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Wine Tour 2018

By popular demand this year’s WineSellar wine tour is going to be in Chile!  This has become a very sought after wine country. 

While on our 2016 tour to New Zealand, and again, on our 2017 tour to Portugal, we were asked about South American and especially Chile as a wine tour destination.

The wines and food of Chile are great, we are also going to enjoy, the beautiful scenery, the people, their culture, and very, special wine & food experiences all along the way.

As well as being asked about going to Chile for a couple of years … we also love the wines coming out of Chile.  With 2,600 miles of coastline, Andean peaks, Patagonian fjords, Atacama (the driest desert on Earth) and the towering Moai statues of Easter Island, Chile is a destination with many options for travelers.  The country has a lot of beauty and diversity.

Now, of course we’ll not get to all of these regions and places … however, many of you like to travel before and after the tours so I wanted to mention all the extraordinary areas this country has to offer.

Chile is the fifth largest exporter of wine; ten times more that it’s neighbor Argentina, with the major wine regions all nearby Santiago, a very interesting, cultural, architectural and fun city.  Santiago will be a base city for us for several days in which we’ll venture out to the great wineries from there.  We’ll also being visiting other magical cities to visit the nearby wineries in those areas.

So, between the beautiful country, the great wine & food, friendly people, and delightful things to do and see … we know Chile is going to grant us a fantastic experience all round.

The dates & my contact information for the tours are at the bottom and, right now, we still have a few openings in both.  *Also information about why our tours are so special.

Starting and ending in Santiago, a modern city that has everything a vibrant city can offer.  Culture, Music, La Vega Central Market, Shopping, Great restaurants (they say they have the greatest chef’s in the world!) as well as amazing local foods, architecture from the old to the new, museums, and last but not least, a great base to explore the amazing and varied country side, outstanding wineries, and all it has to offer.   

We’ll be going in October and November (their spring) welcoming colorful blooms, while we will experience mild temperatures and fewer crowds.

Our first home base and last night, both in Santiago, will be the Ritz Carlton Hotel

One of the areas we’ll be venturing out to from Santiago is referenced as leaving one speechless.  Northern Chile's Aconcagua Valley is home to a generation of winemakers, creating wines in difficult conditions.  The cool-climate wines are labor-intensive but make an amazing match with the country's incredible seafood.  With the stunning landscape as a backdrop, the experience will leave you lost for words and wanting more.

Where we leave Santiago and head to the coast.

We will go to exotic Casablanca Valley for their exceptional wines and beautiful surroundings of the Andes.

I’m going to add a photo gallery at the end of other places we’ll be going to.

However, let me list some of the things we’ll do doing, seeing, and experiencing!

Beside the top notch and most exciting wineries and restaurants we’ll be eating and drinking at … many times they will combine for a special experience of private dining, at and with, the owners and wine makers throughout the wine tour.  We will also be staying at special, exquisite, and beautiful hotels during the tour.

We’ll do doing a city tour of Santiago.  We’re visiting the coastal house of Pablo Neruda, an eccentric famous poet who still intrigues many years after his death. Visiting a private museum that includes pre-Columbian anthropomorphic ceramics from all over Latin America; weapons, religious artifacts Mapuche silver, and a whole room of huasos (cowboy) gear.  Also, the headlining exhibit is the El Gran Rescate (The Big Rescue) of the 33 miners trapped 700m underground in San Jose’.  Having fun cooking with a renowned Chilean chef … three-course lunch with local ingredients while enjoying wines, on the terrace, overlooking the vineyards.  A carriage ride tour of the winery.  Picnicking in gardens, and a possible stargazing, one night, from the largest private telescope in Chile.   Also free time to explore the cities and towns … or some down time in which to just relax in the lovely hotels or soak in the beautiful country, culture, shopping, and anything else that peaks your interest!

Wine & your “just desserts” for joining us for the most Chilean fun, wine, food, laughter, friends and enjoyment you could have!

Also, Chile has an amazing amount of dramatic scenery and adventure.  Before and/or after your wine tour here are just a few of the things you might want to visit…

We already have several people who have signed up for the tours.  We’d love for you to join us!

The dates for the two tours:
1st group 21st October - 2nd November
2nd group 4th November - 16th November

If you are interested and/or want to sign up please let me know as soon as possible so you don’t lose out!  We only take a small group, on each tour, so we have the best possible experiences.  Let me know which tour you’d prefer and we’ll do our best to accommodate.  We’d be delighted to have you join us!   !Te veo allí! (See you there!)

Lori & Gary Parker

Contact me at:
Lparker@winesellar.com
Cell phone: 619-417-9558

*We opened The WineSellar & Brasserie in 1988.  We’ve been doing the tours since 2001.  My husband, Gary Parker …  wine expert, writer, wine judge, etc., and I lead the tours.  However, we often get a tour guide to accompany our tours for a completely comprehensive and richer tour.  With a guide we get a lot of history, fun facts and knowledge of our country through the eyes of a native.  Also, if translation is needed or special requests it’s nice to have someone who speaks the language and can get these types of things for us.

We’ve been to Bordeaux & Burgundy twice, The Loire Valley, Champagne twice, Brussels, New Zealand, Argentina, South Africa twice (including safari), Spain, Napa Valley, Italy twice, back to New Zealand this year and Portugal for our 2017 tour.

We like to keep our tours to no more than 14 people for a small intimate group size.  With the small group we can visit smaller boutique and hard to get into wineries, restaurants, hotels, and sights.  Wineries are happy to accept a small group, and many times, do something special for us such as have lunch and/or dinner, etc.  Especially as they understand that we are a fun group but also serious wine lovers.  They love showing their special wines off to people who appreciate them!

Also, with a small group it’s such a different experience than a large tour.  It makes the trips more intimate, people get to know each other and many life long friendships have been made on our tours.

We also enjoying staying several nights, in each region, so as not to spend to much time packing up and moving.  We relax and use our lovely hotels as our “base camps”!

Most of the people who join us are our customers at The WineSellar & Brasserie.  However, word of mouth has brought us people from outside of San Diego and even outside of California.  They are all wine and food lovers who are wine and food lovers, enjoy travel, new experiences, meeting new people, and enjoy having fun!  

We like to create a more high-end experience, in our tours, so we round them out with things of the country, not to miss sights, cultural things so we can feel like we really get to know the country and the people who live there.  We include not only finest dining and wine experiences, but also higher end & charming hotels, cheese and olive oil tastings, cooking classes, boat rides, sights, and some unexpected treats!  That being said, I always build in free time.  The sights and adventures we put into the tour are things that we know all our travelers will enjoy.  However, since each of us is different, we put in free time for people that have different things they like to see and do.  Some people love museums as where others love to walk the cities or villages, go shopping, and others like to see particular sights of the countries we go to.  

Join in the fun!