Email
Print
Facebook
Twitter
Share
RSS
Here are five wine trails from five different continents worthy of your next trip, whether you want to center your visit on tasting wine, or drop in at a winery or two as part of a larger vacation.
Chile's Colchagua Valley
Chilean wines, reds in particular, have garnered a lot of attention amongst wine drinkers over the past few years. Chile has six wine valleys, and one of the best for full-bodied red wines is the Colchagua Valley. Sandwiched between the Pacific and the Andes, this fertile area is located in Central Chile, about a two-hour drive from Santiago. Its most popular varietals are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Carmenère, Malbec, and Syrah. It was named one of Wine Enthusiast's "Wine Regions of the Year" for 2005, the same magazine that recognized it as "the next Napa" in 2002.
Travelers often base their visits in the town of Santa Cruz because, as Matthias Holzmann of the Aqua Motion tour company explains, "out of Santa Cruz you can reach 10 wineries in less than 60 minutes." One of the most popular ways to see the Colchagua Valley's wineries is on a Ruta del Vino (Wine Route) tour, which includes scheduled visits to a variety of the valley's wineries, multilingual guides, transportation, tastings at several wineries, lunch, and sometimes a stop at the Colchagua Museum, one of Chile's best collections of historic artifacts. Rates start around $44 per person. Alternatively, the Colchagua Tren del Vino (Wine Train), a restored steam-engine train, offers tours of the valley's wineries two to five times per month. Rates start at $33. Several other companies offer one- and multi-day trips to wineries, including visit-chile.org, Aqua Motion, and Latitud 90.
Self-guided tours are also possible with a map, rental car, and sense of adventure. Most wineries require advance reservations, which can be made via email or by phone.
The area's mild weather makes touring the wineries a year-round pursuit. Summers are sunny and dry, and temperatures usually hover in the 60s and 70s. Santa Cruz hosts a March harvest festival with Chilean foods, wine tastings, handicrafts, and traditional music and dance.
Accommodations are limited in the Colchagua Valley. The Hotel Santa Cruz is a popular option. The hotel has 85 guestrooms, three restaurants, and a pool, and rooms start at $165. Another option is Los Lingues, a hacienda about 45 minutes from the wineries of Colchagua with rooms starting at $180 per night. Los Lingues can arrange wine tours, as well as horseback riding, fishing, and rafting expeditions, and it also has tennis equipment and bicycles. In addition, some wineries, including Casa Silva and Viña La Playa, have small hotels on-site.
Next>> New Zealand's Hawke's Bay
