I was back in Chile for work two weeks ago and lucky to have some free time on Sunday afternoon. What should you do with free time when you are in Chile? Why, visit a vineyard of course!! I've always been a fan of the Casillero del Diablo wine, and now I have been to its birthplace!
We did the tour in Spanish, so I managed to get about 50% of the information. The problem I have is that while I can understand more like 80-90% of spoken Spanish, when I am on a tour, outside, with lots of things to look at, my brain can't focus. So basically, I can't multi-task in two languages yet. Oh well, I have a hard time paying attention in English too...so what did I really expect?
We started the tour on the grounds of the vineyard. This is the old summer home of the original owners and it is beautiful! There was a big house on the grounds that now only has a few offices, which is a shame. I would move here without a second thought!
Then we walked out to the vineyard and around all the different varieties of grapes growing there.
I like to think this little guy was watching over the grapes to make sure they come out just right for my next glass of wine.
After a little walking and talking it was finally time to taste some wine! Yummy and refreshing!
Then, on to the building where they store all of the wine. So many barrels, so little time...
And then, down into the dark cavern of the acutal Casillero del Diablo. This was a darkish cave that became pitch black dark when the turned the lights out on us and we watched a show about the legend on the far wall of the cavern.
The story is that after creating such a yummy wine, the winemaker came down to his cellar to find that thieves had robbed him of his best creations. In order to scare them off in the future, he created a legend that the cellar was possessed by the devil. One night, when the thieves came back, he was waiting and made lots of scary devil noises to scare them away. And that's how you got the Casillero del Diablo.
After the song and dance? Why, that would be more wine tasting of course! This is me and my manager Maria. I'm lucky to have such a fun travel partner for work!
We sprung for the extended tour which included then MORE wine tasting paired with some yummy cheeses and bread. This was with a sommelier who told us all about the wines, their flavors, colors etc. Honestly, I really like wine, but I cannot distinguish all of the flavors, smells, etc. I just know that they taste yummy!
So, after this very educational and tasty tour, I have decided that I am a big fan of Carmenere. And, thanks to Chile, we can still enjoy this type of grape/wine! It originated in France, but a plague swept through in the late 1800's that extinguished the grape variety from the European continent. Luckily for me, at some point the plant had been brought to Chile, but no one really knew that. And the Chileans did not know they had Carmenere, but thought it was more of a Merlot variety. A savvy French dude (sorry, this is the rough 50% Spanish to English translation) came to Chile and realized that the grape variety had survived! Hooray! So, today, the majority of Carmenere comes from Chile. And there's your educational lesson for the day!
-Amber
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