Make Chile’s Maipo Valley the Next Wine Region You Visit
Some Maipo Valley wineries are so close to central Santiago, you can take the bus.
The “Bordeaux of South America” is famed for high-quality young reds, particularly cabernet sauvignon and Chile’s signature grape, carménère. “Characterised by fruit and spice, the wines have a freshness on the nose, thanks to a Mediterranean climate and the alluvial soil,” says Gustavo Olguin, sommelier at Santiago wine bar Bocanáriz. Although several wineries sit among the capital’s urban sprawl, limited public transport beyond the city means it’s easiest to hire a car or book a tour with Maipo Valley Wine Tours to venture deeper into the birthplace of Chilean wine.
The wineries
Antiyal
Chile’s godfather of biodynamic viticulture, Alvaro Espinoza, is at the helm of this small family-owned and operated winery so it’s little surprise that the wines produced from its 10 hectares of cabernet sauvignon, carménère, syrah, petit verdot and grenache vines are among the Maipo Valley’s most awarded. “Our tours and tastings are very personal because we host them ourselves,” says Espinoza’s wife, Marina. The winery was named for an Indigenous Mapuche word meaning “sons of the sun”.
Viña Aquitania
The second generation of Viña Aquitania’s French-born founders now runs this small-batch operation, which also harvests grapes from its other vineyard in the Malleco Valley, the country’s southernmost wine region. Located on Santiago’s fringe, accessible by public transport (by metro then bus or taxi), the winery’s 90-minute tour culminates in a tasting of its premium range, including a fruit-driven cabernet sauvignon and a chardonnay crafted from grapes trucked up overnight in cool conditions from its sister vineyard.
Viña El Principal
Sample the signature El Principal wine – a bold cabernet blend – on the morning tour at this multi-award-winning young winery in the Andean foothills. Arrive later in the day and join the Sunset Tour to watch golden light transform the landscape as you sample three wines with cheese. Either tour can be combined with a hearty asado (barbecue) lunch.
Undurraga
Prefer bubbles? Undurraga is one of the Maipo Valley’s oldest and largest producers (along with the likes of Concha y Toro and Santa Rita). A pioneer of Chilean sparkling, it has a portfolio of vintages from grapes sourced across the country. The estate’s standard tour includes a tasting of four wines and a look around the vineyards and cellar. If you choose to stay a while, there are cheese and sparkling picnic hampers available to enjoy in the gardens.
The restaurants
Restaurante Doña Paula
The rollicking reds produced by Viña Santa Rita, founded in 1880, are made to be savoured alongside a hearty Chilean lunch of tuna tartare followed by grilled ribeye at the estate’s signature restaurant. Situated inside a 19th-century building and named for former owner Paula Jaraquemada, who sheltered an army of rebels in the subterranean kitchen-turned-wine cellar during Chile’s independence movement, Restaurante Doña Paula spills out onto a courtyard bursting with blue agapanthus flowers.
Zinfandel
Fig and walnut trees shade a terrace that’s ideal for relaxed summertime lunching at this rustic restaurant attached to TerraMater Wines, where dishes such as beef with roasted native potato served with rocket and pear salad or grilled salmon with chickpea purée might be on the menu. The sustainability-focused boutique winery, founded by a trio of Italian sisters in 1996, also produces premium olive oil, available for purchase onsite alongside the estate’s wines.
The stay
Hotel Casa Real
Tucked within a beautifully landscaped 40-hectare park on the Viña Santa Rita estate, the former summer house of the winery’s founder offers 16 classic-style rooms and suites with modern bathrooms featuring amenities crafted from local grapes. “At breakfast we have freshly baked bread and marmalade, homemade from the estate’s oranges,” says the hotel’s Diego Abalos Aguirre. Beyond the light-filled dining room, opulent salons and leafy outdoor spaces offer atmospheric spots to crack open the bottle of Santa Rita red gifted to guests.
