Because I can't get enough of Chilean wine, I visited yet another winery during my time there. To decide what winery to visit, I used a copy of WineSpectator magazine, which my mom has a subscription to. They just happened to have a Chile edition come out before I left for my trip.
There are many wineries close to the city center of Santiago, and some are even accessible by public transportation. These are the ones I focused on, since I was without my own transport and on a budget. Of the top wineries in the region (Maipo valley), both Concha y Toro and Santa Rita are accessible for those without their own transport. I chose Santa Rita because all the reviews and blogs I read online said that the vineyard itself was pretty and that the experience did not feel artificial and automated, as many people noted after visiting Concha y Toro.
However, once I made my choice, getting there by public transit didn't seem as easy as I thought. After using Google Maps, various iPhone apps, and the internet in general, I settled on an approximately 1.5 hour trip. I took the Metro from Ñuñoa where I was staying, to Estacion Central, about 30 minutes and $630 chilean pesos. Then I took a Buses Paine bus to the center of Buin, the town closest to Viña Santa Rita (45 minutes, $1.200 chilean pesos). Finally, I took MB-81, a "micro" from a few blocks from where Buses Paine dropped me off to the gates of Viña Santa Rita (30 minutes, $600 chilean pesos). With waiting and walking, this put me walking up the path to the vineyard about 5 minutes before the 12 pm tour I was signed up for was going to start. Luckily, a man from the vineyard stopped his truck and took me to the tourism building.
The tour itself was great. It was the first vineyard tour I've ever been on, because before this day I had only done tastings. I learned a lot about how they make their wine and the differences between white and red wine as well as their different lines (Premium, Reserva, Gran Reserva). About 15 minutes in, I was joined by a woman from Sweden, but before that I had been on my own with my guide, Ignacio. Even though the vineyard is not as lush and green as it would be in the summer, I highly recommend doing a vineyard visiting trip in the low tourism season. A lot of places offer lower prices (not Santa Rita), and you are often alone or in a very small group. It really makes the experience more unique and personal. We ended the tour in one of the cellars with a tasting of a Sauvignon Blanc and two Cabernet Sauvignon (to compare Reserva with Gran Reserva). We received the glasses we were drinking out of as souvenirs and were allowed to savor the last wine as wandered through the wine shop upstairs.
Since this was my big splurge day, I had lunch in the restaurant at the vineyard, along with the Swedish woman from my tour. It was nice to have company, and we chatted in Spanish about our travels and visiting vineyards on a budget. I had lamb ravioli with a tomato and eggplant sauce, accompanied by the Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon we had tasted (it was the recommended pairing). It was very delicious, and worth the splurge.
Viña Santa Rita has something else unique to offer: el museo andino (Andean museum). It is the private collection of one of the original owners, and includes over 300 pieces of Precolombian art from various South American countries. I particularly enjoyed some of the smaller statues from Easter Island and the metal jewelry by the Mapuche people (indigenous to Chile). There was also a photo exhibition by Manuel Dominguez, of Chile around the time of its 100th anniversary of independence. It was a very nice after lunch activity to stroll around and enjoy the art.
To get back to Ñuñoa, I was determined to find a shorter more efficient path. First, our tour guide drove us both back to the gate in a golf cart. Then, I was instructed to take the same blue "micro", MB-81, in which I had arrived, and continue in the same direction. In this manner, I arrived at the metro station Plaza de Puente Alto, which is the south end of line 4, the line on which I was staying. this trip took about 30 minutes and again cost me $600. The trip from the end of the metro line to my stop also took 30 minutes and cost me $630. The Swedish woman was heading back towards the center of Santiago, and therefore took a green "micro" that said ALAMEDA across the top, to return to the bus station Estacion Alameda, at the metro stop Universidad de Santiago. Both of these methods are faster and more efficient than the methods she and I used to arrive (she took a more expensive "colectivo" = shared taxi). The vineyard is working on providing all visitors who email or call about tours and tastings with custom directions from where they live or are staying. However, this is a work in progress, so for now they recommend calling the day before and asking for specific directions directly.
I really enjoyed Viña Santa Rita. It had a lot of history, but the same time is not falling by the wayside when it comes to the modern wine industry. It is the number 1 wine in Chile and the number 2 wine in exports, constantly battling with Concha y Toro. So it shouldn't be too hard for me to find some of their wine in the states, especially since their distributor is located in Washington, D.C. So to anyone looking for a winery to visit while in Santiago, this one comes highly recommended!
There are many wineries close to the city center of Santiago, and some are even accessible by public transportation. These are the ones I focused on, since I was without my own transport and on a budget. Of the top wineries in the region (Maipo valley), both Concha y Toro and Santa Rita are accessible for those without their own transport. I chose Santa Rita because all the reviews and blogs I read online said that the vineyard itself was pretty and that the experience did not feel artificial and automated, as many people noted after visiting Concha y Toro.
However, once I made my choice, getting there by public transit didn't seem as easy as I thought. After using Google Maps, various iPhone apps, and the internet in general, I settled on an approximately 1.5 hour trip. I took the Metro from Ñuñoa where I was staying, to Estacion Central, about 30 minutes and $630 chilean pesos. Then I took a Buses Paine bus to the center of Buin, the town closest to Viña Santa Rita (45 minutes, $1.200 chilean pesos). Finally, I took MB-81, a "micro" from a few blocks from where Buses Paine dropped me off to the gates of Viña Santa Rita (30 minutes, $600 chilean pesos). With waiting and walking, this put me walking up the path to the vineyard about 5 minutes before the 12 pm tour I was signed up for was going to start. Luckily, a man from the vineyard stopped his truck and took me to the tourism building.
The tour itself was great. It was the first vineyard tour I've ever been on, because before this day I had only done tastings. I learned a lot about how they make their wine and the differences between white and red wine as well as their different lines (Premium, Reserva, Gran Reserva). About 15 minutes in, I was joined by a woman from Sweden, but before that I had been on my own with my guide, Ignacio. Even though the vineyard is not as lush and green as it would be in the summer, I highly recommend doing a vineyard visiting trip in the low tourism season. A lot of places offer lower prices (not Santa Rita), and you are often alone or in a very small group. It really makes the experience more unique and personal. We ended the tour in one of the cellars with a tasting of a Sauvignon Blanc and two Cabernet Sauvignon (to compare Reserva with Gran Reserva). We received the glasses we were drinking out of as souvenirs and were allowed to savor the last wine as wandered through the wine shop upstairs.
Since this was my big splurge day, I had lunch in the restaurant at the vineyard, along with the Swedish woman from my tour. It was nice to have company, and we chatted in Spanish about our travels and visiting vineyards on a budget. I had lamb ravioli with a tomato and eggplant sauce, accompanied by the Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon we had tasted (it was the recommended pairing). It was very delicious, and worth the splurge.
Viña Santa Rita has something else unique to offer: el museo andino (Andean museum). It is the private collection of one of the original owners, and includes over 300 pieces of Precolombian art from various South American countries. I particularly enjoyed some of the smaller statues from Easter Island and the metal jewelry by the Mapuche people (indigenous to Chile). There was also a photo exhibition by Manuel Dominguez, of Chile around the time of its 100th anniversary of independence. It was a very nice after lunch activity to stroll around and enjoy the art.
To get back to Ñuñoa, I was determined to find a shorter more efficient path. First, our tour guide drove us both back to the gate in a golf cart. Then, I was instructed to take the same blue "micro", MB-81, in which I had arrived, and continue in the same direction. In this manner, I arrived at the metro station Plaza de Puente Alto, which is the south end of line 4, the line on which I was staying. this trip took about 30 minutes and again cost me $600. The trip from the end of the metro line to my stop also took 30 minutes and cost me $630. The Swedish woman was heading back towards the center of Santiago, and therefore took a green "micro" that said ALAMEDA across the top, to return to the bus station Estacion Alameda, at the metro stop Universidad de Santiago. Both of these methods are faster and more efficient than the methods she and I used to arrive (she took a more expensive "colectivo" = shared taxi). The vineyard is working on providing all visitors who email or call about tours and tastings with custom directions from where they live or are staying. However, this is a work in progress, so for now they recommend calling the day before and asking for specific directions directly.
I really enjoyed Viña Santa Rita. It had a lot of history, but the same time is not falling by the wayside when it comes to the modern wine industry. It is the number 1 wine in Chile and the number 2 wine in exports, constantly battling with Concha y Toro. So it shouldn't be too hard for me to find some of their wine in the states, especially since their distributor is located in Washington, D.C. So to anyone looking for a winery to visit while in Santiago, this one comes highly recommended!
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