Monday´s highlight was a trip out to the Concha y Toro vineyard, which opened in 1883. They are the largest producers of wine in all of Latin America (you can even buy stock in them . . . ) We took the metro and then taxi out, and were late because of a metro snafu . . however it worked out well as we met a resident from Boston named Kristin, also traveling with her husband.
We were able to see the vineyard there, which produced cabernet, with a great guide who gave us some good basic insight on how the vineyards work. Some of the vines were planted in 1978, and our guide said they would be completely replaced in 40 years. (So we´ll come back on our 40th birthday to see them replanted!) We saw the cellar where they keep the american and french oak barrels for the wines to age, then down one floor to the ¨Castillero del Diablo¨, or Cellar of the Devil. There they have some bottles of their Don Melchor variety aging for 40 years! The original owner of the cellar started the legend that the devil lived there so locals would not steal his best wines, which he kept in the back corner for himself and his family.
We tasted the Castillero del Diablo Carmenere and their best, the Don Melchor Cabernet. Glasses were also included in the price. Cool!
Instead of coming back into the city, we stayed on the outskirts (southeast) and ate at an ¨authentic¨ Santiago sandwich shop, kind of out of the way. It was absolutely awesome, and I´m sure we were the only gringos by there today . . .
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