7 Day Wine Getaway in Chile and Argentina

Colchagua Valley Intro

The Colchagua Valley, set in the south-western half of the larger Rapel Valley, is known for its beautiful vineyard-covered hills, hundred-year-old vines, modern high-tech wineries and enchanting colonial estate houses. Still very much under-the-radar and relatively new in comparison to the traditional Maipo Valley, the region produces full-bodied red wine varietals including Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and the country’s famed carménère. Thanks to a favorable mix of mild Mediterranean climate, with marine breezes cooling the vines and granitic and volcanic soils which allow grapes to ripen with little intervention.

Colchagua Valley Tour

Meet your private wine guide this morning and set out together for a day in the vineyards.

You will be welcomed at a very special property, Neyen Winery or similar, for a tour and vertical tasting. Neyen was founded on the site of one of the region’s oldest wineries, with original Bordeaux Cabernet Sauvignon vines dating back to 1890, in the Apalta valley. In 1936, when Carmenere vines took root, the spirit grew stronger to produce a classic blend that reflects the unique soils of Apalta. A new world wine with an old world essence.

Lunch will be served with a tasting at Viu Manent, named the 2017 winery of the Year by Wines of Chile. Viu Manent is a Chilean winery owned by the Viu family. It was founded in 1935 when the Catalonian immigrant Miguel Viu-García and his two sons Agustín and Miguel Viu-Manent founded Bodegas Viu in Santiago de Chile. They bottled and sold wine on the local market under the “Vinos Viu” brand. Situated in the southernmost portion of the Rapel Valley, one of Chile’s best-known wine regions, Viu Manent has earned much applause for its full-bodied Cabernet, Carménère, Syrah, and Malbec, and its wines regularly appear high on the world’s lists of leading wines.

Continue this afternoon with a visit and tasting at another estate such as Casa Lapostolle. The Apalta vineyard is 100% under Organic and Biodynamic management. Casa Lapostolle was founded in 1994, by Alexandra Marnier-Lapostolle (of the Grand Marnier family) and is considered one of the architectural greats of Chilean wineries.

Your guide will return you to your accommodation at the end of the afternoon.

Maipo Valley Intro

One of Chile’s largest and most historically significant wine regions, the Maipo Valley has the nation’s capital city of Santiago at its heart. The valley includes more than 30,000 acres of vineyards, more than half of which are dedicated to Cabernet Sauvignon. For the past 150 years, vines have grown to the north of the city, while thousands of acres of vines also thrive in the fertile passageway that extends southwest of Santiago!

Winemakers insisted that no other place in Chile has the quality of terroir of Maipo Alto. They were keen to note that the upper Maipo offers hillsides with multiple exposures to the sun, warm days and cool nights, little to no rainfall during the late portion of the growing season, and most important of all, alluvial soils that allow for proper drainage and impart mineralogy into the grapes, and hence the wines. In the 1850s the Maipo Valley is where Chile’s wine industry began; today the region and its Cabernet Sauvignons still largely define Chilean wine.

Maipo Valley Discovery

Begin the morning with a visit to a producer such as Vina Perez Cruz for a visit followed by a tasting of their range including Liguai. There will be time to walk in the vineyards with your host before the tasting. The winery was built of native wood with two barrel-shaped central naves, exterior arches that evoke the passing of wind through trees, and stone foundations that recall the structures the Incas left behind in the area. Its sustainable design incorporates a gravity-flow process and has a 3-million-liter capacity, responsible for producing well-balanced wines of origin, with naturally low yields and soft tannins.

Next, you will be welcomed at the small boutique winery, Antiyal or similar. One of Chile’s best boutique wineries, Antiyal is the private vineyard of Chile’s most celebrated oenologist and leader in organic viniculture, Álvaro Espinoza. Together with his wife, Mariana Ashton, Espinoza cultivates a ½ hectare of Cabernet Sauvignon which produces about 6,000 bottles per year from his small cellar. Antiyal has been acclaimed by the most prestigious wine magazines in the world and is currently exported to multiple international markets.

Our final stop will be at the historic Santa Rita Vineyards. Santa Rita is a fascinating trip around the cultural heritage of Chile and its wine tradition, Winemakers insisted that no other place in Chile has the quality of terroir of Maipo Alto. They were keen to note that the upper Maipo offers hillsides with multiple exposures to the sun, warm days and cool nights, little to no rainfall during the late portion of the growing season, and most important of all, alluvial soils that allow for proper drainage and impart minerality into the grapes, and thereunto the wines. In the 1850s the Maipo Valley is where Chile’s wine industry began; today the region and its Cabernet Sauvignons still largely define some of the finest Chilean wine. Santa Rita has been central to this history.

Enjoy a guided visit of the century-old park, Roman baths, neo-gothic chapel, and century-old wine cellars. Your tour will conclude with a tasting of the winery’s finest wines followed by Lunch served at the renowned Doña Paula Restaurant, a national monument.

Your guide will return you at the day’s conclusion to your accommodation.

Additional Options for Day 3

Hotel Casa Real - Casa Real Room

The Hotel Casa Real is located on the Santa Rita Estate, and was formerly the summerhouse of the winery’s founder. Following restoration, it was converted into a hotel in the mid-1990s and is located in a 40-hectare park designed by leading French landscape gardener Guillaume Renner. The parks late 19th century classical style has been preserved, making it a historic monument and the only park of its kind in the country. Hotel Casa Real offers 16 beautiful rooms, fine dining, salons, and outstanding service, in a setting of absolute privacy and exclusivity. Alongside the hotel stands a Neo-Gothic chapel built in 1880 - like the mansion, it was designed by German architect Theodor Burchard.

Check out of your hotel this morning and meet your driver who will transfer you to Santiago airport to catch your flight to Mendoza.

Maipu Valley Malbecs

Upon arrival, you will be met by your private driver in the arrivals hall. After introductions, set out with your guide for a day of visits and tastings in the Maipu Valley.

First, we will stop for lunch at El Enemigo ("The Enemy"), a boutique winery that was created to produce a wine that would respect history and traditions whilst simultaneously rejecting the status quo. The estate is a passion project of two Argentinian friends - Alejandro Vigil, a soil expert and celebrated head winemaker at Catena Zapata and Adrianna Catena, daughter of Nicolás Catena and an historian who dreamed of continuing the family legacy of winemaking. Enjoy a tour of the estate followed by a 4-course wine-paired lunch in the winery restaurant showcasing the likes of flavour-packed ribs, ossobuco, cacao ravioli and gnocchi expertly prepared using the finest of local produce.

Next, you will be welcomed to another estate such as Bodega CarinaE, a tiny boutique winery in the south of Maipu. CarinaE makes excellent Malbec and Syrah with the expert hand of the famous French flying consultant winemaker Michel Rolland. Here the French owners Brigitte and Philippe Subra are often in attendance and the tasting, including their icon blend Prestige, is in the old family house.

Later this afternoon, your guide will bring you to your accommodation for check-in.

Additional Options for Day 4

Cavas Wine Lodge - Front Row Room

Nestled in a 55 acre vineyard, Cavas Wine Lodge is a luxury 18 room boutique property strategically located between the best known wineries and the magnificent Andes Mountain range. Taking up a prime spot in Luján de Cuyo, the lodge is only a half hour drive south of Mendoza city.  Here, the refined meets the surreal in a mish-mash of luxury lodging, world class vines, exquisite service, sumptuous spa therapy with exclusive treatments,  and standout seasonal cuisine.  The restaurant uses organically grown, seasonal ingredients to provide high quality meals in the elegant restaurant.

Lujan de Cuyo

Nestled in the heart of Mendoza, the picturesque Lujan de Cuyo is the premier wine growing region in Argentina. This area is characterized by its breathtaking vineyards, majestic mountains, and idyllic landscapes. Lujan de Cuyo is particularly famous for its production of Malbec, with vineyards dating back to the 19th century.

Luján de Cuyo Exploration

Meet your guide after breakfast this morning and set out together to explore the Luján de Cuyo sub-region.

To begin your day, you will be welcomed to the boutique operation Mendel. Set amidst rustic vineyards and housed in a traditional style villa, this winery is operated by one of Mendoza’s most respected and experienced winemakers – Robert de la Mota. Harvesting from their exceptionally mature vineyards, including 11 hectares of Malbec planted in 1928, every artisan winemaking step is rigorously performed, from careful bunch sorting to fermentation in small tanks to aging in the finest French oak. Here we try the top wine Unus, amongst others

Continue on for a visit and tasting at Bodega Matervini, or similar. Matervini is Santiago Achaval and Roberto Cipresso’s new project which explores the diverse geologies of the Pre –cordillera obtaining a variety of wines with unique personality. It was born in 2008, in an attempt to answer the question “what’s next after Malbec?” Their answer was, “More Malbec! From different places, with different personalities.” This venture shows how very different wines from completely different terroirs can be born from the same grape variety.

Your third and final visit today will be to a pioneering figure in the exportation of Argentinian wine, Susana Balbo Wines. Susana became the first female enologist in Argentina after graduating with honors from Don Bosco University in Mendoza in 1981. Due to the male-dominated industry in Mendoza, her first job took her north to Salta where she changed Argentine wine history with her first vintage of premium Torrontés, transforming it from a common blending grape to a world-class varietal. She fulfilled a lifetime dream of opening her own winery in 1999 and since then, her enormous success as a businesswoman has been recognized with many honors such as the “Entrepreneur of the Year” award granted by the Asociación Argentina de Mujeres de Empresa, elected the President of Wines of Argentina (WOFA) numerous times and named one of “The 10 most influential women in the wine world”.

After your visit of the estate, sit down to enjoy a 4 course lunch at the winery’s gastronomic restaurant, Osadía de Crear. The restaurant creates beautiful dishes using local sourced ingredients as well as the most avant-garde culinary techniques.

Asado Dining Experience

This evening, we have arranged for you a special Asado dining experience. There’s nothing like an argentinian barbecue, or asado, as they call it. The asado is not only a meal, it’s a ritual, it’s part of the culture.

It is the tradition that the fathers make the barbecue on a Sunday afternoon. They get up early, have a few sips of mate tea and with a lot of patience make a fire. During the morning hours they wait for the wood to burn down, while listening to the radio or read the newspaper. Around midday the coals are ready, the right moment when he put the meat on the barbecue.

Argentine beef is cut differently than in Europe or the US. The cuts that are put on a parilla are called: Tira de Asado, Vacío, Cuadril. Try them, they’re very tasty. But let’s not forget the Chorizos (sausages) and the Morzilla (black pudding). There is no need to rush. A barbecue is a ritual. In order to make a good barbecue there are two things which are necessary: patience and experience.

For Argentinians it’s not a meal. It’s a passion

Additional Options for Day 5

Cavas Wine Lodge - Front Row Room

Nestled in a 55 acre vineyard, Cavas Wine Lodge is a luxury 18 room boutique property strategically located between the best known wineries and the magnificent Andes Mountain range. Taking up a prime spot in Luján de Cuyo, the lodge is only a half hour drive south of Mendoza city.  Here, the refined meets the surreal in a mish-mash of luxury lodging, world class vines, exquisite service, sumptuous spa therapy with exclusive treatments,  and standout seasonal cuisine.  The restaurant uses organically grown, seasonal ingredients to provide high quality meals in the elegant restaurant.

Uco Valley

Uco Valley has both altitude and attitude and is certainly one of the most interesting and stunning areas to enjoy a wine tour in Mendoza. Situated in the foothills of the snow-capped Andes, dotted with blue lakes and rolling vineyards, this new frontier in Argentine winemaking is attracting winemakers from all over the world. State of the art technology and gold medal terroir means the wine from this area is the future of Argentine wine.

Uco Valley Wine Discovery

You will be welcomed this morning to an estate such as Familia Blanco, located on the road dropping down into the valley. This winery is a small, modern, family winery focused in the production of Bonarda leaded by the well known winemaker, Giuseppe Franceschini.

We continue into the valley and arrive at Bodega Cantina Mim by Michelini i Mufatto- This winery is owned by Andrea Mufatto, Gerardo Michelini and Manuel Michelini. Mother, father and son share a way to interpret a natural environment and its fruits, involving the thorough quest for the essence of each terrain’s character. Michelini i Mufatto works with vines that express their talent and crossroads, in an attempt to find the peculiarity of each terroir.

We conclude the day with a visit and lunch at Andeluna, located close to the town of Tupungato. This mid-size winery is dedicated to making big, busty wines and focuses on old world varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Chardonnay, as well as making Malbec and Torrontes. The winery was built in 2005 in the middle of the Uco Valley and offers great mountain views and vines as far as the eye can see. It has a warm, welcoming tasting room designed in traditional Mendoza style. You will be invited to sit down to am exquisite 4-course lunch to indulge in regional dishes such as Pastel de Papas, Steak with chimichurri, and locally grown figs with goat’s cheese and pear sauce. Each course is paired to a particular wine, including the top wine Pasionado.

You will be returned to your accommodation in the late afternoon.

Additional Options for Day 6

Cavas Wine Lodge - Front Row Room

Nestled in a 55 acre vineyard, Cavas Wine Lodge is a luxury 18 room boutique property strategically located between the best known wineries and the magnificent Andes Mountain range. Taking up a prime spot in Luján de Cuyo, the lodge is only a half hour drive south of Mendoza city.  Here, the refined meets the surreal in a mish-mash of luxury lodging, world class vines, exquisite service, sumptuous spa therapy with exclusive treatments,  and standout seasonal cuisine.  The restaurant uses organically grown, seasonal ingredients to provide high quality meals in the elegant restaurant.

Check out this morning and say a fond farewell to Argentina. You will be met by your private driver and transferred to Mendoza airport to catch your departing flight home.