Take a romantic getaway with your special someone in Chile‘s famous wine region. Sample the delights of the wine and each other in amazing natural beauty. Enjoy a tour of the 14 different vineyards and sample some of the best Chilean wine. This can be an easy day trip from Santiago, or take more of a break and spend a week in this beautiful part of the world.
Protected by mountains on all sides, this sun-scorched parcel of vines and orchards produces Chile’s best red wines. The town of Santa Cruz has a few good hotels and a picturesque plaza, and serves as your central departure point. But the real encanto here is heading to the countryside to learn about wine, visit with eccentric vintners and experience the lyrical pull of wine country.
Proclaimed the Wine Valley of the Year by Wine Enthusiast magazine in 2005, the Colchagua Valley has been compared by many to Napa Valley in California, and it is home to many of Chile’s top red wines and the most developed tourism infrastructure. Colchagua’s hot climate is due to the steep hills surrounding both sides of the valley that extend from the Pacific Coast east to the Andes. These hills block the cool breezes entering from the Pacific trapping the daytime heat, and making Colchagua a paradise for “big” red wines, and, in particular, carmenère, a variety that needs a lot of heat and sun to mature correctly. Syrah, cabernet, and malbec have also found their home in the valley. All these grape varieties express themselves quite differently than in other valleys, with ripe flavors, high alcohol levels (here they can top 15 degrees), and tannins with a firm, silky feel that is almost like a chocolate candy.
