Today should probably count as the last real day of the trip, even though we don't get back to California until Tuesday...but tomorrow's grand plan consists of doing very little until it's time to go to the airport, since Joann appears to be getting sick and I really don't want to catch whatever she has. However, since today mostly involved drinking a lot of wine, I had a fine time on my last full day of vacation...and my liver, if nothing else, is ready to get back to the grind and start writing in earnest as soon as I'm back in San Francisco.
The morning started earlier than I'd have liked, since we had to get up and eat before our tour picked us up at 9am. But the breakfast at the hotel was good enough (especially after I figured out how to get pan sin glutino, which they turned into a ham and cheese sandwich for me), and I managed to put on the warmest outfit I could muster (sundress over leggings I'd already worn, plus flats that I would normally never wear with this dress, plus cardigan, plus light jacket). This wasn't nearly warm enough, since we could see our breath at the first winery, but as the day turned warmer, I was able to shed the sweater/jacket and enjoy the sunshine. Also, this is only the second time I've worn this dress; the first time was to my going-away party at work, so the drinks consumed per hour in this dress is probably an appalling average.
sssanyway, on that sobering (haha) note, let's move on. The tour took us to Casablanca Valley, which has been producing wine for around thirty years. It's just slightly too cold to be seen as an obvious place to grow wine, but they've figured out how to generally protect the vines and fruit from frost, and the results are pretty tasty. They grow a mix of red and white varietals, which was a bit surprising since I typically only see reds from Chile, but most of what we tasted was really good.
The first stop was the first vineyard in the valley; they're doing some interesting things with production, including using giant amphora (clay/concrete vats) that are egg-shaped in a way that encourages the fermenting wine to (very very slowly) stir itself, which obviates the need to siphon from the bottom of the vat and pour back over the top. I bought a bottle of their wine, and I also bought a scarf (see: packing, lack of).
Winery number two was smaller; they are owned by some Americans who moved down there, and 97% of their production is exported, so their style tends to be more Californian in nature because they want us to like it. And like it we did...their syrah was really quite excellent, and I liked their pinot noir even though I'm not typically a pinot fan. We also got to taste some juice that had only been fermenting since harvest a few weeks ago, which was interesting. By this point it was warming up, so we enjoyed our wine on the patio while looking out over their vineyard, which was lined with Chilean palm trees and graced with breezes from the Pacific a few miles away.
Winery number three was enough wine to put most of us over the edge; of the six of us, only Joann was truly pacing herself, and I may have been the only other person who didn't finish everything. The other attendees were an engaged couple from the Bay Area (you can't escape Bay Area people, it seems), a Brit who was in South America on business (the powder business, which apparently involves heavy equipment and not cocaine), and a young consultant from Texas (saying he's a consultant tells you everything you need to know about him), and we were all quite into the wines - and the wines were quite into us, since the pours were generous.
But the third winery included lunch with wine pairings, and even though I don't usually eat lunch at three p.m., this was well worth the wait. We sat on their patio as well, and it was all warm and lovely. They gave us a nice ceviche with a sauvignon blanc, followed by fish (I think? whatever the second course was, it wasn't all that memorable), a v tasty beef, and cheesecake for dessert (although I got fruit in deference to my sin glutino ways). Then we toured their vineyard while drinking more wine. I ended up buying a bottle of their carmenere, and I'm excited to see if I can get two bottles home in my suitcase. If one of them breaks, it will merely complete the destruction of my clothes wrought by a week of being wet/rotting, so whatever.
Most of us slept most of the way back to Santiago, but all in all it was a v. successful day. When we got back, we weren't hungry yet, so Joann and I hung out/rested in the hotel before seeking out a Chilean restaurant so we could try one of the famous local dishes - pastel de choclo, which is sort of a Chilean shepherds pie with corn mash instead of mashed potatoes. It came in a cast iron ramekin, and the corn mash was mixed with shredded beef - pretty tasty, albeit not crunchy enough for my post-wine desires. We also split some risotto (again, not crunchy), and it was hopefully enough to fortify us so that Joann fights off whatever she's coming down with and I don't get it from her.
Then we returned to the hotel, and I have messed around on the internet until now. And now, after a lovely couple of weeks away from real life, I must prepare to return to California and to the new life that awaits me - it's a little surreal that I walked away from my job and straight into my spinster honeymoon, which means that I'm going to have to institute some new routines when I get back to replace the things I'm used to doing. But I'm looking forward to all of it, and I'm excited (and scared) to get started on Rafe and Octavia's book in earnest. Goodnight!
The morning started earlier than I'd have liked, since we had to get up and eat before our tour picked us up at 9am. But the breakfast at the hotel was good enough (especially after I figured out how to get pan sin glutino, which they turned into a ham and cheese sandwich for me), and I managed to put on the warmest outfit I could muster (sundress over leggings I'd already worn, plus flats that I would normally never wear with this dress, plus cardigan, plus light jacket). This wasn't nearly warm enough, since we could see our breath at the first winery, but as the day turned warmer, I was able to shed the sweater/jacket and enjoy the sunshine. Also, this is only the second time I've worn this dress; the first time was to my going-away party at work, so the drinks consumed per hour in this dress is probably an appalling average.
sssanyway, on that sobering (haha) note, let's move on. The tour took us to Casablanca Valley, which has been producing wine for around thirty years. It's just slightly too cold to be seen as an obvious place to grow wine, but they've figured out how to generally protect the vines and fruit from frost, and the results are pretty tasty. They grow a mix of red and white varietals, which was a bit surprising since I typically only see reds from Chile, but most of what we tasted was really good.
The first stop was the first vineyard in the valley; they're doing some interesting things with production, including using giant amphora (clay/concrete vats) that are egg-shaped in a way that encourages the fermenting wine to (very very slowly) stir itself, which obviates the need to siphon from the bottom of the vat and pour back over the top. I bought a bottle of their wine, and I also bought a scarf (see: packing, lack of).
Winery number two was smaller; they are owned by some Americans who moved down there, and 97% of their production is exported, so their style tends to be more Californian in nature because they want us to like it. And like it we did...their syrah was really quite excellent, and I liked their pinot noir even though I'm not typically a pinot fan. We also got to taste some juice that had only been fermenting since harvest a few weeks ago, which was interesting. By this point it was warming up, so we enjoyed our wine on the patio while looking out over their vineyard, which was lined with Chilean palm trees and graced with breezes from the Pacific a few miles away.
Winery number three was enough wine to put most of us over the edge; of the six of us, only Joann was truly pacing herself, and I may have been the only other person who didn't finish everything. The other attendees were an engaged couple from the Bay Area (you can't escape Bay Area people, it seems), a Brit who was in South America on business (the powder business, which apparently involves heavy equipment and not cocaine), and a young consultant from Texas (saying he's a consultant tells you everything you need to know about him), and we were all quite into the wines - and the wines were quite into us, since the pours were generous.
But the third winery included lunch with wine pairings, and even though I don't usually eat lunch at three p.m., this was well worth the wait. We sat on their patio as well, and it was all warm and lovely. They gave us a nice ceviche with a sauvignon blanc, followed by fish (I think? whatever the second course was, it wasn't all that memorable), a v tasty beef, and cheesecake for dessert (although I got fruit in deference to my sin glutino ways). Then we toured their vineyard while drinking more wine. I ended up buying a bottle of their carmenere, and I'm excited to see if I can get two bottles home in my suitcase. If one of them breaks, it will merely complete the destruction of my clothes wrought by a week of being wet/rotting, so whatever.
Most of us slept most of the way back to Santiago, but all in all it was a v. successful day. When we got back, we weren't hungry yet, so Joann and I hung out/rested in the hotel before seeking out a Chilean restaurant so we could try one of the famous local dishes - pastel de choclo, which is sort of a Chilean shepherds pie with corn mash instead of mashed potatoes. It came in a cast iron ramekin, and the corn mash was mixed with shredded beef - pretty tasty, albeit not crunchy enough for my post-wine desires. We also split some risotto (again, not crunchy), and it was hopefully enough to fortify us so that Joann fights off whatever she's coming down with and I don't get it from her.
Then we returned to the hotel, and I have messed around on the internet until now. And now, after a lovely couple of weeks away from real life, I must prepare to return to California and to the new life that awaits me - it's a little surreal that I walked away from my job and straight into my spinster honeymoon, which means that I'm going to have to institute some new routines when I get back to replace the things I'm used to doing. But I'm looking forward to all of it, and I'm excited (and scared) to get started on Rafe and Octavia's book in earnest. Goodnight!
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