unforgettable chile
A VITICULTURAL ODYSSEY
Text and photos by Jill Kwiatkoski
Meet Jill Kwiatkoski, traveller extraordinaire. A recent Wines of Chile tour through the Colchagua Valley led Jill to some most amazing discoveries: that red carpets are not just for royals; that dozens of wineries exist within an hour’ s drive from the country’ s capital, Santiago; that Chilean women winemakers are some of the most inspiring people to meet; and that a Chilean wine tour is worthy of a spot on every person’ s bucket list. What follows is an excerpt from Jill’ s travel diary. Happy travels!
ARRIVAL After an exhausting 22-hours of travel into Santiago, Chile, I was excited to get through the airport and meet my group. A giant baggage area spit us out into a chaotic world of taxi and tour drivers, all waving signs, smiling, and shouting for their guests’ attention. It was overwhelming— it felt a little like I imagine a Hollywood red carpet to be, but without my fabulous gown and George Clooney on my arm. I waded through the crowd to find the driver of my Wines of Chile tour group, a charming man named Hector who spoke no English, but made up for it with his mile-wide smile.
Santiago is a booming metropolis, with lots of tunnels, high-rise luxury condos with tropical plants cascading over balconies, glass office towers, and beautifully maintained boulevards. When I got to my hotel, I found my red carpet! In truth, it was for the King and Queen of Malaysia, who were also staying there, but I got to warm it up for them( despite George’ s absence).
DAY 1 Our first day, we left the hotel at 8:00 am. Even in rush hour, we were out of the city and into our first vineyard, Viña Undurraga( viña is Spanish for“ vineyard”), within an hour. The 100-year-old property lies over 600 hectares. Our host pointed out the wood-carved Mapuche( pronounced: mah-poo-cheh): tribal statues erected to protect their land and pay homage to the indigenous locals, for whom the statues are named. The winery also supports the educational needs and work programs for the Mapuche people with a portion of their international sales. After our tour, Winemaker Carlos Concha sat with us to taste 14 wines, including a fantastic Brut Royal that is not yet available in Canada( reason alone for you to go to Chile!).
We left Undurraga and hit the Colchagua Wine Route. Vineyards surrounded us on all sides as we passed through small villages along the route to Caliterra. Chief Winemaker Sergio Cuadra and Regional Director Rodrigo Trucco welcomed us with characteristic Chilean warmth. The Caliterra property is over 1,000 hectares— 300 for vines and another 700 of protected land surrounding those. Even more idyllic, wild horses roam the hillsides, eating the grass and keeping natural fires at bay( talk about sustainable practices!).
We tasted ten wines, which were a fantastic representation of the Colchagua Valley terroir. After lunch on a terrace overlooking the vineyards and mountains( Chilean avocados are like nothing you’ ve ever had from our sorry Winnipeg produce sections!), we drove up the mountain to overlook the vineyard.
Only about a half hour drive from Calitera, we visited Viña Bisquertt, which was founded in 1978 by Osvaldo Bisquertt. The vineyard is now run by his son, Sebastian, and grandson, Nicolas, who are dedicated to keeping Osvaldo’ s tradition of quality alive. Here, we met the first of many female Chilean winemakers, Joana Pereira. We tasted 12 of her wines, including a Gewürztraminer / Viognier— a rare blend for Chile! We ended our day at Bisquertt, with dinner and a stay in their beautiful guest house— which was once owned by the president of Chile( I believe I had his bed, because it was the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in).
Mapuche watch over Viña Undurraga
www. banvilleandjones. com 45