My fiancee and I will be honeymooning in Santiago in mid September, and I see that most wineries require advance notice for tours/tastings...anyone with any advice in HOW I can make these arrangements in advance from the USA?

Also, we rented an SUV, but we're not familiar with Chile so we're having trouble mapping out day trips to vineyards because we don't know distances and timing...any thoughts? We'd love to find a quaint little hotel, one day-trip out of Santiago and do an overnight, but we're really having a hard time devoting time to planning this out AND trying to do all the last minute wedding stuff.

HELP!

Vitello76:

You don't say what day(s)of september you are going to be in Chile.

September is a very special month in Chile as is Independece (sept 18)week. There is alot of events going on during that week all around Chile, and many people also go in or out of Santiago.

visit www.visitchile.com... Most of the famous vineyards are situated within a 50 km radius around Santiago.

Viña Errazuriz
Viña Undurraga
Montgras
Bisquertt
Viu Manent
Viña Santa Rita

You might want to visit www.sernatur.cl
If because of timing you don't get things ready, just stop by the office of Sernatur in Santiago,located in the beautiful "BARRIO PROVIDENCIA" I always recommend them as they are very helpful, plus they speak English and have all the resources to make your trip an excellent one. They are the national turism office from the goverment(SERNATUR).

If i were you I would visit the San Pedro winery very large and extremely good wine - Castillo de Molina is without a doubt a top wine.

Thank you vivir and claydine!

To answer your question, we're going to be in Santiago at the San Cristobal Tower from September 12th-18th (then off to Argentina for a few days too!). It looks like there will be plenty to do, we just want to make sure we make the best use of our time, to enjoy and experience Chile.

And we really love red wine...

You can make tour and tasting arrangments via email. If you don't speak Spanish, many wineries have someone will respond to English inquiries. If you have a specific date and time you would like to visit, include those in the email or just say you will be visiting from x to y dates and ask if there are any tours available.

I have recommended this book for wineries in Argentina, but it has an extensive section on Chile as well: Vineyards, Wines and Wineries of South America. It is published by the Austral Spectator and is available on Amazon (bilingual English and Spanish). It includes maps, lists websites and email addresses and has a detailed page for each winery -- well worth $27.

When you get to Santiago, head to one of the good wine stores where you will be able to find maps and guide books that are not readily available outside of Chile.

Hi Vitello76
Santiago is a beautiful city
near the city this the vineyards
Cousiño Macul and Concha y Toro.to one hour of Santiago,both give to a exelent tour,where you can to see the plantations intalaciones and warehouses.
on the feet of the mountain of the Andes.the excellent red wine is obtained.you can to prove in tour of the vineyards.if it needs to make the trip with a company it can visit this web site www.enaturchile.com