TravelWorld International Magazine Jul/Aug 2014 Luxury Food & Wine

Where to spend the night: The city of Santa Cruz, the region’s base for tourism in the Colchagua Valley, has plenty of lodging options, including the swanky Hotel Santa Cruz, located in a colonial building on the main plaza. Alternatively, some of the wineries offer upscale lodging options, most notably Lapostolle and Casa Silva. Lapostolle Residence (lapostolle. com) has four modern casitas with wraparound decks and almost total privacy on a promontory above the winery. Meanwhile, the Casa Silva Hotel (casasilva.cl) has seven rooms in its century-old adobe hacienda outfitted with traditional furnishings.

Best time to visit: November to April coincides with Chile’s summer and autumn seasons.

Special events that take place during this period include the Colchagua Jazz Festival (November); the Santa Cruz Arts & Crafts Market (November); and the Harvest Festival (March).

What to do: It’s all about the wine in the Colchagua Valley, but if you’re looking for something a little different, check out the Colchagua Museum (museocolchagua.cl), which has a notable collection of Chilean artifacts from pre-Columbian to the modern era. Part of the Santa Cruz museum is devoted to the 2010 mining accident that trapped 33 miners underground for 69 days. The exhibit documents the conditions of the trapped miners and the rescue effort, while showcasing the drill bits that cut through a half mile of rock to reach the miners and the Fenix rescue capsule that brought them to the surface.

Want more information?

Details about the wineries, including their hours, tour prices and an interactive map can be found at visit: COLCHAGUAVALLEY.COM