If you’re flying into Santiago for a holiday then you are perfectly positioned for a short stay in the Casablanca Valley, one of Chile’s main wine regions. You could visit as soon as you arrive in Chile or, alternatively, keep it as a treat for the end of your holiday. Either way, if you like wine then a trip to the wine regions for some ‘world class wine tourism’ is a must. For even more travel memories, book a picnic in a winery or take a cycle through the vines – it will make the wine taste even better!
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The Chilean Wine Regions
Chile is a leading New World wine producer. Whilst the Spanish first brought vines to Chile in the mid-16th century, wine production really took off here after wealthy Chilean landowners visited France in the early 1800s. They brought established wine making techniques back from France, as well as new grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Sauvignon Blanc.
As Chile is such a long thin country, as mentioned in my blog, Travel Planning a road trip through the Chilean Lake District, then the country has several micro-climates across its length,which lend themselves to producing different types of wine.
The Central region around Santiago is scattered with wine growing areas including: Maipo Valley (the closest wine region to Santiago), San Antonio Valley, Aconcagua Valley, Cachapoal Valley, Colchagua Valley and the Casablanca Valley.
To be honest, you could pick any one of the above if the purpose of your visit is to sample good quality wines not too far away from Santiago. I’m not sure why we chose the Casablanca Valley specifically, but I’m glad that we did.
The Casablanca Valley
The Casablanca Valley is located about 80 km west of Santiago, and 40 km southeast of Valparaiso. It only takes about 45 minutes to drive to the Casablanca Valley from Santiago, making it an easy visit before or after your flights.
As the Casablanca Valley sits close to the Pacific Ocean, it benefits from a cool marine climate, ideal for making crisp, white wines such as Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
The area was only developed in the 1980s, and so is a relatively new wine region. The area also makes decent Pinot Noir wines.
Which winery to visit?
If you’re looking simply to taste some good quality cool climate wines, then you could head to Loma Larga, Kingston Vineyards or William Cole Vineyards which are established names.
However, when researching options in the area, I was looking for a good experience over and above wine tasting – a picnic, cycle or something similar.
Winery Casas del Bosque
Cycle through the vines
Winery Casas del Bosque won our vote as it offered options for cycling through the vineyards, as well as wine tasting, wine tours and picnics.
You could book a Self-guided Bike Tour or Guided Bike Tour. We chose the self-guided bike tour so that we could take things at our own pace.
Arriving at Winery Casas del Bosque, you are met by a very attractive complex of white buildings, surrounded by gardens in front, and vines to the right.
Checking in at Reception for your bike ride, you will be provided with bike, helmet and bottle of water. They will provide you with a map of the vineyards and tell you how to connect with QR codes on the information signs along the vineyard trails.
There’s a Beginner route through the vines of 4.8 km long, and an Advanced route of 6.6 km long including one large hill up to Casa Mirador, the highest point of the vineyard. I confess to having walked my bike up the hill (even this was hard work in the heat), but the views at the top were worth it, with rows of vines stretching across the valley in front of the snowcapped Andes mountains.
After returning the bikes to reception, we were each rewarded with a complementary glass of cold Sauvignon Blanc (Signature Collection) which tasted so wonderful after the hot bike ride.
Have lunch at one of the restaurants
There are three restaurants which you can book at Casas de Bosque (which means ‘forest houses’):
- Tanino – a dining room and terrace overlooking the beautiful gardens. We chose 3 courses with wine pairing.
- Botanico – using produce from the on-site organic garden in Italian style dishes.
- Casa Mirador – 9 course tasting and pairing menu with incredible views.
Then, if you want to enjoy the environment a little longer, you can sit in the gardens until you’re ready to leave. We liked the sign at the entrance saying:
“A book opens the mind, wine opens the heart”
Where to stay in the Casablanca Valley?
My vision was to book accommodation on-site at one of the vineyards, but I struggled to find anything suitable, or anything with availability.
In the end we booked two nights at Casona El Refugio through Booking.com.
The property was built in Hacienda style around a swimming pool with some nice gardens. Christian, the owner very helpful and arranged dinner to be cooked for us – there is no restaurant per se, but a resident chef who will make meals if notified in advance.
Getting around
You could hire a car at Santiago Airport and make your way out to the Casablanca Valley yourself.
Alternatively, you can use taxis – we booked a taxi from the airport through our accommodation and then used a local taxi to get the winery and back.
Visit the Casablanca Valley from Santiago
Alternatively, you prefer to stay in Santiago and travel out to the Casablanca Valley on a day trip, then you could book an organised tour through Get Your Guide such as this one:
We preferred to have the experience of staying away from the city with the freedom to explore at our own pace. However, the advantage of a tour is that you might be able to visit several wineries during the tour, without needing to worry about designated drivers or getting taxis between them.
Final thoughts....
Having two nights in such beautiful surroundings before we flew home was a blessing, as we didn’t want our Chile trip to end. Staying in the Casablanca Valley was a perfect way to end our road trip through the Chilean Lake District, before catching out international flight home.
One thing is for sure, there are plenty more wineries to try out, should we return to the region at any point in the future.
Thank you Chile, you were fantastic!
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