“What did you hope to see in Chile?” my dad asked while I was lying in bed icing my foot at our Santiago Airbnb. Well, we had hoped to hike around Patagonia, but thank goodness we decided to hold off on that until we could organize a group trip like we did for Machu Picchu. So, in the end, Santiago became our home for the week to be able to dive into the Chilean wine scene while I rested my foot for one more week. Even more importantly, our friends, Jeff and Dhruv, had picked Santiago and Easter Island for our Thanksgiving reunion. We promised them after our fun Thaigiving last year that we would do our best to meet them at a new destination this year. And we were able to make it happen.
We arrived in Santiago a few days before Jeff and Dhruv and decided to kick-start the wine tasting at the largest South American winery, Concha y Toro. We could get to the winery using public transport and thought it would be an easy activity with crutches. Well, I was completely wrong. When we arrived, the staff warned us that the tour of the gardens, vineyard, and cellars covers a lot of ground fast and that I would be better off if Jimmy pushed me around in a wheelchair. Everything started off great with a nice stroll through the gardens and past the original home of the founders with mountains in the distance.
We then learned about their massive vineyards all over the world including some in the US, Argentina, and the one here in the Maipo Valley.
In this beautiful setting, we got to try our first wine and then realized that this wine tour and tasting was going to be unique and a bit more of a challenge than we realized. In all the wine tours we have done in the US and throughout the world, we have never seen a traveling wine tasting. Normally, you do a tour of the grounds and then taste the wines in a specially designed tasting room. Easy in a wheelchair, right? Of course, Concha y Toro wanted to be different. We got to try one wine in the vineyard, another wine on a beautiful terrace, and then the final tasting in the cellar. Neat idea!
We would have really enjoyed this had I not been in a wheelchair. But, logistically the wheelchair became problematic when I had to hold on to a glass of wine plus my crutches while Jimmy had to push me and hold his glass (plus the take-home boxes they gave us for the wine glasses). Maybe this would have been feasible on a smooth, flat surface but throw in a hill with rocky ridges and cobblestoned terraces, and we were a mess. Luckily, a nice couple from the US realized our dilemma and helped hold our wine glasses so I could just use my crutches on the uneven surface while Jimmy maneuvered the wheelchair. So, luckily, we were still able to enjoy our wine and had a bit of a laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation.
Our final stop on the tour was the famous wine cellar, Casillero del Diablo. Since the early days at the winery in the 1800s, legend has it that the cellar is watched over by the devil himself.
The Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon is popular around the world and has been one of my favorite red wines to pair with dark chocolate, so I was excited to see the birthplace of this great wine.
After the tour, we had a relaxing afternoon at the terrace restaurant sampling some of their high-end wines and savoring some exquisite cuisine. We started with the empanada sampler platter because it is essential to try empanadas in every South American country to see how they are different and who makes the best, kind of like our cinnamon roll hunt around Scandinavia.
For the main course, we shared one classy local dish, Patagonian lamb in a red wine sauce, and one typical homestyle dish called Pastel de Choclo. Imagine a South American version of Shepherd’s Pie, shredded beef layered with sauce and vegetables covered in a mashed sweet corn instead of mashed potatoes. The combination of salty and sweet was a winner.
Pairing the dishes with the perfect wines resulted in quite a memorable lunch.
Although we normally walk miles and miles when we visit a new capital city, the winery was our biggest outing as we decided resting my foot for Easter Island and our upcoming days with the boys was the utmost priority. We made short visits around town to see a few sights and gradually started testing my foot a bit more each day to see if I could get rid of the crutches for good.
One of our favorite spots in town was Cerro Santa Lucia, a large hill with a castle on the top that sits in the middle of downtown Santiago. This was my second day attempting a short walk without crutches. Unfortunately, the elevator was out of service, and the only way to the top was a LOT of stairs. I was stubborn and decided to go for it. I had worn my trusty hiking boots to make sure my foot had plenty of support. I (very slowly) made it to the top with no pain! The views were worth it.
At the top, we cooled off with a refreshing traditional Chilean drink, mote huesillo, a peach juice drink with wheat at the bottom that was surprisingly delicious.
Now, the way down was a bit harder on my foot, but I could use the handrail as a crutch at least. So, that was the end of our day. Touring a city with an injured foot is tough, but luckily we have the time to spread it out. Some of the other city highlights included a cable car ride to the top of San Cristobal hill and the Immaculate Conception statue, the oldest church (and structure) in town, one of the most beautiful post offices in the world, and a tour of Nobel Prize winner Pablo Neruda’s house La Chascona.
After visiting Pablo Neruda’s house, I was excited to go out to dinner and try Caldillo de Congrio. The Nobel-prize winning poet loved this fish soup so much that he wrote a poem about it.
Although we picked a restaurant that was highly recommended both by guidebooks and bloggers, we had quite possibly one of the biggest dinner fails of our trip (not surprising given our luck in Spanish-speaking countries). We started out trying to order shrimp empanadas because Chile seems to be one of the only South American countries that has seafood empanadas. Of course, the waitress said that they were out of the empanadas from their restaurant but could get some from their sister restaurant next door. Well, she failed to explain that the empanadas from next door were beef and something we didn’t recognize…not shrimp. Oh well…I was there for the conger soup. Jimmy’s fish dish arrived, and he immediately was not happy as the fish was a bit cold with a strange eggy crust. My soup was literally boiling in the pot when it arrived, so I sat there impatiently waiting for it to cool down.
When I could finally eat it, I dug in and found a shrimp. Hmm…that doesn’t look like conger. Dug some more. Hmmm….that looks like calamari…and rubbery calamari at that. And that looks like a mussel. I hate mussels. Maybe I was mistaken, but I thought conger was supposed to be a white flakey fish. I finally found some fish in my soup and took a bite only to have the roof of my mouth stabbed with a sharp piece of bone. Yeah, I was totally over my supposed poem-inspiring soup. I thought they made a mistake and brought me a mixed fish soup but couldn’t remember what was on the menu. When the bill came, conger soup was listed, so I didn’t complain to the wait staff and left thinking that I didn’t like conger soup. Of course, when I got home, I checked the menu online and, sure enough, the restaurant also offers a mixed fish soup. So, I totally got hosed and never got to try the famous soup of Chile.
We did have some other memorable dining experiences to make up for the Nobel prize soup fiasco. At an outdoor restaurant and shopping venue called Patio Bellavista, we enjoyed clams smothered in parmesan cheese and Pisco sours, two traditional Chilean foods, although Peruvians will also claim the Pisco sour.
We also sampled local street food including the chorillana and the italiano. Chorillana has strips of beef with onions piled on top of french fries and topped with a fried egg. This is the South American version of the Denny’s skillet or the Scandinavian hash, pyttipanna (Sweden)/biksemad (Denmark).
The Italiano is a hot dog that is smothered in diced tomatoes, avocado sauce, and mayonnaise. The toppings were 2x the volume of the actual hot dog. The flavors meshed well together, but I could have used a much larger meat to topping ratio. Different takes on the hot dog are popular all over the world, and this is the first time we have seen avocado as a topping. Their sauce combo was tasty, but the actual hot dog was lacking a bit.
From drunk food to fine dining, as all our friends know, we have to cover the spectrum of cuisine wherever we go. Jeff and Dhruv finally arrived, so we kicked off our week together with dinner at a restaurant rated one of the Top 50 in the world, Boragó. The mission at Boragó is to serve Chilean cuisine with a creative twist while using all local ingredients including many that are foraged throughout the diverse landscapes of Chile from the Atacama desert to the glaciers in Patagonia. They study past cultures from the area for inspiration and have learned much from the Mapuche, an indigenous, largely vegetarian group that lives in the southern lakes region.
The tasting menu includes 16 courses showcasing the biodiversity of the country paired with Chilean wine. The presentation of the dishes was extremely creative, and we were impressed with the novel ingredients used although we rarely recognized, and now can’t remember, most of the rare plant names. Execution of flavor was hit-and-miss depending on the dish, but with 16 courses, we had plenty that we loved while the others impressed us with the creative use of ingredients and beautiful presentation. Overall, the experience is one we will not forget, and we couldn’t have asked for better company to share this unique dinner.
One of the dishes that we were most impressed with was actually vegetarian. They foraged for different green vegetables that grow on the rocks in Punta de Tralca, a beach region on the central Chilean coast. The rock vegetable creations, including a creamy seaweed and the smallest asparagus I have ever seen, were organized by layers, and each preparation was served under a differently colored rock “chip”.
After my disappointment with conger soup, I was pumped that one of the dishes was conger. The delicate, white fish was cooked inside a casing of ashes under the hot coals in their roasting pit and served alongside an indescribable creamy dish with radish flowers.
Jeff and Dhruv had heard that one of the courses included edible soil. Alas, we were a bit disappointed (and maybe slightly relieved) that we didn’t get any. Some of the highlights that we did get included:
Kolof roots broth with edible flowers and black beans cooked over a rock (almost edible soil)
Roasted duck and Chilean morels hidden under red plum leaves soaked in apple cider vinegar on a miso made of murra, a local red fruit
Rose petal ice cream sandwich with an “ice brulee” (rock filled with two types of Patagonian foam and topped by an ice layer)
I wish someone had given us a heads up to take video for the finale. We were given cream-colored bite-size morsels that they titled “Cold glacier” and were told to eat them immediately in one bite. The moment we placed them on our tongues, smoke started coming out our noses and mouths. We were all cracking up…we had already consumed quite a bit of wine at that point. What a great first night out with the boys.
The highlight of our time in Santiago was a full-day wine tour to the Casablanca Valley with Jeff and Dhruv on our last day in town. We started at a boutique winery with a tour by an exceptional sommelier named Alejandra. She explained how their vineyard had experimented with microclimates created by the two hills and valley on their land. While most wineries in the area specialize in whites like Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, Loma Larga has established itself as a rebel in the area with award-winning Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cab Franc.
Our second stop was at another boutique winery called Bodegas RE that specializes in creative wine blends. We weren’t quite sure what to expect but were blown away by the combinations. We all really liked the Pinotel, a bold move to make a rosé by combining the sweet muscatel with the fruity, light pinot noir. My favorite was the Chardonnoir, a chardonnay and pinot noir blend. All three of the guys loved the reds the best and agreed that Doble, a blend of Garnache and Carignan, was the favorite.
The finale of our wine-touring day was lunch and a tasting at Casas del Bosque. The setting was just gorgeous, as was my company. Look at that view during lunch.
We splurged on a 4-course tasting menu with wine pairing. Of course you have to do the wine pairing tasting menu when you are at the #1 rated vineyard restaurant in the world. Yeah, Jeff and Dhruv don’t mess around on their restaurant selections. Our starters were steak tartare topped with quail egg paired with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc and then prawns paired with a buttery, oaky Chardonnay.
The main dish was pesto pasta with prosciutto paired with a light, fruity Pinot Noir.
For dessert, we had a moist brownie topped with dulce de leche and marshmallow cream alongside vanilla ice cream, an oatmeal crumble, and fresh berries. The rich dish was paired with a late harvest Riesling.
With the views, the delectable food, and the brilliantly paired wines, I can see how this restaurant earned the number one spot. Having great friends to experience the moment with was priceless.
We finished off our day with a stroll around the well-manicured gardens and vineyard as well as a tasting of more of their signature wines.
We tasted a lot of Carménère wine while in Chile, and the Casas del Bosque had an exceptional one. Carménère was originally a varietal found in Bordeaux, France; however, due to a phylloxera plague in the 1800s, the grape was presumed extinct. Chile had brought grapes over from France years before under the assumption that they were all Merlot; however, in the 1990s, they realized that they had Carménère vines mixed in with the Merlot vines. Today, Chile produces the vast majority of Carménère wines in the world.
We came to Santiago with high expectations for their wine and low expectations for their cuisine. Both ended up impressing us. Our first two days with Jeff and Dhruv were a blast. We always have so much to talk about when we only get to see each other every six months or so. Sharing two memorable meals and a few wine tastings together in Santiago was the perfect backdrop for us to share all our stories and catch back up with what is going on in our lives. Next up, the true adventure part of our time together begins as we explore the mysteries of Easter Island together.
Leave a reply