Chile produces some really amazing wine and is one of the world’s largest exporters. Many vineyards and wineries lie in the valleys surrounding Santiago and Valparaíso, making this a great area for those wishing to visit vineyards, learn more about the process of making wine, and have the opportunity to taste some of the delicious varieties made here.
We headed just outside Valparaíso to Indomita Vineyard for an afternoon of touring the winery and wine tasting. There are many vineyard tours and tastings in this region of Chile. In this post, we’ll mainly cover our Valparaíso wine tour experience.
Valparaíso Wine Tour Options
Before we dive into the details of our experience, we’d like to note that there are a variety of wine tasting and vineyard tour options from both Santiago and Valparaíso. There are tours that cover multiple vineyards and some that include a tour of Valparaíso, cooking experience, sightseeing outside the city, and other activities in addition to a vineyard visit.
Many of these tour options can be found online and booked in advance on sites such as Viator, Trip Advisor, and Get Your Guide. But you can also find options around the city at various tour agencies to book in person if you prefer.
We opted to visit a single vineyard, find our own way there without a tour, and book a tour directly with the vineyard staff. We did this for a few of the following reasons:
- This was the most budget-friendly option. We used public transport instead of having a tour company transport us to and from the city. Booking directly with the vineyard was also cheaper than many of the tour options listed on third-party sites.
- We are not really wine connoisseurs, so we deemed one vineyard tour and tasting to be enough.
- It was winter, so all of the vineyard grounds were not the lush, green scene you see in many of the photos. Many of the tours cut out exploring the grounds during this season.
- We had already spent some time wandering Santiago and Valparaíso, so we did not feel the need to take a tour with other sightseeing options.
- Visiting the vineyard without a tour offers a bit more flexibility timewise.
Visiting Indomita Vineyard
Viña Indomita sits in the Casablanca Valley between Santiago and Valparaíso. Here they make several delicious varieties of wine including cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, pinot noir, and more. Indomita exports their wines to over 40 countries!
In addition to exports, Viña Indomita also sells their wine onsite, offers tours of the vineyard, and has a restaurant set in the beautiful Casablanca Valley. Click here to learn more about the vineyard and find contact information if you’d like to book a tour. Our tour cost just under $40 USD for the both of us, but note that this price may increase in the summers and may have fluctuated with the change in the value of the peso over recent years. Confirm the price with the vineyard before you confirm your tour.
There are also quite a few other vineyards in the area that offer tours and similar experiences, so take a little time to research and pick the best tour option and vineyard(s) for you!
Getting There
As mentioned above, we went to Viña Indomita without a tour. Though it is a ways from Valparaíso, it was pretty simple and cost efficient to make it there. We took a public bus from Valparaíso to the small town of Casablanca. It took about 40 minutes and only cost a couple USD per person for a one-way ticket. We just paid in cash as we boarded. We had a bit of time to kill before our wine tour, so we strolled around and had a drink.
When it came time to head to the vineyard, we found a taxi near the Plaza de Armas. It was about a 15 minute drive from Casablanca to Indomita. Our driver was incredibly friendly and offered to come pick us up after our tour, so we exchanged numbers via WhatsApp. If you don’t have an international data plan or speak Spanish very well, you can also have the vineyard staff call a taxi for you afterwards.
When we returned to Casablanca, we caught the bus back to Valparaíso near the Plaza de Armas.
Our Valparaíso Wine Tour Experience at Indomita
As we drove down the road to Viña Indomita, we were greeted by sweeping views of the valley and the huge white winery sitting atop a hill. We checked in and, despite not requesting a private tour, we were the only ones attending at that time. One of the perks of going in the winter!
We walked through the building, making our way through tall rooms with enormous vats and cellars filled with barrels of wine. Our guide was great, and we learned a lot about how much effort goes into making wine. While we know Spanish pretty well, it was helpful that she spoke English since we knew very little about wine making and terminology.
Our tour finished at a tasting room where we had the opportunity to try a few of the Indomita wines. Though neither of us are wine connoisseurs, it was fun trying to taste the notes in each sample. To top off the afternoon at the vineyard, we picked out a bottle at the shop to take along with the free wine glasses we received during the tasting.