Chile: Wine, Food, etc!

[gold1959]

We will (G-d willing) be in Chile for a wine-trail/foodie trip in December. Hubs is a chef- I'm his "foodie". LOL :rolleyes: This is a sponsored trip and we'll be blogging/filming much of it for the sponsor. (We're cruisers, too, which is why I'm on CruiseCritic...) As we've never been to Chile, I am in the process of researching, and any suggestions as to wine, food, what & where to eat, drink, buy, see, do, tour recommendations, contacts, etc. will be DEEPLY appreciated!

We LOVE things like: cooking classes, wine tastings, local gourmet cuisine, but also great and interesting local "street food", & special, unique edible stuff a la Andrew Zimmern :D, staying at wineries and farms, ATVing, JetSkis, ziplining, horseback riding, music, dancing, art & local craft, etc. (I'm an illustrator and USCG Artist & will be bringing my watercolors and hoping for some time to paint...) We're not big into hiking- we prefer motorized vehicles & adrenaline rushes... ;) LOL)

Thanks!

[pmacher61]

I have not spent a lot of time in Chile. Been there on visits/cruise stops occasionally over the past 10 years. I did live in Vina del Mar for a couple of months back in 2001. Appropos of your inquiry about food, I recall a day trip into Santiago at that time and having a cafe table conversation with a married couple who turned out to be US diplomats stationed at the embassy in Santiago. She was Attache for Cultural Affairs. He was not so "culturally" designated. When the conversation turned to food, I inquired of their impressions of the cuisine of Chile. I never forgot his reply. "Chile has fabulous soil to grow grass ideal for cattle and sheep ranches, wonderful veggies and fruits not the least of which are grapes for wine, and a 4000 mile coast line to make easily available all kinds of fresh seafood. What the Chileans lack is a palate to combine the ingredients tastefully."

I have to agree. The cuisine is unremarkable save for the national dish, curanto, a weird concoction of seafood, meat/pork, and veggies. I thought it was yucky. See http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080222082439AAWqDBZ

[Keith1010]

Will you be able to post a link to your blog?

 

Keith

[houtbay]

We will (G-d willing) be in Chile for a wine-trail/foodie trip in December. Hubs is a chef- I'm his "foodie". LOL :rolleyes: This is a sponsored trip and we'll be blogging/filming much of it for the sponsor. (We're cruisers, too, which is why I'm on CruiseCritic...) As we've never been to Chile, I am in the process of researching, and any suggestions as to wine, food, what & where to eat, drink, buy, see, do, tour recommendations, contacts, etc. will be DEEPLY appreciated!

We LOVE things like: cooking classes, wine tastings, local gourmet cuisine, but also great and interesting local "street food", & special, unique edible stuff a la Andrew Zimmern :D, staying at wineries and farms, ATVing, JetSkis, ziplining, horseback riding, music, dancing, art & local craft, etc. (I'm an illustrator and USCG Artist & will be bringing my watercolors and hoping for some time to paint...) We're not big into hiking- we prefer motorized vehicles & adrenaline rushes... ;) LOL)

 

Chile is a wonderful country for great food and wine.

Chiloe has some of the best seafood and a bowl of Curanto should not be missed. If you are in the la Serena area there are some great seafood places on the beach in Tongoy.

From La Serena a trip up the Elqui Valley is not only spectacular but also gives you the opportunity to try some of the great wines. Our favorite is from Antakari.

Also make a stop in Pisco Elqui at Disteleria Mistral for the best pisco and lunch and maybe let them bottle one of their great liquers for you.

If you want some adventure there are some spectacular mountain roads like Paso del Aqua Negra. The scenery is breathtaking, we also took one through Vicuna to Ovalle in a rental car although I think after the experience a 4 WD would have been more suitable. Enjoy

[Aussieflyer]

We have just had dinner at a small restaurant in Santiago, El Jardin del Epicuro, in Providencia. Excellent and interesting dishes and good service. Run by young people with a passion for food. Worth looking at IMO

[gold1959]

Thank you so much! I am definitely printing this page out for my "reference book"!

I've contacted several companies about day and overnight tours of the wine trail (we will have about 10 days in December to "do" the wine trail), and while they all sound wonderful, the prices I'm getting are rather insane ($1000+ a day?! :eek:). Everyone insists we do "private" tours- and we think it'd be more fun to share the experience with other like minded folks, and thus make the tours more affordable for everyone... I had two tour companies get rather snippy with me when (I guess ) they realized we weren't going write them a blank check!

If anyone has any recommendations or contacts along thse lines, I'd deeply appreciate them... We'd love to be able to stay at some of the wineries that have lodging/dining, take cooking classes, go to the markets, etc... and it's my understanding that you do have to have appointments at the wineries in Chile, and can't just "turn up"...

Does anyone know if these the sorts of tours we could book once we're in Chile (for perhaps a lot less...), or do we truly have to set them up from the USA?

While I speak some Italian, neither of us speak Spanish, and I'm not sure we want to just rent a car and drive- although we have done that in Korea, etc. and had a wonderful time... hubs can drive Anything Anywhere & drives stick; I'm more the "automatic" type :rolleyes:; would we be crazy to do that? Is driving on the right side like in the USA? Is the driving "normal" or "insane"? :D LOL

Thanks again for all you help!

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Chile is a wonderful country for great food and wine.

Chiloe has some of the best seafood and a bowl of Curanto should not be missed. If you are in the la Serena area there are some great seafood places on the beach in Tongoy.

From La Serena a trip up the Elqui Valley is not only spectacular but also gives you the opportunity to try some of the great wines. Our favorite is from Antakari.

Also make a stop in Pisco Elqui at Disteleria Mistral for the best pisco and lunch and maybe let them bottle one of their great liquers for you.

If you want some adventure there are some spectacular mountain roads like Paso del Aqua Negra. The scenery is breathtaking, we also took one through Vicuna to Ovalle in a rental car although I think after the experience a 4 WD would have been more suitable. Enjoy

[gold1959]

Thank you! That sounds like just our kind of place! :D

 

We have just had dinner at a small restaurant in Santiago, El Jardin del Epicuro, in Providencia. Excellent and interesting dishes and good service. Run by young people with a passion for food. Worth looking at IMO

[gold1959]

I read the "what is the national dish of Chile" thread on yahoo... we will definitely have to take a shot at trying it all! :D

 

I have not spent a lot of time in Chile. Been there on visits/cruise stops occasionally over the past 10 years. I did live in Vina del Mar for a couple of months back in 2001. Appropos of your inquiry about food, I recall a day trip into Santiago at that time and having a cafe table conversation with a married couple who turned out to be US diplomats stationed at the embassy in Santiago. She was Attache for Cultural Affairs. He was not so "culturally" designated. When the conversation turned to food, I inquired of their impressions of the cuisine of Chile. I never forgot his reply. "Chile has fabulous soil to grow grass ideal for cattle and sheep ranches, wonderful veggies and fruits not the least of which are grapes for wine, and a 4000 mile coast line to make easily available all kinds of fresh seafood. What the Chileans lack is a palate to combine the ingredients tastefully."

I have to agree. The cuisine is unremarkable save for the national dish, curanto, a weird concoction of seafood, meat/pork, and veggies. I thought it was yucky. See http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080222082439AAWqDBZ

[gold1959]

We recently returned from our 2 amazing wine-foodie weeks in Chile, and I just did a blog post (with lots of photos and lots of links) on our "We Live In The Country!" blog: http://www.southernwestvirginia.blogspot.com The food (especially the fabulous seafood) was excellent, and the wine, of course, was exceptional. And we got to see the penguins! :D We rented a car, and so were able to get "off the beaten track", took several winery tours, did a rather amazing olive oil tasting, and took cooking classes in both Valparaiso and at Mapuyampay, a truly wonderful "Gastronomic Hotel" run by an excellent chef, where my husband (and I) learned to make Chilean dishes he has added to the menu of our Inn in West Virginia! I think the lovliest thing, however, was finding out how truly NICE the Chilean people are! Our only regret is we didn't have at least another week to spend there! If you have any questions, feel free to contact me- and if you have the chance to go to Chile- GO!!!!!

Elisse