Wine Adventures in Maule and Colchagua
Some places in the wine world require a little more effort and time to explore than most. For example, Rioja, Chianti, and Napa require a short, comfortable drive out from the city on asphalt roads to visit them, Maule is a little different. Just getting to some of these very old vines and wineries in Maule is an adventure in itself. A couple of weeks ago we did just that and nailed down some of the places in Maule and Curico where our clients will have a ball! But it’s not just old vines, there are wild vines also. Plus some really well-polished wineries providing a great flip side to the more artisanal setups.
So what would a wine tour visiting Maule and Curico look like? Firstly you need to be away from Santiago for a least 2 nights, and that would be the minimum in our opinion. It is around a 4-hour drive to the heart of Maule, and an hour less for Curico or Colchagua. We have outlined the ideal plan for 3 nights away from Santiago below, if you have more time (and money of course!) then this plan can be extended, but remember that 2 nights is the absolute minimum so you are not just seeing the inside of a vehicle the whole time.
Before you read the whole program below you might like to read our blog on one of the highlights of this particular trip, the Gonzalez Bastias winery in Maule.
Sample 3-Night Program
We will assume you arrived in Santiago the previous day and spent the night in one of our recommended hotels in the Vitacura or El Golf areas of the city. You will have enjoyed an introductory wine tasting on your arrival day and we will have discussed the plans for the next few days.
Day 1 – Leave Santiago for Colchagua. Overnight Colchagua.
Colchagua is the center of Chile wine country and a superb overnight on our way down to Maule. Leaving Santiago after breakfast at your hotel we will drive you two and a half hours to your hotel in or near Santa Cruz. After checking in and dropping your bags off we will drive 15 minutes to our first winery, Viu Manent. Here we will enjoy a look around the winery, vineyards, and museum and then enjoy a premium tasting, followed by lunch at their lovely vineyard restaurant. We will not be rushing around, it is your time to decompress!
Enjoying a premium tasting at the superb Viu Manent winery
After Viu Manent, it is off to explore the beautiful and highly regarded Apalta D.O. with the first port of call being the prestigious Clos Apalta. Here we will tour a wonderful piece of winery architecture and taste their two iconic wines. If at any point you wish to take advantage of cellar door prices just let us know. The fun doesn’t stop there! Around 6 pm we will head off into the Apalta vineyards of Ventisquero. There is no winery tour this time as Ventisquero has its production facility in another location, here in Apalta they have icon vineyards here. A lovely tasting room is perched in a stunning location and we will enjoy a 4-wine tasting flight and some nibbles during sunset, with a wander around in the vines. Around 9 pm we will have you back to your hotel after a very full day.
For our overnight in Colchagua, there are a number of great options (NOI Blend for example). Much will depend on the season and your budget, plus your traveling style. Ask us about all of the options when we are planning the trip with you.
Day 2 – Back Roads to Maule. Overnight Maule.
It’s a more relaxed start today, we will head off around 10.30 after a leisurely breakfast. A 20-minute drive will take us to our first winery of the day in Quinahue, and it is a quirky one indeed. We love to show contrasts and today this will be evident. The Santa Marta winery is very “old school” and rustic I suppose you could call it. We have written a blog on this visit as it is an unusual experience. After a look around and a tasting, we will continue driving for another 45 minutes through the countryside towards Curico where we will find the famous Miguel Torres winery.
The Miguel Torres winery is clearly a very well-known and respected family-owned company, with over 150 years of history in Spain. In 1979 Torres became the first foreign winery to set up in Chile, constructing its winery in the location we will visit today in Curico. Upon arrival, we will tour the winery, learn plenty about Torres wine and enjoy a premium tasting. By this time you will be hungry so we will have lunch at the winery itself, and then you will have some free time to relax, wander and maybe grab some bargains from the wine shop.
After recharging our batteries we will set off for the last leg of our trip today, 75 minutes via highway and countryside, to arrive deep into the Maule wine region by late afternoon at the Gillmore winery and hotel where we will stay for 2 nights. Whether we visit the winery and have a tasting this evening will depend on you, maybe we will enjoy the experience tomorrow instead.
Note: If for some reason Gillmore does not have space for us, we will stay in a good standard Talca hotel. Or if your budget allows Bouchon has an exclusive guest house? In any case, we have a number of lodging options.
Day 3 – Very Old Vines and Vines in Trees!
We will be visiting two wineries that have very old vines today, Bouchon and Gonzalez Bastias. The latter has some vines that are 200 years old, some of the oldest in the world, bush trained, and still on their original rootstocks. Bouchon lets some of its vines grow high into the trees, and the grapes go to make their famous “Pais Salvaje” wine. So you are in for a treat today. You won’t visit vineyards like this very often on your travels, and the wine is interesting and superb at both wineries. Bastias produces “natural” wine with very intervention techniques and while Bouchon is certainly more high-tech, the old vines and wine made from tree-climbing vines will really grab your attention. If we can’t find a fixed lunch spot today, as we will often be quite remote, we will have a box lunch to keep us going until dinner back at the hotel.
We have a blog on Gonzalez Bastias for you to read and there are some videos to get the juices flowing.
Day 4 – Las Veletas – Casa Silva lunch
After breakfast, we will say goodbye to Maule and head back to Santiago, but not before enjoying two more winery visits and lunch during our return journey. Depending on your tastes or interests we will stop at either Las Veletas or Balduzzi, both of which are located near San Javier. After a look around the winery, we will have a premium tasting. Leaving San Javier behind we will join the Panamerican highway for 1 hour and 45 minutes drive, taking us to one of the heavy hitters in Chile, Casa Silva.
There is a lot going on at Casa Silva other than making great wine. They have a restaurant which we will be eating at, a hotel (for your next visit maybe?) a rodeo ring and a polo field where, if we time it right, we may well witness some action. Of course, we will enjoy a tour of the winery, and maybe you will have time to wander the vineyards after lunch. Plus there is always a premium tasting at each and every winery we visit. After spending a pleasant afternoon at Casa Silva we will drive back to Santiago, some 2 hours away, and drop you at your hotel.
Note: If you have extra days there is so much we can add:
- Cocciopesto and Natural Wine – Add the quirky Estampa and Clos Santa Ana wineries
- Boutique wineries – Add OWM, Jugarejo, La Despensa, Camino Mar, Laura Hartwig?
- VIK – This winery and hotel are works of art and science is a full day visit
Read through this page for more ideas of Colchagua visits you might like to add.
As you can see there is plenty on offer, we can combine any and all of these in a logical order, making the most of your time and tailoring winery visits to suit your tastes and wishes. Just drop us an email to get talking on the subject.
