Organised by WineMine Lda., the Silves based wine distributor, a group of 24 WineMine Club members recently returned from a fascinating tour of wine regions in Chile and Argentina.
The group set off from Lisbon for Santiago, Chile via Madrid and based at the Santiago Sheraton, they visited the vine growing valleys north of the capital. This was followed by a few days in the more southerly valleys based in Curico. The wineries visited ranged from the impressively massive but elegant Concha e Toro, the largest in Chile, to the tiny but charming family owned Astaburriaga.Sumptuous lunches had been arranged at the vineyards themselves or at great local restaurants.
A day with no wine tasting enabled members to enjoy the fantastic 450km. drive over the Andes to the Argentine wine capital of Mendoza. Reaching a height of well over 3.000m, the road passes through stunning scenery on both sides of this fabulous mountain range.
From Mendoza, the group visited a number of Argentine wineries, one of the highlights of which was a tasting and superb Argentine ‘parrillada’ lunch at the impressive and elegant Finca Flichman, owned by the Portuguese Sogrape Group of Mateus fame.
And the wines? There were some astonishingly good wines in both countries, as well, of course as some rather ordinary ones. Chile probably has the edge in whites with some excellent Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs.Both countries make some first class reds, but Argentina, with much bigger producers but less well known in the export market, produces some quite surprising world class wines.
The tour concluded with a flight to Buenos Aires, where members enjoyed a few days in this elegant, fashionable and amazingly good value for money Latin American capital, before the long flight back.
For more information about WineMine Club activities, please call 282 441 036.
