This morning we just rode the tour bus around town a bit and this is a guard from the Presidential Palace. As in so many other countries we have visited there have been military coups (recall the name Pinochet or Allende). There are very wealthy and very very poor people here - lots of them.
De Martino vineyard for a tour, wine tasting and lunch. It is about 30 miles south of Santiago in the Milpao Valley of Central Chile. Funny thing is my Black Box wine (yes box wine at home) is sauvignon blanc from Central Valley Chile but don't even know the vineyard as it is not evident from the box. This was the tasting table - 3 wines, a couple crackers and a description then on to tour the clay casks, wooden barrels and huge stainless steel containers.
Clay casks - only place where wine is made this way in small batches. Ross thought this very special wine smelled like "farts" hmmm - I guess with my chemistry background I would have said hydrogen sulfite or "rotten eggs" - but it tasted good.
There were spring flowers all over the vineyard - yes even thought it is in the high 80s this is spring and next comes summer. The seasons are the reverse of ours.
Checking out the vines. The guide is a beautiful young girl who lives 2 blocks from the vineyard so can walk to work.
The wines and the card to choose how you rate them.
A little lesson in the vineyard on how to make pisco sours, a traditional Chilean drink. Pisco (a brandy made from grapes), lemon juice and lots of sugar!!!
and how to make empanadas....
The dining table was outside with a huge grill on the end where they cooked beef, pork, chicken and ribs and we could have all that we wanted. There is certainly enough food for us everywhere and the portions are large but mostly the people here seem pretty trim and lean.
The old wooden cart in the vineyard that at one time carried the grapes from the vine to the vat!
The lunch building....
The vineyard....
And our last night here we checked out the rooftop pool area - wow what a view of the Andes and these little "beds" were quite comfy.
So tomorrow a flight to Puerto Montt, then bus to Puerto Varas for one night. It was settled by Germans after they were invited here in the 1930s so I guess we might get wiener schnitzel and schnapps for lunch tomorrow. We'll just wait and see. Our bags will get picked up at 5:30am - yes AM.
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