After your hotel pick up, you set out on the one-hour drive to the largest privately-owned alpaca farm in Chile, Quintessence Alpacas, the “Soft Secret of Chile!” With more than 25 years of experience, Quintessence is to date the only vertically-integrated alpaca company in the world.
This family business is dedicated to the fine breeding, exporting, and manufacturing of the best alpaca and alpaca fiber, as well as to the rescue and preserve all of the beautiful natural colors that alpacas have to offer.
Alpacas are members of the South American “camelid” family along with the vicuña, guanaco and llama. Their trajectory from Asia has been traced to crossing the Bearing Strait, Canada, USA, Mexico, Peru and arriving to Chilean Patagonia and Argentina more than 10,000 years ago.
Alpacas are 100% ecological and gentle to the environment. They are small, intelligent, and friendly. They consume small quantities of water and food. Their hooves are soft with cushions which allow them to walk on any terrain without causing damage to soil. Alpacas never over graze. They are adaptable to different environments.
Alpaca is a natural fiber, free of oils like lanoline. Immediately after being shorn it can be washed with natural soaps and processed without the use of any chemicals. With its more than 32 natural tones, the alpaca fiber offers the best alternative against chemical dyes.
The visit will include a video presentation providing an overview of the farm and the alpaca. You will have an opportunity to feed the alpacas and touch their fine fibers. You will also visit the facility’s garment factory and fibers mill. The tour will end in the boutique where you can browse the many fabulous creations made with the finest alpaca fibers in the world!
Next stop, you visit Errazuriz Vineyard for a winery tour and wine tasting. Errazuriz was founded in 1870 by Don Maximiano Errazuriz. He planted the first French grape varieties in the Aconcagua Valley after he travelled two days on horseback to find the perfect land for his vines. Today, Errazuriz has over 150 years of vineyard excellence and stands as one of Chile’s most successful wineries. Errazuriz was ranked among the top 50 vineyards in the prestigious World’s Best Vineyards list.
The experience begins at the historic Don Maximiano Estate House, where you will explore the original underground cellars built using traditional lime and stone masonry techniques. It is here that the story of Viña Errazuriz truly begins. From there, you will head into the vineyards, where you will discover what makes the Aconcagua Valley such a distinctive terroir in Chile. The tour concludes back at the estate house with a guided tasting of their fine wines accompanied by a cheese and nut platter.
After the winery tour and wine tasting there will be time for lunch, if desired, at the rustic countryside restaurant Juan y Medio, an old monastery where the Catholic monks used to make wine. Otherwise, you will return to your hotel.
On the return to Santiago, on a clear day, you will see views of Mount Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in the Western Hemisphere, at 22,838 feet (6,961 meters) above sea level.