Destination: Chile

LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION

Itinerary: Wandering the wine country

Start off in Santiago and sample the grand old vineyards around its outskirts – Viña Cousiño Macul and Viña Concha y Toro are two of the most renowned. Just outside of Santiago, in the Casablanca valley, you can do a wine tour and see how Chile’s most famous whites are produced. In fact, wine tours are in vogue in Middle Chile at the moment – a new valley seems to be launching their own version each week. Head to the original, the Colchagua Valley wine tour at Santa Cruz, still one of the best (and most expensive). You could even catch the new wine-tour steam train.



Move down to the valley of Curicó, one of the more recent additions, where you can take in vineyards that otherwise don’t open their doors to the public. You can also call in to the Bodega Miguel Torres – the Spanish winemaking company that arrived in Chile in the 1980s and revolutionized the country’s approach to wine – just south of Curicó. One of the most acclaimed wine tours is based in Talca, where lovers of a fine vintage get a varied experience, including huge industrial set-ups, and small traditional outfits maintained purely for the love of a good glass. Bring your Alka-Seltzer!

Travelling to Chile?
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