Santa Cruz - The Colchagua Wine Valley

We have spent a week in the Colchagua Valley, another wine region of Chile. We took the bus from Valparaiso to Santiago, where we arranged to rent a car. Thankfully, we had a GPS, (which we call "Bella"), to get us out of Santiago. The Colchagua Valley, and specifically Santa Cruz, is 3 1/2 hours south of Santiago. We are staying at Parador de la Vina, an inn with 6 rooms, set in a vineyard. The staff only speak spanish, so we really need to be on our toes. The weather reaches about 30+ degrees in the afternoon. Our Parador has a small outdoor pool, which we have been enjoying in the afternoon.  When we arrived at our Parador, the fridge was stocked with cold water, 2 small bottles of wine (red and white). A very wonderful relaxing place to be after our hectic pace in both Santiago and Valparaiso.

The small town of Santa Cruz (population of 31,000) is the type of place we love.  A rural town with working people and not too many tourists at this time of the year. The valley surrounding Santa Cruz has a mediterranean beauty to it, surrounded by vineyards with hills in the background and the Andes in the distance.

Most restaurants are closed on Mondays, so you really need to plan ahead. Once again, we decided to do the "stay in picnic" type of dinner for our first night here.

MonteGras Winery- We were fortunate, once again, to have a wine tasting with just the two of us. We were guided through the tasting by Christian, a young Chilean with excellent english. A lot of the wineries here only do tours; so we have been seeking those that also do tastings (degustationes). After all, don't we all know how wine is made.....or who cares....just want to drink it and enjoy it.  Funny enough, one of the partners in this winery spent some time as a wine maker in Kelowna. Robin was also able to speak to our young guide about the football (soccer to those of you in North America); so was right in his element.

It really is evident when speaking to the Chilean people, that there exists a rivalry between them and the Argentinians. The young fellow at the winery asked how long we were travelling for; and when we told him 3 months, he said....oh yes, 2 1/1 months in Chile and 2 weeks in Argentina. Reminded us of rivalries between the Kiwis and Aussies!!

Have gone to some wonderful restaurants in the valley. At Mistela,  an outdoor restaurant, featuring historic Chilean cuisine we had Vicuna (similar to llama) and sauteed potatoes in bacon (Gav....you would love these).Went to a Peruvian restaurant for dinner and had one of our favorite dishes, Lomo Saltado. At Asador de Valle we tasted  carpacio of ostrich and front leg of lamb casserole, cooked in Carmenere wine (Shirley...similar to the wonderful Osso Buco that you make). Another, called Pan Pan Vino Vino, served great lamb curry and crab crepes...yummy.  We have been splitting all of our meals and exercising every morning, so we keep somewhat fit.

Vue Manet Winery - Miguel was our wine tasting host here and again, we were the only two; so very individualized tasting. He was quite a character. He told us that Syrah is the perfect friend for women, because it tastes of chocolate; also known as "gossip" wine. They make a wine that they call Secreto. It will have one main ingredient, so for example a wine would be called Secreto Syrah , but would have a blend of other wines for 1/4 of the blend, but it is never divulged. Another interesting fact, is that Chile has never suffered any Phylloxera in the wineries. This is due to the fact that they are isolated on one side by the Andes and the ocean on the other. Their agricultural department is also very strict at border crossings. We saw an example of this, as we had to watch a video on the plane and they have an agricultural check when you come into the country. This winery had a great little restaurant where we had lunch and of course.....a glass of wine.  We are really enjoying the Carmenere, a wine we don't see a lot of at home and we are also surprised at how good the Cabernet Sauvignon is here in Chile.

Went to the Las Ninas (the girls) winery, where we rented bikes and rode through the vineyard and in the countryside. It was great to get some exercise in the outdoors.  Not too concerned about the traffic on the rural roads; as the majority of the population ride their bikes everywhere and the area is flat. A lot of the bikes we have seen, have been pretty beat up; but they get the job done. Even saw a gentleman wearing a suit jacket and selling milk to the locals from his bike. They also sell fruit and vegetables by the road side.

Chile is not part of the South American free trade group and therefore some things are a bit more expensive then other countries in S.A., if imported. We are also told that 70% of the tourists here in Chile are from Brazil. They love to come during the winter to ski, then down to the valleys to buy wine before going back.

Another interesting thing that we noticed, was that the Chileans refer to directions in a different manner than other Spanish speaking countries we have been to. North is the same...norte, but south is sur, east is oriente and west is poniente. We are told these are naval terms and used as the country has a large navy presence and is very well respected....after all they are keeping the Peruvians from taking over the territory that the Chileans grabbed 100´s of years ago!!

At  our parador, we met a couple from Miami; she had been born and had lived in Chile until in her 20´s. When we asked her what it was like living her during Pinochet´s era, she said it was like been brought up any where else, with the exception that you were told never to speak of your feelings, thoughts or opinions on any political subjects. Very different from stories that we were told from people who were on the wrong side of the dictatorship.

At present all the hydrangeas, rhododendrons, hollyhocks and gladiolas are in bloom.  We seem to take detours to find "panadaria's"....bakeries. Robin loves the Alfajor - a type of chocolate biscuit (what a surprise!) and I like the Cocada, a type of coconut biscuit which is not too sweet.  Also, whenever you order a cortado (similar to latte) you are always served a glass of sparkling water to accompany the coffee and clear your palate.

Visited the small village of Pichilemu, a coastal town about 80 km. from Santa Cruz. The terrain getting there changed from hilly winery valleys, to planted forests of pine and cypress trees which are grown for lumber. Lots of small lumber mills along the way.  This town is also known for its surfing, so lots of younger people around....although still not that many if this is the start of the tourist season. We spent some time watching the surfers.

We spent the last two nights of our stay in Santa Cruz at a bed and breakfast which had lovely gardens and a great pool, the only drawback was that it was 10 km. from Santa Cruz...a little too far out of the way.  We would say that probably 3 to 4 days would be enough time to spend in this area.  We were disappointed in the fact that most wineries insist on tours, but we did find those where we could do tastings....which were few. Did find some great restaurants in the area.

Left Santa Cruz on Monday, December 22nd and headed back to Santiago till the morning of the 23rd when we are off to Mendoza, Argentina for Christmas. We are taking the bus there which takes about 12 hours. Could be a bit more depending what happens at the border.

Merry Christmas to all our Family and Friends who will all dearly miss over the holidays.
Spanish Words
Zapallo Italiano - Zucchini
Avestruz - Ostrich
Palmitos - Hearts of Palm (they serve this in most salads and on some pizzas)
Pavo - Turkey
Cerdo - Pork
Frutilla - Strawberries