Santa Cruz - Chilean version

Santa Cruz,

And no, I don’t mean the ol’ hometown. I am talking about Santa Cruz, Chile. It is a good 220 km (or 140 miles) from Valparaiso in the southwest direction. If you connected a line from Santiago to Valparaiso to Santa Cruz and back to Santiago you would get a nice little triangle. This leg of the triangle did not consist of crazy uphill roads that narrowed to a point you could not imagine two cards side-by-side; however, it did consist of rural roads that Google Maps brought up as “F-74” but in reality were not labeled on any sort of exit in conjunction with being labeled sparingly (once per 10 km??) the entire ride. Thanks to a little Chilean Wi-Fi (thank you Claro network), we managed to only miss one turn and get to Santa Cruz in about 5 hours or so – thus averaging about 30 mph.

The stay in Santa Cruz, however, was quite special and unique all in one. Special in that rural Chile is absolutely gorgeous. Seemingly untouched landscape coats the terrain and outside of one 5km section, the rural roads were actually in pretty good shape where you did not worry about the tires. Green trees are laid out all over the land while the small towns you pass consist of simple homes, a few appearing shanty-like, but with the appearance that nobody was impoverished in a way that you say “they must be hungry”. Special also in that the agricultural area(s) where wine grapes and food is grown appears fresh and healthy rather than overused and tired. Both Patty and I commented on how healthy the agricultural land appeared in that it was so green and the plants appeared so healthy. The land was clean as well with no strewn soil, tools, sheds, or dust.

As for the wineries, Patty and I visited three of them in the Colchagua Valley – Vina Santa Cruz, Vina Montes, and Viu Manent. We did a personal tour at Vina Santa Cruz which consisted of a gondola ride with a view of the Colchagua Valley. It also provided a history of the various tribes that historically lived in the area as well as a view of the farmland in the vicinity. But the fun part was learning about the winemaking process - the reason steel barrels are used instead of oak for fermentation is due to the state-of-the-art shock absorbers that alleviate any potential earthquake damage (earthquakes are no good for French Oak barrels because they will rip up the barrels and wine will be wasted). I think that that was some good knowledge! They also trap excess sentiment and fruit skins and rather than throw it away it is all used for compost. The other highlight was the sheer beauty of the vineyard itself - one of the most gorgeous plots of land I have ever seen with green rolling hills and beautiful vineyards on this land owned by Vina Santa Cruz since 1998.

Vina Montes was a bit more random and less formal for rather than having an organized tour we just drove over because we were told that they were open for tastings. When we arrived, however, the gates were closed and we were a bit confused. Should we stand outside and wait for someone to come up to the gate? Shall we pass? I got my big rear-end up and went to the gate and after a little explaining, we were allowed in to go to the main building to have a tasting. Maria, who led our personal tasting, laid out 4 half-filled glasses of wine and led what was probably the most fulfilling and detailed tasting I’ve ever had. “What do you taste? What do you smell? What is the color? You mentioned you smell cherries, did you taste earth?” My 22 year-old self was laughing at my answers (“Definitely a citrus taste in the Sauvignon Blanc, but can’t pinpoint what it is…..a bit of Passion Fruit?), asking what happened to the guy that just enjoyed the wine if it tasted good without a care for the taste of black cherry, licorice, or pepper. Now I was talking about fruits and whether it had a hint of cinnamon or whether I could feel the spice in my nose. That being said, I loved our tasting and Maria was fantastic. She met us for a last second tasting, spoke in-depth about the wines and the history of the winery (23 years old), allowed us to better experience the wines with her inquisitive questions, and we bought a delicious bottle of Carmanere wine to boot.

Lastly, we had lunch at Viu Manent. This was like being a Viking, a king, a “I don’t know what”. I had the Poor Man’s Dish – Beef Tenderloin, sautéed onions, French fries, and about 4 delicious eggs – yes….4 eggs. This meal probably added a little clog to the arteries, but you know what the truth is? I do not care….because it was perhaps the best damn meal I had outside of the two bowls of seafood soup (next blog) and sea bass (next blog as well). Throw in a glass of Carmanere, and you got yourself a man taking good advantage of being on vacation. Fist pump….yes!!!! I did not leave any food for it was all eaten with pleasure. Throw in the fact it was outdoors on a 23 degree day (73 degrees Fahrenheit, thus absolutely perfecto) on beautiful rural vineyard grounds and that equates to a lovely day.

But enough about the wine, lets talk about the people of Chile thus far. What has been a consistent theme in Chile thus far is that people appear to appreciate simplicity versus lavishness and I say this not because money is not around but more as a part of a pragmatic culture. Children are appropriately dressed but without loud labels all over their clothes, pants fit around the waists of the boys, and you don’t see young girls trying to look 5-10 years older than they are. Service staff is friendly in a genuine way, leaving you alone after taking your order, explaining the menu in-depth like they studied it before work for a good 20 minutes, allowing you to stay at a restaurant and talk rather than move you out the moment you’re done, and they look you in the eye when they talk to you. And lastly, they don’t talk in a “corporate” tone, pamper you or kiss your ass in a way that feels disingenuous like some wait-staff you may deal with at a nice restaurant State-side. This is my kind of country and my kind of people – now I just need to learn their language so I don’t feel insecure about talking with them in more depth.

After two days in rural Chile - in the Colchagua Valley - enjoying some terrific bucolic beauty, it is off to the big house of Santiago. With 6+ million people and 45% of the country’s GDP, this booming 1700 foot-high South American city rests in a valley with the snow-capped Andes to the East and the Chilean Coastal Range to the West. Pan-American Highway 5 here we come!