Wine Tour Time

We have been in Santiago nearly two weeks now and figured it was high time we shared some of our experiences. It has been an interesting time for us. We arrived in what we call “Tourist mode”, which is to say we kept busy every day taking in sights and enjoying the food. Part of this was because we were in Tourist Mode for most of our time in Mexico City as well. However, after about five days in Santiago we found ourselves slipping into the “Traveller mode”, which is by far our preferred method of travelling. We slowed right down and started soaking in the vibe of the city and exploring random streets on foot just to see what was around the next corner.

But not to fear, we still were taking in the sights, just at a more relaxed pace. Last week we were having lunch with the fellow who owns the car rental company we are renting a 4×4 from in a few days. He suggested we check out Viña Cousiño Macul winery which is located within the city of Santiago. We thought, why not?

As this is one of the oldest wineries in Chile and the only one still owned by the original family the history is pretty interesting. These aging casks held more than 30,000 litres when they were in use. Imagine having the job of climbing to the top and stirring them?
One of the great features of the tour was getting a number of glasses of their fine product. Our guide, Consuela, did an outstanding job of keeping our glasses full and of imparting the history of the winery and its founders.

The winery was founded by a couple who both came from very wealthy mining families. When the husband, Luis, died from tuberculous at the age of 38 his wife, Isidora, took over management of the winery and became the first business woman on the continent and the wealthiest woman in all the Americas. When you hear of the things she accomplished in the late 1800’s as a widowed woman you cannot help but be impressed by her.

These shipping stencils for labeling crates of wine for shipment give you an idea of the success of the business under Isidora’s management.
Most of this facility is a museum now with only a small portion still producing wines. They share both their successes and failures. Due to poor ventilation in this underground storage room these once promising vintages are now probably some of the most expensive vinegars in the world due to mold growing in the corks.
They have obviously had more successes than failures though. This private family vault contains more than 3000 bottles of a vast number of vintages so the family can monitor the aging process and do long term planning for their product.
One of the neat things about the whole facility is that it is the original building from the 1880’s. Considering the number and intensity of the earthquakes they endure here, that is nothing short of incredible. They fixed the ventilation problems in the hall, and though they no longer use it to age wine you can rent it for special occasions. Pretty cool ambiance.

If you are ever in Santiago I would strongly recommend Viña Cousiño Macul Winery for a tour. The people are friendly, the price reasonable, and the wine is lovely. Thank you Max for the suggestion.


Comments

One response to “Wine Tour Time”

  1. Hmmm, looks like something worth fitting in on our few days in Santiago this month!

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