Chile, country of wines and mountains

The book in your hands offers you a journey through the heart of Chile.

Its main theme? The discovery of Chile's wine valleys and their vintage wines. What is the history of the Chilean wines, from the end of the sixteenth century when the conquistadors and missionaries brought the first wine stocks in their caravels? There would have been no empire without God, no mass without wine. Since then, and in particular the last twenty years, wine has become a familiar feature in restaurants the world over. Which are the regions that have sheltered these wine stocks? Who are the men and women that have cultivated them?

The itinerary proposed, between the Atacama and Patagonia region, between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, takes us from the Elqui to the Bio-Bio Valley, from a cellar nestled in a colonial mansion to an ultramodern winery.

Throughout the journey, the author invites you to stroll along, get to know the huasos, those country people, rest and relax on one of the many Plaza de Armas, take part in a rodeo, danse the cueca, to watch the sun set in Valparaíso Bay or perhaps spend the night in a casa patronal, a colonial house with adobe walls.

At the end there is a useful summary of about 40 vineyards : web site address, location, history, wine stocks and tourist attractions.