Viña MontGras, Colchagua Valley, Chile

Less than six-months after we began our Pan-American Highway journey south from Deadhorse, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina we crossed into Northern Chile at Arica.  It was just before the Southern Hemisphere approached its summer solstice. We were so happy to reach Chile, a wine-rich country where wine is a part of everyday life. From Arica to Chilean wine country we continued our travels along Pan-American Highway, Ruta 5 south through the Atacama Desert to Central Chile's wine country.

Colchagua Valley  © Spaswinefood

In fact the Colchagua Valley Wine Region was our first introduction to Chile's wine regions. Located 80 miles south west of Santiago the Colchagua Valley is one of Chile's best-known wine areas. The Colchagua Valley is within the Rapel Valley, which is part of the larger Chilean Central Valley wine region. The Colchagua Valley is especially well known for its Cabernet, Carménére, Syrah and Malbec. 

Arriving in the Colchagua Valley

From Los Vilos it was a long day’s drive to San Fernando. There we spent the night at the pet friendly Hotel Española. Next day, it was onto Santa Cruz in the Colchagua Valley where we enjoyed some of the best cuisine and wine in the world. One of our first stops was at Viñas de Colchagua tourist office in Santa Cruz where they provided us with information on hotels and the wine region.

Checking out Colchagua Valley Wineries

The Colchagua Valley is amazing. The wineries are so easy to visit, at a very relaxed pace. We took three days to tour the area. There are so many good wineries, restaurants and hotels in this wine region. During our stay we visited six wineries near Santa Cruz. We stayed at Hotel Entre Viñas, a wonderful boutique hotel with absolutely wonderful breakfasts. Hotel Entre Viñas is a converted old hacienda, dating from the late 1800’s. The hotel staff treated both our pets and us royally. We will always remember their wonderful hospitality. 

This article will feature our visit to Viña MontGras.

Entrance to Viña MontGras © Spaswinefood 

Visiting Viña MontGras

One of our favorite Colchagua Valley wineries was Viña MontGras. While we loved all of their wines we especially liked their Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah blend. The winery meets environmental and quality certifications. The winery also produce an organic wine called Soleus.  We were treated royally during our wine tasting. They even allowed us to bring our dog into their beautiful tasting room. It was our best overall wine tasting experience in Chile. In fact I can not imagine a better wine tasting experience any where. Sara T at Just Another Blog describes a similar experience at Viña MontGras.

Wine tasting at Viña MontGras © Spaswinefood

After wine tasting we bought their Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah blend, Malbec, Carménere, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines we purchased at Viña MontGras traveled well with us. We enjoyed the our purchases later during our Christmas and New Years celebrations. Now we a make a point to buy Viña MontGras wines whenever we get an opportunity (see scores and awards for Viña MontGras wines).

John tasting at Viña MontGras © Spaswinefood 

Karla, Sharon and Ewok in the Viña MontGras sales room 

From the Colchagua Valley we continued on our journey south to reach Ushuaia, Argentina by the summer solstice. Check out my travels in South America and elsewhere at Spaswinefood, or visit  my travel column at the Examiner. 

Sharon
Las Américas Trip

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