Woke up at 8am, slept ok after falling asleep to BBC (the only English speaking station) after 11pm. I had breakfast down in the restaurant- I had bread, dulce de leche spread, oranges and watermelon and cheeses with some OJ and coffee. Our van picked us up a little after 9am to take us to the first winery of the day, Concha y Toro.
It was much cooler/comfortable today. I wore my boat shoes, t-shirt and capri pants. I did not get blisters and am quite pleased with my boat shoes purchase! I made sure I had sunscreen on before leaving the hotel. I don’t know the actual temperatures (primarily b/c of the States refusal to change to the metric system) but it felt like high 60s, but definitely not quite 75°.
It took us maybe a half hour to get to Concha y Toro and our driver didn’t speak English, so we were not told about the areas we were driving by, which kind of stunk. We did ask a few questions every now and then, but it wasn’t like the usual tour on a bus.
Concha y Toro is a huge winery. We got to the tour the grounds and it was so nice out. The manor house, built in 1875 is a typical Chilean style house with 23 rooms which no one lives in and numerous living rooms. Some rooms have since turned into offices. There’s 22 hectors of an English Victorian garden, complete with trees from Europe and the States, and the monkey tree from Brazil. Concha y Toro has 8,752 hectors in Chile, 950 in Mendoza for their wines. 68 hectors of grapes for wine in the Maipo River/Valley, primarily for Cabernet Sauvignon.
The Victorian Garden
We got to pick grapes off the vine to taste. First one we tried was Semillon and then Sauvignon Blanc which has a medium size leaf and the grapes are sweet- most popular. To be considered wine in Chile, the wine has to have sugar content between 11.5 and 14.5 so the grapes can’t be overripe or exceed the sugar level. I also learned that the grape vines can last 15-20 years or when the grapes stop making wine people enjoy, then they will plant new ones. This makes me sad b/c my two grapevines I had in California would have produced tasty grapes for 10 years more if my dad didn’t pull them out after I moved!
For over 10 year a wine was being made in Chile that they were calling Merlot, but after being tested, they learned that it was actually Carménère, which came from France and was recently rediscovered here in Chile. There are only two countries that produce Carménère, France and Chile- 95% of the wine is produced in Chile. I actually bought a bottle of this wine at the end of the tour to try back at the hotel. I had never tried this type of wine before.
Our first wine we tried was Casillero Del Diablo Chardonnay with 13.5% alcohol.
We toured the barrel room and this winery uses either American or French oak barrels. They hold 300 bottles of wine each and the barrels can be reused for 4 years before being sold ($1000 for the French barrel) and used by distilleries around the world to add extra flavor to their liquor. For American barrels, the wine can be aged no more than 10 months, for the French barrels, 18 months max.
We then went down to the famous devil’s cellar “Casillero Del Diablo”. Wine is stored in these barrels for 3.5 months before taken out so they can wash the barrels. They do this three times before moving on to the filtering process. The cellar was made in the 1840s with limestone, sand and egg whites for the mortar and bricks. The floor is dirt, which is wet down once a week to control the humidity. The natural temp in the cellar only differs 1°C between winter and summer- perfect conditions for storing wine. How did it get its name? In 1893 the owner brought some vines from France and wanted to save his best wines for his family in the cellar. However, he realized these wines where mysteriously disappearing. The locals were stealing the wine and he new how superstitious they were so he said that the devil dwelled in the cellar and the wine stopped disappearing. This then became a legend and locals really believed the devil dwelled in the cellar and so the legend lives on to this day.
We then went back upstairs and had our second tasting, the Trio. That concluded the tour. We got to go into the wine shop where I bought the Carménère, (which I was told was sold in the States).
Next stop on the tour was to a little shop that sold jewelry and handcrafted items. I purchased a pair of Lapis Lazuli (the national stone of Chile) earrings for myself (since I’m no longer collecting shot glasses, I’m going for something known for the Country so when I wear them I’ll be reminded of the trip). It cost 8000 pesos, or roughly $19 dollars. I charged it since I didn’t have enough pesos; so glad my card doesn’t have a foreign transaction fee!
We then pulled up to La Vaquita Echa for lunch. I was thankful they accepted credit cards, because that meant I could have lunch with the group. I ordered a Coke (tasted like Mexican Coke!) and the vegetarian salad. It came with hard boiled eggs, so I ate around them. It was filling. We were then entertained by a musician and dancers- adding was a nice touch. [note: video of the singing and dancing are the bottom of this blog]
With our stomachs full (now I understand why they have siestas), we made our way to the last Chilean vineyard we will visit. Located in the Maipo Valley, Cavas del Maipo. This one is a small, family owned vineyard whose wine is not sold in stores and they use the French way to make wines. Making wine for family consumption that is light, simple and acceptable wine (does not make table wines). They try to be as traditional in making wine to be different from the larger wine producers and strive to make the purest, healthiest wines. Jaime, the owner, gave us the tour. Everything from the picking, the mashing and the aging to the bottling, corking and labeling is done right here in their small winery.
The 120 acres of traditional grapes (Cabernet Sauvignon pictured at the vineyard) and they have moscat 400km north. In 1967 Jaime’s father wanted Chardonnay to make his own sparkling wine, which is produced, bottled and labeled onsite.
Their location gives them the best environmental conditions for wine making. They get no rain in the summer (Nov-April) which means the ripening of fruit is perfect for all wines (no rain = better grapes = better wine). The water for irrigation comes directly from the Andes, the melted snow from winter.
They harvest all by hand (vs. machines that are used by larger wineries).
The crushing machine- first step of the process. Before, the machine crushed everything, including the stems, but stems add bitterness to wines, so this new machines only crushes the fruit (skins and seeds- being the most important source of tannins and juice) and spits out stems. For whites, the skins and seeds are separated so only the juice of grapes ferments.
They use the champagne press (basket press), their devise has been working for more than 60 years. This is the same device that the French use to make champagne. It presses very softly, giving a softer, smoother wine without much histamine (which btw, I learned that if you take an anti-histamine pill 30 minutes before drinking wine, it lessens your chances of dealing with those allergy symptoms some get when drinking wine).
Next Jaime took us to see their stainless steel tanks (which are used for whites and hold 16,000 liters) and wood (which are used for reds and hold 10,000 liters). They make reserve wines, so all their wines are aged for 3 years before being bottled.
Then we were educated on wine and aging. This is very important b/c after opening a bottle of bad wine, I often wonder why. So here’s what Jaime told us.
Sauvignon Blanc is best if consumed within first year. (Check your bottles, if you have bottles dating before 2010- I’d dump it.) Sauvignon Blanc bottles are clear and have no protection from UV rays, which makes it spoil, so drink soon. Bottling in clear Sauvignon Blanc bottles is a reminder to consumers to drink right away and to not age it.
Champagne can age a bit, but no more than 8 years. However, Sparkling wines should be consumed within 2 years of the vintage (when the grapes were harvested).
Cabs can age for 5 years, easily.
The color of whites were golden, it’s b/c of the barrels.
Whites today must be protected from oxidization. Little oxidization needed for reds and get it from being stored in wood.
They make two Chardonnay’s- one goes directly into a bottle, while the other into barrels for no more than 2 months.
Their bottling line. They first filter for clean wine and then fill the trough with wine, placing the bottles underneath to fill. Then they have the corking machine.
We were educated on the different capping systems.
The natural 100% cork from the Cork Oak tree is very porous. These corks are stamped out from the tree bark (trees north of Portugal and Spain). The less porous the capping material, the better quality the wine. Why? With 100% cork, air is allowed in so the wine continues breading and changing b/c of oxidization. So, you really need a capping system to keep the wine in the same condition as it was first bottled. Which is where we get plastic. However, plastic gives off a negative connotation to consumers, making them think “cheap”. So, what’s the happy medium? Using the coarse particles from left over corks, which are compact and gives the consumer its natural cork look. Since it’s the left over particles, really compacted, they are less porous so less oxidization occurs. Now what about screw caps (which I want to say became popular thanks to the Aussies)? Wines with screw caps are meant to be consumed now. Like the clear bottles with Sauvignon Blanc, screw caps are a reminder to consumers to drink right away.
Labeling- they manually label their wines and allow for personalization of seals. The wind represented on their seal is Raco- which is a type of wind that blows through the area from the mountains in winter which helps make this area ideal for wine. Their wine is not sold in liquor or grocery stores, goes directly to final consumers. They produce about 200,000 bottles a year. I bought 3 bottles from him to take home with me.
They also make their own sparkling wine in which the fermentation and aging process happen directly in the bottle. The capping system mirrors the process in Champagne. Inside, the cloudiness from the fermentation process builds up and needs to be shaken out. The bottles are stored in wine racks, at an angle and turned until sediments sink towards the cap. When the sediments settle, the cap is removed and the pressure shoots out the sediment, at this time the final cork is placed in the bottle.
Jaime said that they do not add any chemicals to their champagne. Brut is the most healthy. His Brut has 0g per liter of sugar and the yeast dissolves naturally. He mentioned that sweetness is sometimes added by other companies to mask bad champagne/wine. Also stating that chemicals are added to kill yeast in other sparkling wines and warned us of the ½ off priced wines at stores and keeping sparkling wines. More than two years after processing, the quality disappears. It is wise to ask the retailer which delivery arrived most recently from the producer. Last year, they produced 1,200 bottles of Sparkling Wine- I purchased one to bring back with me to the States.
Other notes. No rain in the summer = a good year/vintage. No sugar added b/c the sun works with the grapes to produce the right amount of sugar. In a bad year = wet year, sugar is added, more fruit, but less sugar so producers add sugar which creates cheaper wine, sells for a lot less. Jaime also mentioned that some other wine producers add dye to their reds to make it look darker. He warned that darker does not equal better. All his reds are the natural color given from the skins of the grapes.
Tasting:
1. 2004 Harvest: Chardonnay Reserva- no oak, suggested pairing with seafood. We had cheese and crackers and I really enjoyed this one b/c it was light and refreshing and very smooth. I guess I’m turned off by oak.
2. 2004 Harvest: Chardonnay Oak Melody- suggested pairing with appetizers. Light oak flavor, I wasn’t a fan.
3. Rose- little sweet, suggested pairing with spicy foods and salmon- including paella and pizza. There was a slight spiciness to this one and I liked it.
4. Cabernet Sauvignon- like Pinot Noir, lighter and suggested pairing with pasta and white meats. I thought this was earthy and oaky.
5. Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva- more robust, suggested pairing with red meats. This one was kept longer with skins.
6. Moscatel- sweet, I purchased this one to bring home with me.
7. Brut- we didn’t taste this, so I purchased a bottle to take home with me. According to Jaime, sparkling wine tastes good with everything- I couldn’t agree more J
http://www.cavasdelmaipo.co.cl/
After leaving Cavas del Maipo, we made our way back into Santiago. Liba and I went walking around for a little bit before going to the supermarket to grab some cheese for our groups wine and cheese dinner. Of course, Liba doesn’t quite understand that not everyone speaks English (I mean we are in Chile afterall, where they speak SPANISH) and she did cause quite a scene in the checkout line (and you know how I LOVE it when people cause a scene with me- not!). She didn’t understand the cashier and then opened her hand out with pesos so the cashier could take the correct amount. I was embarrassed and was standing a few people behind her with Aiden (one of the guys in the group) and we were making comments, which the others in line understood. We through out words like “loco” and it’s funny how the meaning behind eye rolls and head shaking can cross language barriers, b/c the people in line understood. Afterwards, I made sure we got out of there as fast as possible before another scene was created.
At Concha y Toro, they gave us a glass to keep so a few of us met up on the patio where the pool was to drink some wine and eat cheese and crackers. I opened my 2010 Casillero del Diablo Carménère and actually enjoyed it. Aiden and Merilee had two bottles they shared, I really liked the 2010 Casillero del Diablo Viognier. It was a fun time and we were up there for a few hours. So much for going to bed early! Tomorrow is not going to be fun, with an 8am departure as we head to Argentina via bus.
Where we stayed in Santiago Chile:
Hotel- Diego de Almagro, located about a block from the bad part of town, two blocks from the civic center. 3 stars. Free computers and WiFi, but signal is weak. Cute boys, two spoke English quite well. Many of the other staff didn’t speak English. Breakfast was ok- fruit, yogurt, breads, butter and dulce de leche, meats and sliced cheeses, coffee, OJ (which didn’t taste like real OJ) and tea. Rooms were clean, bed wasn’t all that comfortable, but I slept well. The room I was in had two double beds (versus two singles like most European hotels).
Bruno the very cute and helpful day manger.
1 US$ = 480 Chilean Pesos
To charge my phone and laptop I had to use my adapter for Southern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia, Caribbean.
My friends in Boston are huggers which takes some getting used to. I’m not so sure about the whole kiss on the right cheek thing that they do here in Chile.
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