On the 16th and 17th of June 2009, winetoursvalparaiso were delighted and proud to have had the opportunity of taking a group of petty officers and gunnery sargents from The Royal Navy´s HMS Manchester on a wine tour in the Casablanca valley.
The group on the 16th was made up of 26 people and the group on the 17th was comprised of 20. On both days we did a tour which consisted of the following itinerary;
9:00am Pick up
10:00 William Cole vineyard tour and tasting
12:00 Emiliana organic vineyard tour and tasting
13:00 Lunch at vineyard Indomita
16:00 The Vinoteca wine store and tasting
With a group of sailers who had been away from home for a while with a great need of getting rid of tentions and letting their hair down, the tour became a mix of cultural interest and a stag night rolled into one. The most important thing is that apart from learning about winemaking aspects such as toasted barrells, tannings and how Rose is actually made, they had a very good laugh and memerable time, which is what a wine tour with winetoursvalparaiso is all about.
Both groups bought lots of wine, which they thought was fantastic compared to what they had picked up in the Falklands. They were impressed by the Sauvignon blanc from William cole and the William Cole Carmeneré. They also took advantage of special offers in the vineyard on William Cole Rosé and a 2004 Merlot which was very nice and at its peak. At Emiliana organic winery they were grabbed by the Sauvignon Blanc Adobe, the Chardonnay Viogner Marsan Novas blend and the magnificent Coyam blend. At Indomita the Chardonnay varietel was well recieved as well as the Zardos special reserve.
I met the guys from the group on the 16th in the evening to take them to a few bars i know in Valparaiso and on the 17th i was invited up to the mes to savour the mes bar which was rather like a cricket club bar on the village green.
As a huge gesture the guys invited me, my son Max and Matt from corrugated city on board for a fabulous 3 hour tour of the ship and supplied us with expat rations of sausages, bacon and tea.
It was a great 2 days and one of the highlights of winetoursvalparaisos story. I hope to see the guys in this part of the world again for some great wine and a good time.
