Valparaiso & Viña del Mar

Day two of the Beckham adventure took us to Viña del Mar and Valparaiso. Viña is really not much more than a beach town. We toured the large amphitheater there and walked along the beach to see the sea lions perched above a large rock for a bit before heading to the historical center of Valparaiso.

Our guide, Manuel, showed us the old buildings and what makes the city a UNESCO world heritage site. We enjoyed lunch atop one of the many hills before riding up another in a funicular built in 1894. I think we're lucky we made it!

Vino!!

My parents trip to Chile got off to a great start. We spent the whole day Sunday traipsing around the San Antonio and Casa Blanca valleys wine tasting. Our first stop was Matetic where we were given a private tour of the winery and shown the Ferrari of wine tanks. The vintner taught us all about their process including how they use egg white to remove the solids from the wine as part of the filtration process. Weird.

We went to Casas del Bosque next where I ran into an old friend from High-school, Daniel Martin. The world is too small! We toured the winery there before enjoying an amazing lunch complete with chocolate fondue for desert. Mom was in heaven.

Last stop (and certainly the drunkest) was Indomita where we toured their major production facility and wine cellars before tasting their wines looking over the Chilean hillside.

The Pinot at Casas del Bosque was a winner among all three of us. I also really liked the Syrah at Matetic and the Sauvignon Blanc from both. Indomita was third among all, perhaps because we couldn't taste much by that point in the day...

Morande Wine Tasting

Chile is the fifth largest exporter of wine in the world, and I am pretty sure that I am the fifth largest consumer of wine in Chile, so it is embarrassing that it has taken me so long to venture into the Chilean wine country. The main reason for this is related to the fact that Chile recently passed a zero-tolerance drinking and driving law restricting any of my friends with cars from being able to enjoy the experience and tote me to a vineyard. (When I say zero-tolerance, I literally mean that you cannot even have an ounce of alcohol before they send you to the slammer. Intense!) Luckily, last weekend, my friend Sydni's 26th birthday was occasion enough for us to hire a van and trek into the Maipo Valley. Our stop - House of Morande.

Morande is a lovely vineyard, even in the winter time when there are no grapes on the vine. What makes it even more spectacular, aside from the obvious (WINE), is the restaurant - House. Wine tasting in Chile is a bit different than what I am used to in California. Visiting a vineyard is more than just a flight of succulent liquid touching your lips and ciao - it is a long, lingering, whole-enchilada experience. You arrive, tour the vineyard, and then sit down to enjoy lunch paired with wine grown just meters away. If you are like my friends and I, it may also involve teeter-tottering, swinging and some acrobatics in the fields outside the restaurant.

Teeter-tottering with wine in hand

We planned to visit two vineyards, but lunch took over three hours (due to heavy wine consumption) and were unable to make our reservation for tasting at the second vineyard. To me, all that means, is that I have to make plans for another day of wine tasting in the near future. My parents are coming to visit soon, so I plan to take them out and show them what all the Chilean wine hype is about.