco which opened in 1924 by the Carrasco Family. A major achievement of architect Alfredo Azancot was inspired in the French renaissance and was recently declared a historic monument. One of its attractions we’ll see is the sculpture called “La Defensa” from the French artist, Auguste Rodin.

Vina del Mar, aka “Vina”

Viña began in the 1870’s as a resort suburb of Valparaíso, connected to that city and to the capital by train. After a 1906 earthquake damaged Valparaíso, Viña expanded with new architecture transforming its seaside cliffs. One such structure is Castillo Wulff, a Germanic turreted granite castle set on a rocky point. Over the years, it has become a symbol of the city (much like the nearby giant floral clock that spells out the city’s name and faces the ocean, offering a brilliant greeting to passing cruise ships). Called Cerro Castillo, or Castle Hill, this part of town is one of the oldest, full of other century-old whimsical homes jutting from the cliffs. The city is divided by the Estero Marga Marga, lined with colorful midcentury high-rise towers, their facades faceted by balconies tilting to the sea.

Emerging from Chile’s coastal mountains into the Casablanca Valley, the gentle sea breeze coming in off the Pacific creates the perfect climate for one of the best valleys for producing white wines such as Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

We’ll start off by visiting the Casas del Bosque Winery, which was conceived in 1993 to be a family boutique winery exclusively oriented to the production of high quality wines. Here they will receive you with its first level, and the best of its wines, Sauvignon Blanc. Enjoy a shared tour through their modern wine cellar and wine tasting.

We will continue to Matetic Vineyards, in the San Antonio Valley. This completely enclosed valley, is 9,000 hectares in length and perpendicular to the ocean, features extraordinary light and possesses the ideal climatic and topographic conditions for both red and white organic wines.

*Return to Viña del Mar. 

*Dinner on own.

May 5 - Valparasio - Mendoza (Argentina) (b/BL/d)

Today is a big day as we will enjoy the most spectacular drive in South America, crossing the Andes! 

Route 7 unites Chile and Argentina and passes by the end of Aconcagua Park, where the highest peak outside of Asia, Mt. Aconcagua (6959 meters – 22831 feet), is to be found. It will be a thrilling day as you cross the Andes Mountains en route to Mendoza.  If the weather permits we will see majestic Aconcagua (highest peak in South America) and continue through the heart of the Andes and its historical bridges.  The scarce rainfall and violence of the winds (up 155 miles/hour), explain the minimum presence of eternal snows at its peak. The first successful ascension, via the northern slope, was achieved by Matthias Zurbriggen from Switzerland, who reached the top on his own in 1897. Through the much more difficult southern sector, the same feat was achieved in 1953 by a team of young Frenchmen includingthe famous Robert Paragot and Lucien Bérardini.

Weather permitting, we will experience awesome views, thrilling mountain capes, unbelievable skies… a thrilling day!

After photo stops and a picnic lunch in the Andes we will arrive in the Mendoza Valley in the afternoon at the lovely Club Tapiz Winery for our dinner and overnight stay of two nights.

Accommodation:  Club Tapiz, 2 nights

Club Tapiz is set in an 1890´s Renaissance Villa, surrounded by ten acres of vineyards and olive groves. Rooms at Club Tapiz have vintage décor with classic wooden floors. All feature air conditioning, free Wi-Fi and cable TV, and have stunning views of the Cordillera de los Andes. Guests can horseback ride, trek and canopy walk in the Andes. They can also white water raft in the Mendoza Rivers and relax afterwards with massage in the wellness spa or a dip in the pool.

Dinner at Fuente y Fonda Restaurant for some home cooking!  This is Pablo del Rio’s second restaurant which he opened to highlight the best Argentine home-cooked meals “as his grandmother made them”.  Small and intimate, it has already won an award for excellence

May 6 - Mendoza (B/L/D)

Mendoza City Tour with lunch at Finca Decero Winery.  Dinner at El Enemigo Winery

Enjoy the setting of our hotel before we leave on a city tour of Mendoza followed by lunch at Finca Decero Winery.

Mendoza, is located in western Argentina at an elevation of 2,497 feet in the irrigated Mendoza River Valley at the foot of the Sierra de los Paramillos, a secondary range of the Andes Mountains.  During the movement for independence from Spain it was the headquarters of General José de San Martín, who organized an expeditionary force to cross the Andes and liberate Chile in 1817. A monument commemorating this event is atop Gloria Hill, overlooking the city on the west. In 1861 Mendoza was destroyed by an earthquake, with heavy loss of life. A new city was planned (1863) with broad tree-lined streets, squares, and public parks close to the ruins. An influx of immigrants, mostly Italians, in the late 19th century stimulated economic development.   Argentina's most highly rated Malbec wines originate from Mendoza's high altitude wine regions of Lujan de Cuyo and the Uco Valley. These Districts are located in the foothills of the Andes mountains between 2,800 and 5,000 feet.

 Once a bare patch of dirt in the foothills of the Andes, Finca Decero is now a one-of-a-kind vineyard, where each vine is nurtured by hand and the winemaking is without compromise. Free from restraint and tradition, the creators of the winery developed an ‘amano' or ‘by hand' approach that is human, sustainable and sensitive to natural differences.

We’ll return to our hotel to relax before we leave for dinner at El Enemigo Winery.

El Enemigo Winery located in the East of Mendoza and with a magnificent view of the Andes range hosts the most traditional wineries of the region. Vigil started his own wine line, El Enemigo, and built his beautiful boutique winery in a new area: Chachingo. The winery is a ‘labyrinth’ inspired in La Divina Comedia, with areas named after the book: Paradise, Heaven, Purgatory and Hell.