Wine Tasting in the Maipo Valley in Chile - Best Wine Tasting Tour in Chile

Today I want to share my guide to wine tasting in the Maipo Valley in Chile with you. This is the perfect place to visit in South America if you love beautiful scenery and great wine in equal measure.

Wine Tasting in the Maipo Valley

A lot of people have asked me why I chose to visit Chile. The answer is twofold. One, by February I find myself so tired of winter in London that I always try to take a trip to a warm destination at the end of the month.

Two, I made Executive Platinum status on American Airlines last year, and with it came eight complimentary one-way international upgrades to business class.

They were set to expire on February 28th of this year, and as of November I had only used six of them.

In order to get the most out of my last two upgrades, I decided to look for a warm location that was about as far from London as one could fly on American Airlines.

With its hot February weather, flagship lounge, and direct service to several US cities with flight connections to London, Santiago, Chile was the perfect choice.

I booked my flights, used my upgrades, and flew to Chile on Tuesday. When I arrived on Wednesday morning after a long layover in Dallas, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

No, I didn’t want to go straight to my hotel, The Ritz-Carlton, and nurse my jet lag. I wanted to go wine tasting in the Maipo Valley near Santiago.

Wine Tasting Tours in the Maipo Valley

I knew wineries in Chile required advance reservations, and I also knew I didn’t want to do the Napa Valley-style mega tours like the huge Concha y Toro winery.

So before leaving London I looked into several wine tours to see if any would be good options for wine tasting in the Maipo Valley.

Unfortunately, all the tours started at 9am, and my flight didn’t arrive until 10:15am. One tour company quoted me hundreds of dollars to pick me up from the airport and visit two of the three wineries on their tour. I almost choked.

Thankfully another company, La Bicicleta Verde, emailed me to say that while I wouldn’t have time to do their tour, I could take the Santiago metro to some of the wineries in the Maipo Valley and do an independent tour on my own.

They even offered to help me make reservations. It sounded like a good option for wine tasting in the Maipo Valley.

I was impressed with how helpful they were, and disappointed that the other company tried to charge me so much to visit wineries I could reach by public transport.

Maipo Valley Wineries

After landing in Santiago and clearing customs, I hopped on a bus that took me the 15-minute ride to the Pajaritos metro station. There I took the train to the Los Presidentes station and found myself in the Maipo Valley.

Instead of taking a taxi, I decided to walk from the metro to the first Maipo Valley winery, Aquitania. I figured I needed some exercise after my two long-haul flights.

At 40 minutes in length and 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 Celsius) in heat, the walk was a bit tougher than I thought it would be.

However, it was a great introduction to Santiago, especially given it went through a non-touristy part of the city.

As I walked along a graffiti-covered wall, I passed by everything from horse-drawn carts to small houses.

Soon I came across a bustling street market. Locals laid out blankets and sheets on both sides of the road and sold everything from children’s clothing to vegetables.

A few blocks later the urban landscape changed so dramatically it was as if someone had drawn an invisible line.

Gone were the older homes and the street market. In their place were sparkling new houses with high fences and manicured gardens.

The residential area quickly gave way to a shopping center, after which I saw the first sign that I was approaching my final destination: a Maipo Valley vineyard.

A minute later I was walking down a grapevine path to a winery complex surrounded by lush gardens full of pink hydrangeas. In the background were the Andes. They looked so close I felt like I could touch them.

Aquitania Winery in the Maipo Valley

Aquitania is a boutique winery that only produces a small number of cases a year. Its primary export markets are Brazil and Japan, but it also exports some wine to the US, China, and other international destinations.

My tour of Aquitania was led by Eduardo, the son of one of the winery’s founders. He took me and two others through their winemaking process, explaining everything from the fermentation to the barreling.

At one point we were even able to see a woman labeling each bottle by hand.

After the tour we stood around a table in the garden for a wine tasting in the Maipo Valley. We sipped a range of wines from Sol de Sol Pinot Noir to Paul Bruno Cabernet Sauvignon.

As we did, I stopped for a minute to look around and appreciate the beauty of the land, the stunning height of the mountains, and the great quality and taste of the wine.

After the tour of Aquitania, I went with the two others in my group to get a quick snack at a nearby shopping center before doing some more wine tasting in the Maipo Valley.

Cousino Macul Winery in the Maipo Valley

My next stop was at a medium-sized winery called Cousino Macul. Despite being bigger than Aquitania, it was still family-run.

Cousino Macul winery was only a mile away from Aquitania, but had a very different feel. The tour group was larger at this winery, and the production was, too.

The historic cellars were beautiful, though, especially with the flickering candles and ornate chandeliers lighting the way to the vaulted barrel-lined rooms.

At the end of the tour I enjoyed another wine tasting in the Maipo Valley before continuing on my way.

Santiago

After the tasting I went back to the metro, where my hotel was a short ride away. I checked into The Ritz-Carlton for a review stay. The staff welcomed me and offered me not one, but two complimentary massages at the spa.

My shoulders were aching from carrying my bags from London to Dallas and the Maipo Valley, and I couldn’t wait for the tension to be eased.

My first massage was a quick 30-minute relaxation massage, after which I went down to the hotel lobby to meet a fellow San Franciscan who’d found me on Twitter when I announced my upcoming trip to Chile.

As we settled in for cocktails and ceviche at a nearby restaurant, we discovered we grew up in neighboring towns and went to high schools right near each other. We even knew people in common. Small world!

After a great evening, I headed back to The Ritz-Carlton for my second massage. This one was a 50-minute aromatherapy treatment.