I still don't like wine. Sorry, Chile, land of wine (and empanadas). Two wine tours and conversations with a sommelier still haven't changed my wanting a juice-box over a glass of wine, however I can appreciate all the hard work that goes into it. I took a tour with my mom at Concha y Toro, a large winery (2nd in the country by production) located just outside Puente Alto. My favorite part was seeing a sheep grazing on the lawn and visiting the old-school wine cellar four meters underground. And bonus points for getting to the winery without using a taxi.
entry gate to the tourist vineyard
Concha y Toro is a large operation, with several buildings specifically for tours - a restaurant, gift shop, and the most sparkly bathrooms this side of the equator
vines draped over the courtyard trellis
the founder's house, used as a residence until 1994. now it's used as offices and for official wine tastings with important customers // 17 july 2015
some sort of plant specimen in the ornamental garden
i like to think this statue is throwing a rock, involved in some sort of mischief
one of Concha y Toro's many vineyards that make up their 10,000+ hectare production
the devil's cellar, naturally climate controlled by being 4 meters underground, and humidity controlled by sprinkling water on the dirt paths
a semi-cheezy show explaining how the cellar became to be called haunted - it involved a projection on the rear cellar wall, mood lights and surround sound. quite involved.
a peek into the high-tech modern cellar with humidity-controlling sprayers and airconditioning. expensive french barrels are made with old oak wood (100 years old) and cheaper american barrels are made with oak only about 50-60 years old, hence the price difference.
the wine tasting, involving one screw-top bottle, one bottle of spicy wine, and a third one that apparently cost 60 USD per bottle. juice box...