Private Wine Tours in Chile

Bienvenidos! Let the South American wine adventure begin! Your private driver-guide will meet you at Santiago’s Arturo Merino Benitez Airport, named after the creator of the national airline Lan Chile, who is also credited with creating the Air Force in Chile.

Enjoy a pleasant drive with the Andes as a dramatic backdrop to Santiago’s upmarket, charming Providencia neighborhood. This is an ideal base for exploring the wine country over the next few days, enjoying nearby food and wine hotspots, relaxing, and taking interesting walks.

After settling into your boutique hotel Le Rêve (complete with country French décor and a delightful courtyard), your private guide will lead you on a personalized walking tour of Santiago. See some of the most interesting locations, such as the Mercado Central and the quaint cobblestoned Lastarria barrio. Learn about some of Chile’s most famous citizens, from the founder of modern Chile, Bernardo O’Higgins, to modern poet Pablo Neruda and acclaimed author Isabel Allende.

This evening you will meet your wine expert tour manager at the hotel, who will go through the trip and explain all the micro details, as well as introduce you to Chile’s leading wine regions (Maipo, Casablanca, Colchagua, and more) and representative grape varietals (such as Carménère and Sauvignon Blanc). Your welcome wine dinner will follow at the convivial Baco restaurant. Sip great vino and enjoy this first wine night!

This morning, you will travel to the Maipo Valley, which stretches east to west around Santiago like a fan. Many of Chile’s oldest wine estates are located there. Driving south, you will visit the lauded boutique wine estate of Antiyal, where Chile’s most famous winemaker, Álvaro Espinoza, is at the helm. He and his wife, Marina Ashton, co-owner, are considered to be Chile´s leading organic and biodynamic experts. On an owner-led tour, taste their three top red wines – Antiyal, Kuyen, and their mythical Pura Fé Carménère. This is an excellent introduction to premium Chilean red wine.

Then it’s on to your final destination today, Don Melchor winery, for a private wine-paired gourmet experience at Casona Don Melchor, hosted by a top sommelier from Concha y Toro. This smashing location is a MUST for Cabernet Sauvignon lovers! In the early evening, return to Santiago, and the night is yours at leisure. You might like to try the excellent Boragó restaurant, about a twenty-minute cab from your hotel.

Visit two of Chile’s best-known cool-climate wine regions today: Casablanca Valley and Lo Abarca, an area within the San Antonio Valley. Located west of Santiago toward the Pacific Ocean, these regions are influenced by the maritime climate and enjoy cooling coastal breezes that are key to the crisp Sauvignon Blancs and excellent Pinot Noirs made here. These valleys are dreamy to visit, with their lush vineyards and unspoiled scenery.

You will first visit the premium cellars at Villard Fine Wines. This French/Chilean operation was founded by Thierry Villard in the late 80’s and has become one of the finest small, high-end wineries in South America. The second generation now runs the property, and the wines have gone from strength to strength. Their icon wine line includes Tanagra (Syrah) and Arganat (Chardonnay), while their “Expression” line features a wider range of vinous jewels such as “Le Pinoit Noir”, “L’ Assemblage” and “Le Cabernet Franc”. Indulge in a premium wine tasting with the house Sommelier.

Carry on to the delightful Kingston Family Vineyards, one of the best properties in a valley with many excellent wine estates. The property’s American founder, Carl Kingston, arrived here in the early 1900s, apparently on a gold rush. Fast forward, and his descendants got into the fine wine business, and today the world’s top wine critics refer to Kingston as a First Growth. Located a mere 12 miles from the Pacific coast, the icy Humboldt Current flows through here and creates a microclimate perfect for fresh wines. Over a sublime five-course tasting lunch of seasonal specialties, you will taste some of their best bottlings, including their stunning Pinot Noir, cool-climate Syrah, and flagship Sauvignon Blanc.

Your last wine discovery of the day is at the boutique family wine estate at Casa Marin, one of our faves. Their white wines are possibly the best in Chile! This visit is warm and charming, and a great way to conclude a wine afternoon in Chile. For dinner tonight in Santiago, you could try the excellent Demo Magnolia.

Check out of your hotel and get immersed in the wine country for the coming days, staying first at VIK Chile and later at Clos Apalta Residence. First on the agenda: Cachapoal and Colchagua, both fabulous Chilean wine regions making some of the country’s most exciting reds, mainly with Carménère, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Merlot. Get ready for an exceptional and beautiful winery today – Altair. Situated in the Valle del Cachapoal, its age-worthy, expensive collector’s wine has French roots and is simply top-notch!

You will have a very interesting tour and high-end wine tasting onsite at Viña San Pedro, followed by a wine-drenched lunch with a view of the Andes Mountains and the Cachapoal Valley. After an afternoon of great food, wine, and scenery, you will travel a few hours south, so you may want to catch a siesta. In the early evening, arrive at the Vik, a luxury wine resort. Enjoy the onsite facilities and perhaps go for a swim (or just enjoy drinks by the pool) before settling in to a gastronomic dinner with estate wines. Great day today!

Today’s program focuses on food and wine, and in the late morning you will transfer to Vik Zero, your resort’s garden-to-table-style restaurant with an emphasis on sustainable vegetables. “Zero” refers to the zero-waste/zero-footprint ethos here, and the food is gorgeous. It’s a 5-minute drive, and on arrival, you’ll meet your own personal Chilean Chef. Tour their vibrant organic garden with your chef and select fresh ingredients for your cooking class, a creative and “cheffy” take on local recipes. This is an extremely cool private cooking experience. Healthy and delicious, a nice balance to the hedonistic wine experiences!

After the class, sit down to enjoy the fruit of your efforts in the atmospheric garden. You will have some free time to relax, then tour the Vik winery this afternoon. The winery is in fact a large part of what makes a visit to VIK so special. Designed by Chilean architect Smiljan Radić alongside Alex and Carrie Vik, it’s a dramatic blend of contemporary design, innovative winemaking and sustainability. The whole experience brings together the landscape, wine, architecture, art and nature in a really unique way.

During the visit, you’ll get to explore the winery and learn more about the winemaking, the architecture and VIK’s approach to sustainability. You may also get a glimpse of some of their more unusual techniques, such as Barroir and Amphoir. Another highlight is the cooperage, where they make and toast barrels using oak from fallen trees on the estate. Needless to say, finish the tour with a premium wine tasting. Then head back to the hotel for coffee or tea, a slice of their famous caramel and meringue pastry, and some downtime. The dinner tonight is at the estate’s Milla Milla gourmet eatery, overlooking the vines, valley, and infinity pool. Lovely!

Say adios to the marvelous Vik Wine Resort, and journey further south to the Colchagua Valley, known for super prestigious red wines. Your first activity this morning is a tour and select wine tasting at Viñas Montes. The groundbreaking founder, Aurelio Montes, along with his partners, believed Chile could produce wines of the highest quality on the international stage. This was back in the 80s, and today Montes is known for its delicious, award-winning wines almost as much as for the winemaking owner’s passionate personality. For example, the winery plays Gregorian chants to the vines during the harvest, and the vineyard design follows Feng Shui principles. It’s a beautiful place, and you’ll enjoy a sophisticated tasting. Taste emblematic wines like Purple Angel wine and Montes Folly.

Lunch is next, and we will reserve a table for you at the unforgettable Fuegos de Apalta restaurant. This is the signature restaurant of celebrity Chef Francis Mallmann and focuses on fire-roasted meat and vegetables. Outstanding. Dinner is included tonight, so we recommend ordering on the lighter side. Then, you have one more world-class wine experience today at Clos Apalta.

Clos Apalta (Lapostolle) has its roots in the Marnier-Lapostolle family, the French dynasty behind Grand Marnier. The family’s winemaking heritage stretches back to the Loire Valley, where they acquired Château de Sancerre in 1919, before bringing their French winemaking tradition to Chile. Charles de Bournet is the seventh generation of the family and now oversees the Domaine’s day-to-day operations. His parents, Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle and Cyril de Bournet, founded the vineyard and established their home in Chile’s Apalta Valley in 1994. After a visit and tasting, check in and get ensconced. This intimate Relais & Châteaux wine hotel has just ten villas and casitas. You will have free time to rest before sitting down to a gourmet supper with estate wine pairings. Bliss.

During bespoke planning for our private tours, our guests almost always want to cram as much as possible into the program. And while we always recommend that our guests take one day to relax because the tours and driving can be quite tiring, they don’t always take this advice on board. And yet, when we receive feedback, the one comment we hear time and time again is “I wish we had fit in more free time to relax and rest”. And if you are going to choose one resort to just take a breath, sleep in, and enjoy the on-site facilities, Clos Apalta is it!

This beautiful Relais & Chateaux property is surrounded by a nature reserve, and it both is and feels like a green sanctuary. Today you could enjoy a short or longer hike through the grapevine trails; hit the tennis court; relax at the spa (sauna, jacuzzi, steam room); use the hotel’s mountain bikes on the estate; go for a swim or lounge at the pool with a good book; have a massage; set up a wine tasting with the sommelier; participate in a cocktail class; go horse riding or bird watching (this is a biosphere with many species of flora and fauna); and of course wine and dine to your heart’s content. Believe us, you won’t regret a day of rest at this wonderful wine resort.

On your way back to Santiago today, after a pampering and luxurious day at Clos Apalta residence, you have a few more fantastic experiences in store. First up in the late morning is a top-tier wine tasting at Viña Neyen de Apalta. Neyen winery, which is only a 15-minute drive from your hotel, is home to some of the Colchagua Valley’s oldest Carménère vineyards and is situated between the Andes and Coastal Range. Known as “Neyen, the spirit of Apalta,” the estate’s centennial vines date back to 1889, when Cabernet Sauvignon was planted; Carménère followed soon afterwards. Farmed organically and harvested entirely by hand, these exceptional vines help make wines of remarkable depth and balance—rich and powerful, yet refined, with the concentration of Napa and the elegance of “Old world” wines.

Visit the winery and cellars and enjoy one last premium wine tasting here before carrying on to a super fun lunch. It’s just over a half-hour spin to the quaint, colonial ranch-style winery at Viña Encierra. This friendly, cozy winery will host you for a Chilean “asado” (barbecue) for lunch in the owner’s house. This is truly authentic and relaxed, and a family member will join you for lunch after you visit the historic cellar, chapel, and vineyards. Meat lovers are well served, but Chilean barbecues also do veggies exceptionally well. After a terrific afternoon, work your way back north to Santiago de Chile. The drive is about 2 1/2 hours, and you will have a wine-soaked morning, so relax- why not have a happy nap. Arrive in Santiago in the evening, and you have free time to pack and get ready for your journey tomorrow.

Your private driver will take you to the airport in Santiago today for your outbound journey. We hope you had an amazing time on this luxury wine tour of Chile.

If you’d like to extend your journey, we can add many pre- and post-tour options to this sample segment. For instance: Easter Island, Patagonia, Argentina wine country, Buenos Aires, Iguazu Falls, and Uruguay! Get in touch for more info.