Undurraga

We (the UChicago people) toured the Undurraga winery two weekends ago. Our journey started at Estacion Central, or the central station, which had been merged with a shopping mall.

The bus ride took us to the countryside, where we enjoyed a 20-minute stroll in lovely weather before arriving at the winery.

Undurraga is one of the oldest wineries in Chile. The founder, a wealthy Spaniard by the name of Undurraga (duh), brought grapes here and began growing them.

Right: Clearly, the design style of their entrance gate could use an update. Wine bottles are not even made in that shape anymore.

Left: A spacious courtyard greets visitors as they enter the compound. Old wagon models used in grape harvesting line the corridor on the far side. You have to stare hard at the shadows to see them.

Our guide was an English-speaker (thank goodness), a former New Yorker, in fact. As we followed him into the inner garden, he explained more about the history of the compound. Along with his estate, Undurraga brought his horses, his favorite of which was rumored to be buried under the black stallion statue that stood in the garden. Also in the garden were trees from different parts of the globe, such as the eucalyptus from as far as Australia. There were other names that I didn't quite catch, but really, my purpose then wasn't to see trees, was it?

Right: I thought that tall tree there with the strange crown was interesting. A native of Spain, apparently.

We proceeded to the vineyard, where there were only grey, dormant vines to be seen. It's a pity that we had to be here in the winter.

Next up was the fermentation plant, where huge steel vats equipped with temperature-controlling devices held wine to be aged.

Left: A vat of chardonnay.

The vats are kept in a dark storehouse so as to facilitate temperature regulation. It feels nice to be surrounded by alcohol in quantities of such gigantic proportions.

But not all wines are aged in metal vats. Undurraga's best, the guide told us, are still barrel-aged. We proceeded to the underground cellars where temperatures are kept cool all year round by dust soaked with water. The walls are made of bricks cemented by a hardened mixture of sand and egg-white, a traditional Chilean recipe.

We emerged into the light once again and into the tasting room, where we were given samples of a chardonnay, a carmenere, and a cabernet sauvignon. The carmenere is a variety that is very similar to the merlot. It was first discovered in 1997, but an epidemic wiped out all the carmenere around the world except for those in Chile, so it is now a speciality of the country. Camenere is typically aged in smoked wooden barrels, giving it a smoky oak flavor. The one I sampled, however, was too woody and dry for my taste. The cabernet sauvignon was fruity, but much too tannic. Maybe it was the carmenere interfering. My favorite was the chardonnay, which was so different from the oaky full-bodied Californian ones. This one was zesty, full of tropical flavors, with a crisp finish.

We ended our visit with a purchase of several bottles and went away with a free wine glass each.