Concha Y Toro is Chile's biggest wine producer. We took a tour of one of their vineyards located in Pirque which is about an hour from downtown Santiago. In the U.S. you can find their wines under the labels: Frontera (cheap but tasty), Castillero del Diablo (people love the Cabernet), and Don Melchor (if you want to spend more than $100 for a bottle).
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| Carménère grape vine. This particular stock was supposedly lost until a Frenchman found it by accident hidden amongst Chilean merlot. It grows well in Chile because the bug that wiped out the Camenere in other countries does not thrive here. If you've never tasted it, it's similar to a Merlot. |
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| Entrance to the underground cellar. Casillero del Diablo means The Devil's Cellar. |
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| The Devil's Cellar. Apparently someone was stealing Don Melchor's wine and so he spread the rumor that the Devil lived down there and that the Devil was stealing the wine for himself. This rumor apparently put an end to the stealing. |
Santiago Central Cemetery
Santiago Smog from Cerro San Cristobal (St. Christopher's Hill)
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| We've been told this is one of only two pregnant Mary statues that rest above a city. Mary is, of course, pregnant with Jesus :) |
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| Mark's new/used bike. |
Thank you for letting us know which bun was in Mary's oven. I was wondering that.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what's more impressive, the awesomeness of your adventure or the totality of that smog... no, wait, I do. Your trip is better. (And please, we have two lungs for a reason. Just breathe with the left one when the air's bad.)
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