Activities in Middle Chile
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VTS
You can only visit Sewell and El Teniente on organized tours run by VTS. Tours leave from both Santiago and Rancagua, and include a trip down into the still-functioning mine, a tour of the town itself and a visit to the Museo de la Gran Minería de Cobre, a museum housed in a beautiful 1940s modernist building.
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Tren del Vino
The most novel way to try the local wine is aboard the Tren del Vino, a steam-train tour that leaves every Saturday from San Fernando station. You start the wine tasting on board, visit a vineyard and have lunch there, then wind up at the Colchagua museum before returning to Santiago by bus.
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Viña Matetic
The real show-stopper is Viña Matetic, off highway F-962G, whose glass, wood and steel gravity-flow winery has attracted almost as much attention as the wines. Reservations several days in advance are essential.
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Chapa Verde
Some 50km northeast of Rancagua via a mostly paved highway, Chapa Verde is a low-key ski resort originally created for employees of Codelco (the national copper company). It has 22 long runs served by 10 lifts.
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Viña Casas del Bosque
Fabulous wines and peaceful surroundings come together at Viña Casas del Bosque. The restaurant is open from 12:30pm to 5:30pm Tuesday to Sunday, and there’s a harvest tour in late March and April.
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Viñedos Orgánicos Emiliana
Tastings at Viñedos Orgánicos Emiliana take place in a gorgeous slate-and-wood building looking out over the vines, grown organically using biodynamic principles.
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Viña Indómita
The wines are indifferent, but there’s no beating the views from Viña Indómita, whose Hollywood-style sign on the hillside is easily spottable from afar.
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House of Morandé
Stop for early lunch at House of Morandé, which does unusual four-course tasting menus with wine pairings, but you need to order before 1pm.
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Ruta del Vino
You can take a tour of wineries with the Ruta del Vino, though prices are high and you have to do a full tour at each winery.
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MontGras
As well as wine tours, MontGras offers horseback riding, hiking, zip lining and mountain biking, all on the vineyard.
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Emiliana
Biodynamic growing techniques involving insects and even ground cow horn are explained at organic vineyard Emiliana.
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Viña Veramonte
The tours at Viña Veramonte include plenty of background on wine production in the Casablanca Valley.
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Viña Balduzzi
A fourth-generation winery surrounded by spacious gardens and well-kept colonial buildings near San Javier.
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Viña Hugo Casanova
A traditional vineyard with beautiful colonial buildings near Talca – reserve in advance.
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Viña Gillmore
A winery and agro-tourism resort – wine therapy is the favorite treatment at the spa.
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