Following the boat ride on Monday, our group traveled to the Veramonte Vineyard in the Casablanca Valley in Chile. Upon arrival, the group headed to the balcony to take pictures with the vineyard and the Coastal Mountains as the background. We then headed into a presentation in la casona, the large house located on the vineyard.
 |
| La Casona on the Vineyard |
During this business presentation, we learned about the different types of wine that the vineyard makes, along with the processes they use, and the marketing strategies they implement. Veramonte Vineyard produces four types of wine: Veramonte, Ritual, Primus, and Neyen. This vineyard, like most located in the Casablanca Valley produces mainly white wine, however they also produce red wines. Veramonte Vineyard has over 20 years of experience producing wine, recently switching to all organic practices. The company has three main estates, the one we visited in Casablanca, and two others in the Colchagua Valley. During this presentation, Ailene was shocked to learn that "white wine comes from green grapes."
After this presentation, we were split into two groups for a tour of the vineyard. Rodrigo was my tour guide, along with 10 other students. Rodrigo taught us that the vineyard was in the Coastal Mountain range, and 40 kilometers away from the pacific ocean. He also explained that to fight pests, they used natural methods which is often slower but better for plants. We were shown some of the plants, with a single plant being able to produce 4 bottles of wine.
 |
| One Merlot plant used to make red wines |
We were then shown where the wine goes through the fermentation process, which generally takes 2-3 weeks. We were also shown where the wine sits for up to a year until they are ready to be bottled. The cheaper wines are put into steel tanks and normally sit for a couple months. The more expensive wines normally sit in the wooden tanks for about a year. These tanks costs $10,000 and last for about 5 to 10 years, with the wooden ones holding 5000 liters, and the steel ones holding 1900 liters.
 |
| Bridget, Kelly, and I in front of the wooden tanks used to store wine |
Alexanders roommate, Zach commented that "I found it interesting how for red wine they use only the skin."
For the last and best part of the visit, we moved on to a wine tasting. We tasted three different types of wine, one white and two red. We were instructed on the proper way to taste wine. The first wine was a white Sauvignon blanc wine. The second was a red pinot noir, and and the third was a red blend. Kayla, Bridget and Kelly stated that their favorite wine was "the red blend even though we don't normally like red wines."
 |
| The three wines that they provided us with for the tasting |
Overall, the experience was extremely enjoyable. Students were able to send wine home to family members, and buy wine and wine accessories for themselves in the gift shop.
 |
| All the guys got together to take a photo overlooking the vineyard |
Comments
Post a Comment