Day 9 in Chile - Jan 5, 2010 - Wine Tasting and 'The Good Guys'

Veronica and Juan Carlos had to both work so Juan had plans to take us to a local winery. After a morning swim and lunch, we drove to the winery which is right in Talegante. It is called Undurraga. Here is a link -->> Undurraga Winery . It is actually within walking distance from the house but we decided to drive because I knew I'd be purchasing some wine and didn't want to have to carry it. Juan, me, Ron and Rachel went. Will didn't want to go; he wanted to stay and play on the computer. I didn't mind letting him stay at the house. I just told him he could not swim. We asked the housekeeper, Julia, to let us know if he tried to go into the pool.

Our reservation for the tour was at 2:30. There were only the 4 of us in the English group so we had our own personal tour. Our guide's name was David and he spoke perfect English. Better than Juan even. He had really no accent at all and I could tell he learned it in the US. He had spent 2 years in Miami on an exchange also! He is now studying at a university in Santiago and working at the winery as a guide.

So, first to the vineyard. He explained the science of growing the grapes. It was quite interesting. I had no idea there was so much care and specifics needed to ensure the grapes produce the appropriate yield. In the vineyard where we were, they grew mainly grapes for pino noir. In others of their wineries they grow other types of grapes for different wines. I believe Undurraga has ten wineries throughout Chile. They export about 80% of what they produce, mainly to Europe. I have not yet looked in the stores here for this wine but I will. Next, we went inside to see the fermenting room. Another precise and involved process to ensure everything is perfect. Next, he showed us the wine cellar where the reserves are held. I think I recall he said the longest that a wine is kept in a barrel is 8 years.

Finally, after about a 90 minute tour, we got to taste a few of the wines. I bought a couple of bottles; some to drink in Chile and some to take home with us. I really liked the experience. When I went with Julie to wineries in Napa, all we did was taste wine! I definitely recommend the tour. Salute!

After our pleasant trip to Undurraga, we went back home and of course had to try one of our purchases. We opted to try the sparkling Royal Brut since it was a warm afternoon. Very nice. The evening plans were to go to a traditional Chilean restaurant in Santiago. Veronica came home from work and we got ready to go. We were to go to Juan Carlos' office to pick him up. We went in two cars and drove into the city to make our 8:00 PM reservation. The restaurant was called Los Buenos Muchachos (the good guys). It was a very large place and they have live entertainment each night. Regional Chilean dances were performed on the stage. Three sets of dancing were done: one each from from the North, the South and the Central region (also the National dance). It was very colorful to watch. Juan Carlos actually went on the floor and did the Central/National dance. Our dinner was great. I had beef fillet with a wine and mushroom sauce. Excellent. Several others had Lomo a lo Pobre which is beef fillet with a fried egg. Here is a link to the restaurant-->> Los Buenos Muchachos Of course we had Pisco Sours and Wine. After our wonderful dinner and the entertainment, we all danced to to latino music again. So much fun!!! Juan and Rachel went to another party and left soon after dinner. We went home with Coke, Vero and Juan Carlos. Back to Talegante and to bed. One more full day in Chile left.....