Concha y Toro
Concha y Toro: How to Visit the Winery in Santiago
Concha y Toro is one of the most famous wineries in Chile and its wines are widely known in the country and abroad. Although we know a lot more breweries on our trips than wineries, visiting Concha y Toro is a great program to do during your trip to Santiago.
How to get to Concha y Toro Winery?
Concha y Toro winery is located at Avenida Virginia Subercaseaux 210, Pirque municipality (outside Santiago). If you have rented a car in the city, this is the best option to reach the winery and the journey from downtown Santiago takes approximately 45 minutes.
If you have not rented a car it is possible to get there by public transport which was the way we chose. The journey is long (it takes us almost two hours to go and the same time to return) and you need to know the route in advance to not have any problems. To reach the Concha y Toro winery by public transport you must go to Las Mercedes station ( see here how to use the Santiago metro ) and take the exit with the sign “Concha y Toro Poniente”. After leaving the station you can take a taxi that costs approximately 3000 Chilean Pesos or take a van (lines 73, 80 or 81) that costs 500 Chilean Pesos. We went by van and, if you choose this option, ask the driver to indicate the nearest point to the winery.
Another option is to go with some Santiago travel agency that already makes the round trip transportation. This is a very comfortable way, but the value is higher. For example, the Turistour agency charges 27,000 Chilean Pesos (including the cost of the traditional tour) for this tour. In our opinion it is only worthwhile if you have not rented a car or avoid using public transport.
How to visit Concha y Toro Winery?
The Concha y Toro winery can be visited through two guided tour options:
Traditional Tour: the traditional tour goes through the old family property of Don Melchor of Santiago Concha y Toro and its gardens, the vineyards with plantations of different types of grapes, a tasting of white wine, the cellars where the traditional wines of the region are stored. winery and, finally, a tasting of red wine. The total tour time is approximately 1 hour and it is available in Portuguese, Spanish and English. The cost for the traditional tour is 9,000 Chilean Pesos (approximately 18 Dollars).
Marques de Casa Concha Tour : the Marques de Casa Concha tour has a script identical to the traditional tour, however, at the end of the traditional tour you are taken to another room with a tasting of special wines and cheeses made with a sommelier . For this difference, the tour lasts 1h30min and it is only available in English and Spanish. The cost is also higher: 19,000 Chilean Pesos (approximately 38 Dollars).
Whatever your option, you need to book the tour at least 24 hours in advance through the official website . The Traditional Tour has more schedule options and the Marques de Casa Concha tour has fewer options. As we are not very fond of wines, we ended up opting for the traditional tour.
Concha y Toro Winery
The tour through Concha y Toro winery begins with a short introduction about the winery, which is the second largest in the world and exports to several countries. Then, you follow a wooded path until you reach the mansion that belonged to the family of Don Melchor of Santiago Concha y Toro, who was responsible for founding the winery in 1883. Currently the place is used as the administrative center of the winery and is not open for visitation. From this location it is also possible to have a very beautiful view of the gardens and a large lake located on the outskirts of the mansion.
The tour continues through the vineyards that have several different grape plantations, each used to produce a different type of wine and many of them are combined to produce special wines. The site also explains how climatic and regional factors can influence the planting and cultivation of certain types of grapes, influencing the quality of the wine produced.
Following the tour you have your first tasting: a white wine under the Marques de Casa Concha label. Everyone receives a glass of wine and, while tasting, the guide tells a little more about the characteristics of the wine.
At this moment you go inside the winery and visit the wineries that are located in large warehouses. There are hundreds of barrels in these places that have a highly controlled environment in relation to temperature and humidity, all designed for the wines to maintain their quality.
The most famous winery is located in the cellar and is called Casillero del Diablo, which later named one of the most famous wines from the Concha y Toro winery. The winery and wine have this name due to Dom Melchior who was the founder of Concha y Toro. He stored the best wines in this cellar and, realizing that some bottles disappeared over time, decided to create a legend saying that the devil himself inhabited the place. The legend became so well-known among employees that no one dared return to the place.
This legend is told in a very different way to visitors, with a light show and various sound effects. Despite not having anything too much, it is a very interesting part of the tour and that they ended up using the name in a very peculiar way.
Finally, you will go for a second wine tasting, this time red. As with the first tasting, everyone receives a glass of wine and, while tasting, the guide tells a little more about the characteristics of the wine. This glass is a gift from the winery that you can take as a souvenir at no additional cost.
Taking a tour at Concha y Toro winery is a very interesting tour to do in the Santiago region. Despite not being our favorite drink, it was worth it to know a little more about the wine’s production process, the difference between the grapes and the importance that the winery has for Chile. If you like wine very much and want to know a little more, it is worth taking the Marques de Casa Concha tour.
