Publicado 21/03/2018
Visiting Chilean wineries without relying on the irrational prices of tours is a matter of honor for the independent traveler. Our step-by-step guide to visit Concha y Toro, for example, has been successful here for some time. Read the detailed post at this link.
During my last trip to Santiago, we visited Cousiño Macul, another winery in Valle del Maipo, the oldest wine-producing region in the country. It is close to the capital, full of history, and very easy to reach by public transport.
Cousiño Macul Winery Experience
The Cousiño Macul winery is located in Peñalolén, a small commune in the metropolitan region of Santiago. Founded in 1856, it is still run by the same founding family.
The winery – managed by the 6th generation of the Cousiño family – is beautiful, historic, well-maintained, and less imposing than Concha y Toro. Not that it’s a problem, but it’s a notable feature.
The place has ample green space, old buildings, and a small shop to purchase the most desired labels from the brand. Despite receiving more and more Brazilians, it is still considered less touristy than the famous competitor.
Lauded as the oldest winery in Chile (the first grapes were planted here in the 16th century), it has an underground cellar with “shielded” brick walls made of a type of mortar called cal y canto, made mainly of sand and egg whites. The Chilean “concrete” helps maintain the internal temperature at around 15º degrees.
Tours at Cousiño Macul Winery
There are two types of tours, the Regular (14 thousand pesos per person) which includes a tasting of 4 wines, and the Premium (24 thousand pesos per person) which includes a tasting of six wines + cheese and dried fruits platter. Minors under 18 do not pay. But they also do not taste, obviously. 🙂
Regardless of the tour you choose, the visit always starts with the vineyards and is the same for both Regular and Premium. The difference is in the tasting offered at the end.
The best time to visit the wineries would be between April and May, when the grapes are harvested. We went in July and the vineyards were dry. None of this affected our visit, but I imagine finding everything green and with bunches of grapes that can be tasted on the vine would make the experience even better.
After learning about the types of grapes (Cabernet Sauvignon, Carménère, Chardonnay, Merlot, Syrah, among others) and knowing more about the wine production periods, we are directed to the underground part of the winery. Here, we find an impressive century-old cellar adorned with giant Chilean oak barrels with a capacity of 30,000 liters of wine.
Since production at Cousiño Macul Winery is done with state-of-the-art technology, the barrels remain on the property as a historical asset of the company. The tour then passes through a small museum and continues to the new part, where the giant steel barrels are located.
The tour ends in a lounge next to the reception. We opted for the regular tour. In case you are arriving today at Matraqueando and don’t know, we – my husband and I – do not drink. I, in fact, even taste the wine. But my husband doesn’t. He just poses for pictures.
This means we can’t evaluate the quality and properties of the drink. Our interest is almost always historical on this type of tour. However, the explanations given during the tasting by the guide, Brazilian Thiago Reis, were the best I’ve received on a winery visit (and we’ve been to several like this one, this one, and this one!)
+ How to rent a car up to 60% off, without IOF, in 12 installments, and with free cancellation
I don’t know for someone knowledgeable in the subject, but for a layman like me, the visit to Cousiño Macul was excellent and very enlightening on how to evaluate and perceive wine starting with the glass.