© S. Peter Smith, 1997
Peter's report from Chile, where he was visiting vineyards, preparing for The Harvest Tour, March 8-15, 1997.
Wild, lush, exciting and wonderfully hospitable!
The most intriguing wine country I've been to.
Chile is filled with vivid contrasts and paradoxes as the economy explodes and foreign investors pour money into the wine business. I can't wait to taste the grapes at Harvest - so much to discover!
Horses still plow the fields as old wooden rauli vats are dismantled to make way for ranks of new stainless fermenters. The meeting of technology and tradition. Hot days and cold nights. High yields and yet complex, concentrated wines. A land of contradictions that forces you to re-think!
Chile has been producing excellent value, more-than-decent wines for several years. It's also common knowledge that there's no Phylloxera, and they still use original French varietal rootstock brought over in the 1800's. The country has fertile soils, a perfect climate, lots of new equipment and unbelievable potential.
This is just the tip of the iceberg in what's going on in a truly spectacular country. To get a feel of the energy and promise of the place, you can ride up the coastal mountains on horseback and contemplate the acres of vines basking in the glow of a setting sun in the valley below. Listen as Chile's top oenologists matter-of-factly explain the natural conditions which turn the "conventional wisdom" of French winemaking on it's head.
Enjoy gracious Chilean hospitality as you lunch with the owners of Discover Wine (makers of Montes Alpha), or with the Undurraga family in their private garden. At dinner in the home "Choco" Achurra, of one of Chile's top "traditional" winemakers we learn why he has almost none of the pests and diseases we take for granted in the vineyard - the vines everywhere are plainly bursting with health, as the harvest begins. Dinner under the stars in the garden of Luis Guell's family Hacienda at La Fortuna is an enchanted evening you'll never forget.
Chile is over 4,000 miles long, with a wealth of things to see and do besides wine: deserts, lakes and glaciers - even on down to Antarctica or out to Easter Island. Why not stay after the harvest in March and explore more of the wonders of Chile. You won't be able to stop telling your friends about this trip, as you discover a great country on the brink of taking the wine world by storm!
Elegant aristocratic haciendas contrast with bustling, cosmopolitan Santiago. Sunny Pacific shores a few hours from the hot-springs of the volcanic Andes. Dry brown hills standing guard each side of the verdant central valley.
If you've been on a tour, thanks for letting us share a little of France with you - if you haven't been yet, try it: we think you'll really like it - ask those who've been!