What follows in the coming reports and pictures is exactly what is includes in my previous blog http://wineworld.spaces.live.com/
The idea of bringing the reports to new space is mainly to keep the information in only one place. I have not done any changes to the original posts, because I believe that every experience has its particular moment.
Perhaps, today I would have other opinion on some issues, but what I reproduce here belongs to that time.
In this Part 3, I report my experience in Maipo Valley – Chile, on March 2007.
A COUNTRY OF TWO WORLDS
Chile is a very particular country in Latin America.
It is multiracial faced; as any Latin American country; however it seams to be far away from there. It has a hot dry climate that is particular of its geographic region, though the country takes advantage of this in its own benefit.
It is a country that had gained an important space in the international market, especially with fruits and wine trading, generating a financial and social improvement.
The main spoken language is Spanish, what would make easy to be understood by its neighbours, but their differences make things a little more complicated.
Chile was involved in many battles with its neighbors and it is not hard to hear from them bad comments from its way of dealing with any sort of business.
During my first time in the country, I established myself in the “Providencia”, close to Santiago centre, which is a good base for who wants to explore the city. It has a reasonable infrastructure, however it only has a supermarket – if that can be called “super”... Nevertheless, it was where I bought the cheapest wine ever! The wine was just “OK”, but considering the price... (US$2.50).
I tried to find out a way to make the most of my time in the capital, though I could not find any wine event suitable neither a winery around the corner. To tell the truth, you are never far from a vine in Chile, since the majority of the country cultivates grapes, yet you can reach them by car or travel agency, either very expensive for my backpacker budged. To make it possible I found out a place where I could go using public transport (underground to “Puente Alto” and then a local bus to “Pirque”). So, my student hunger was satisfied when I booked a visit Concha Y Toro winery.
CONCHA Y TORO
Concha y Toro is the biggest and one of the oldest (established in 1883) wine companies of Chile and has all the resources to show the power that Chilean wines had gained, in a big variety of styles. The company grew quickly and in 1923 put its first shares in the Stock Market of Santiago and, in 1994 it became the first winery to negotiate its shares in the New York Stock Market.
The company had its control changed over the years, so had its technology, which had improved considerably, in order to compete internationally and, in result it is the main exporter of Latin America nowadays.
It was a very touristy experience that combined visit the vineyard, winery and to the famous "Casillero del Diablo", place thus called after a legend that the founder, Don Melchor Shell y Toro, made sure to spread rumors and used to dress up as "devil" and hide himself in his most precious cellar to make strange noises to scare whoever tried to still bottles of his beloved wine.
The company has a wide variety of products; it produces distinct wines of different prices and characteristics. We tasted two different wines, one Casillero del Diablo, Carmenere - grape emblem of the country - and a Don Melchoir - win award wine made with Cabernet Sauvignon, variety which shows its best in the region of Maipo.
The region of the Valley of Maipo is the heart of the traditional Chilean viniculture, place of the first generation of quality wines, when families had planted vines of Bordeux in middle of century XX. The Valley of Maipo is famous for its fine and elegant Cabernet Sauvignons, particularly in the area of Alto Puente, where the company Concha y Toro is located.
Happy for having carried through my very first visit to Chilean wineries, I toke the advantage of having a sunny afternoon free to go towards to the Andes Mountains in the city of San Jose de Maipo. Not too bad, I had a picnic admiring the mountains, in a hot day that the River Maipo made it a little milder.
With plans to go the Mendoza (Argentina), I decided that my next region when coming back of Chile would be the Central one, where is situated Curicó, therefore I believed I could visit a bigger amount of companies over there and, participate of some related activities to the subject. Well, this history is to be continued...
It is all for now!
Marcia Amaral
The idea of bringing the reports to new space is mainly to keep the information in only one place. I have not done any changes to the original posts, because I believe that every experience has its particular moment.
Perhaps, today I would have other opinion on some issues, but what I reproduce here belongs to that time.
In this Part 3, I report my experience in Maipo Valley – Chile, on March 2007.
A COUNTRY OF TWO WORLDS
Chile is a very particular country in Latin America.
It is multiracial faced; as any Latin American country; however it seams to be far away from there. It has a hot dry climate that is particular of its geographic region, though the country takes advantage of this in its own benefit.
It is a country that had gained an important space in the international market, especially with fruits and wine trading, generating a financial and social improvement.
The main spoken language is Spanish, what would make easy to be understood by its neighbours, but their differences make things a little more complicated.
Chile was involved in many battles with its neighbors and it is not hard to hear from them bad comments from its way of dealing with any sort of business.
During my first time in the country, I established myself in the “Providencia”, close to Santiago centre, which is a good base for who wants to explore the city. It has a reasonable infrastructure, however it only has a supermarket – if that can be called “super”... Nevertheless, it was where I bought the cheapest wine ever! The wine was just “OK”, but considering the price... (US$2.50).
I tried to find out a way to make the most of my time in the capital, though I could not find any wine event suitable neither a winery around the corner. To tell the truth, you are never far from a vine in Chile, since the majority of the country cultivates grapes, yet you can reach them by car or travel agency, either very expensive for my backpacker budged. To make it possible I found out a place where I could go using public transport (underground to “Puente Alto” and then a local bus to “Pirque”). So, my student hunger was satisfied when I booked a visit Concha Y Toro winery.
CONCHA Y TORO
Concha y Toro is the biggest and one of the oldest (established in 1883) wine companies of Chile and has all the resources to show the power that Chilean wines had gained, in a big variety of styles. The company grew quickly and in 1923 put its first shares in the Stock Market of Santiago and, in 1994 it became the first winery to negotiate its shares in the New York Stock Market.
The company had its control changed over the years, so had its technology, which had improved considerably, in order to compete internationally and, in result it is the main exporter of Latin America nowadays.
It was a very touristy experience that combined visit the vineyard, winery and to the famous "Casillero del Diablo", place thus called after a legend that the founder, Don Melchor Shell y Toro, made sure to spread rumors and used to dress up as "devil" and hide himself in his most precious cellar to make strange noises to scare whoever tried to still bottles of his beloved wine.
The company has a wide variety of products; it produces distinct wines of different prices and characteristics. We tasted two different wines, one Casillero del Diablo, Carmenere - grape emblem of the country - and a Don Melchoir - win award wine made with Cabernet Sauvignon, variety which shows its best in the region of Maipo.
The region of the Valley of Maipo is the heart of the traditional Chilean viniculture, place of the first generation of quality wines, when families had planted vines of Bordeux in middle of century XX. The Valley of Maipo is famous for its fine and elegant Cabernet Sauvignons, particularly in the area of Alto Puente, where the company Concha y Toro is located.
Happy for having carried through my very first visit to Chilean wineries, I toke the advantage of having a sunny afternoon free to go towards to the Andes Mountains in the city of San Jose de Maipo. Not too bad, I had a picnic admiring the mountains, in a hot day that the River Maipo made it a little milder.
With plans to go the Mendoza (Argentina), I decided that my next region when coming back of Chile would be the Central one, where is situated Curicó, therefore I believed I could visit a bigger amount of companies over there and, participate of some related activities to the subject. Well, this history is to be continued...
It is all for now!
Marcia Amaral