In Situ Winery

On our first official day of Spring Break we decided to head to  a part of Chile we had yet to explore.  It is only about an hour and a half from home but with so many once in a lifetime experiences to, well, experience here in the Southern Hemisphere, the closest and easiest sometimes get overlooked.   It happens to the best of us.  We end up moving away before seeing the things that are closest to home.  Case in point, I have lived in California for a total of 10 years - and have never been to San Fancisco.  True Story.  I don't want that to ever happen again so, we packed the girls into the car and headed off to visit Viña San Esteban.  It is located in the Rancagua Valley - famous for more of that Chilean wine.

I mentioned "explore" in the last paragraph like we were Lewis and Clark setting off down the Mississippi, but we weren't really going to get in depth, we were just going to stake out some new territory.  We wanted to check out if it was worth making a long weekend out of the valley some weekend in the future {yes}.  B made a reservation for a private tour of the Viña San Esteban (which produces In Situ wines).  The tour included the usual and the unusual.

San Esteban is considered a high altitude vineyard.  Their vines are located in the foothills of the Andes mountains  on Mt. Paidahuen.  It didn't mean much to me until Ralph (our Spanish speaking German guide) explained that this makes for a very unique terroir.  One that is capable of producing some of the best wines in the world.  Because the vines are planted from the lowest altitude on one side, snake up and over the hillside and continue on over the top of the mountain and onto its backside, you end up with very different flavors and tannins in each of the grapes.  Even within the same variety.  The grapes in one area get morning sun and an afternoon of shade resulting in a lower overall heat throughout the day.  Yet just a mile away the grapes get hit with the full force of the suns rays in late afternoon but get the morning of packed in fog and cool temps.  And, trust me, you can taste the difference in the final product!

We did the usual vineyard tour - walking amongst the vines, seeing their processing equipment and the barrels where they age the grapes.  We viewed the bottling process and got to watch the workers hand label each and every bottle.  And it was all done privately - so the girls got plenty of attention and lots of room to run.  Probably one of their favorite tours to date.

And then the unusual came.  The land that the vineyard is situated on is also part of the original Incan/Acongauguan civilizations.  And there are ancient petroglyphs to be seen within walking distance.  So we walked it.  And heard the history of the region.  It was amazing to hear the stories and the girls loved seeing the old, faded drawings that looked so much like the ones they draw at home.

We got back to the tasting room and were hoping that the wines lived up to the vineyard.  And for the most part they did.  We were very impressed with their Chardonnay and the Cabernet.  Enough to take some (a bunch) home with us.  You see, you cannot buy In Situ wines in Chile...well, you can but only at their sales office, a restaurant down the road and one other store in the country.  95% of their wines are exported - so if you find some 2007 Chardonnay, pick it up.  For the price (and the flaor) you won't be sorry.

And then we were off for a bar-b-que at a local restaurant.  The girls got to run free, blow some dandelions, and play some hide and seek.  We got to share a bottle of In Situ Chardonnay and spend some great time with our girls.  I see a weekend trip to the Acongagua Valley in our future...

The morning fog still hasn't lifted.

 

 

You want me to climb what????