Chile Tour 2 Day 3

On Day 3 we packed our coats and scarves and headed to the coast, to the San Antonio and Leyda regions south of Valparaiso.

Our first visit was to Casa Marin – established in 200 by Maria Luz Marin, the first female agronomist and oenologist in Chile, who was a respected wine maker for other wineries, but was then generally considered mad by her peers when she set up a winery only 4km from the Pacific Ocean. Too cold, she was told, too windy, no grapes would grow.

Well she proved them wrong and Casa Marin now produces some of the best wines in Chile. The maritime influence certainly makes for challenging growing conditions – a shorter growing season, constant sea breezes, and massive variations in terroir even within small vineyards.

But what a place of beauty, and what healthy vines we saw as we walked into the vineyards from the winery, and then by minibus to the hillside, with views out to the Pacific, and some very well situated wine barrel chairs on the terrace of the B&B cottage.
Our guide, Mathilde guided us around the vineyards, the winery – where labels were being applied to bottles by hand (a job none of us volunteered for), the mosaics and statues made by Maria Luz’s sister, and she oversaw our pre-lunch Sauvignon Blanc with some empanadas, and then described the wines we were drinking with our lunch – including a sublime ceviche.

 

 

 

 

Maria Luz Marin herself joined us after lunch and she shared some of the challenges of her early days. She knew the area from having holidayed there every summer and winter as a child, so she knew the land, she knew where to find water and was able to buy land with great aspect – this was the hilliest region we visited by far.
Any visit after such a fantastic experience would be challenged to beat it, but luckily we finished the day at Matetic, one of the best organic (and biodynamic) wineries in Chile. Yet more glorious scenery, with vineyards growing across the rolling hills and a warmer climate (8km from the ocean). We visited the biodynamic preparations room, and then the winery and cellar before having a tasting of eight interesting wines.