263067 Wed Aug 13 19:23:15 -0700 2003 2 26 International 0 1389861 I am travelling to South America this week and plan to spent two days wine tasting in Chile (day-trip distance from Santiago). Would love to hear any suggestions on wineries to visit! I'm also trying to find out if there are any cute places to stay in the wine districts. Many thanks in advance! Katesy Wed Aug 13 19:23:15 -0700 2003 0 katesy 1 1389866 In case you didn't see it below, read the post I just wrote on Santiago, I included a link. The only two wineries I went to in Chile were Viña Concha y Toro and Viña Cousiño Macul. Even though they are both big and famous vineyards, they are very different and are both worth visiting. I know very little about wine, wine tasting and visiting vineyards, but the tours I took were very good as was all the wine I tried If you go to Concha y Toro (and assuming you eat beef) head to La Vaquita Echá for lunch, it is just down the road. See my other post about this place. Best steak I had in Chile. I don't really know about places to stay in the "wine districts" (although i am sure there are some nice places in the countryside) but there are a lot of wineries on the roads to the coast (to San Antonio or Valparaiso) so you should consider spending a night in one of those places to get out of Santiago a bit more. Valparaiso is a great city, my favorite place in Chile. Good luck, eat lots of avocado and drink lots of wine (and pisco) Dave M.P. Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/263048#1389815 Thu Aug 14 00:07:50 -0700 2003 1389861 0 Dave M.P. 2 1390714 Thanks for the suggestions! I'm just back from my trip now - Chile was just amazing, and I was thrilled with the shopping in Argentina. We made one especially fabulous discovery I have to share. The winemaker Vina Morande just (3 months ago) opened a restaurant in the Casablanca Valley called House of Morande. This restaurant is a glass house placed in the middle of a vineyard with breathtaking views of the mountains, vines, sunset... The food was the best we had in Chile, and perhaps one of the best meals I have had anywhere. We ate ceviche, machas, lamb, desert with succulent Chilean fruit, all of which was excellent. The olive oil they served with bread was delicious, and my friend and I were delighted to find out they sell it by the bottle, and we carried home 6 bottles to the US. Then there was the wine...anyway, great place right off the highway between Santiago and Valparaiso near Veramonte. We loved visiting Concha y Toro and Santa Rita as well. Santa Rita has a nice old-school restaurant and inn. I ate this "rib" entree (whatever it was got lost in translation) which was tender and delicious. No wine tasting there, however, which I found strange. Wed Oct 08 20:14:56 -0700 2003 1389866 0 katesy