Day 9 – I Think Grammie Sent Me Here | Chile Travel Diary

Date: Friday, March 27
Location: Marchigüe → Viña Santa Rita → Santiago
Mood: Full, reflective, and not quite ready for it to end

The last day of a trip like this always feels a bit strange. There’s no ride, no distance to cover, no real objective beyond showing up and letting the day unfold however it’s going to. You’ve already done the thing you came to do, and now you’re just… closing it out.

We left the hacienda and started making our way back toward Santiago, but not before one final stop at Santa Rita — and if there’s a place to end a wine trip in Chile, this is a pretty strong contender.

The first thing I noticed — and I mean immediately — was the security. I’ve never seen anything like it at a winery. Every door coded, staff everywhere, the whole place feeling locked down in a way that doesn’t feel restrictive, just… important. Like you’re stepping into something that’s been carefully protected for a very long time.

And then you walk into the gardens and forget about all of that.

The estate sits on a 40-hectare park designed in the late 1800s by a French landscape architect, and it shows in the way everything is laid out — long avenues, sculpted hedges, fountains, statues, these perfectly framed walkways that somehow feel both grand and quiet at the same time. There are black-necked swans gliding across the water (for real), massive trees (including sequoias, which I did not expect to see here), and space in a way that feels more like a historic botanical garden than part of a working winery.

And then there was the bougainvillea.

Apparently the largest in South America.

Grammie loved bougainvillea. It was her thing. And standing there, on the last day of this trip, in front of something that felt that big and that alive… I don’t know. It just felt like a sign. Not in a heavy, overwhelming way — just enough to stop for a second and notice it. She would have loved this place. That part felt certain.

The Part No One Talks About at the End

Santa Rita as a winery is operating on a completely different scale than most of the places we’ve visited. They’re producing somewhere in the range of 80–90 million bottles a year, with multiple estates and a team of winemakers who each focus on specific varietals and vineyards. It’s not one person behind the wine, it’s a system — but one that still manages to feel thoughtful when you’re actually there.

At one point, we were tasting grapes straight off vines planted in the late 1800s, which is one of those quiet moments that sneaks up on you. You don’t expect it to feel like anything, and then you realize you’re holding something that’s been growing in the same place for over a century and it lands a little differently.

They took us down into the cellar, and this is where the history really starts to show up. During Chile’s fight for independence, 120 soldiers were hidden there by Paula Jaraquemada, and the wine “120” is named after that moment. It’s one of those stories that could easily feel like a marketing angle, but standing in the actual space where it happened gives it more weight than that.

The tasting itself was one of the more structured ones we’ve had — everything paired intentionally, everything explained — Chardonnay with olives, Cabernet with goat cheese, a blend with goose jerky, and then a Carménère from some of the oldest vines paired with parmesan.

And I learned something I genuinely didn’t know: Carménère was only rediscovered about 30 years ago. It had been mistaken for Merlot for decades until DNA testing sorted it out, which explains why so many people haven’t really tried it. Brent and I drink it fairly often, so I assumed it was more common than it is. Apparently not.

Lunch followed, and it was beautiful — tuna tartare, hake, dessert with caramel and ice cream — all of it consistent with what we’ve come to expect on this trip. But at this point, it’s less about what’s on the plate and more about the table you’re sitting at.

There’s something about the last day of a group trip that always feels a little off. Not bad, just… aware. You’ve spent days with these people, shared experiences that feel bigger than the timeline suggests, and then suddenly it’s over. Everyone talks about staying in touch, and you mean it when you say it, but life moves quickly. Weeks turn into months, and before you know it, these people who felt like part of your everyday life are just… memories you revisit.

I always wish I were better at that part. Staying connected. Following through. Because the intention is there — it always is — but it doesn’t always stick the way you think it will.

After lunch, we said goodbye to Jata, who was off to his next tour, and then made our way back toward Santiago. Some people headed straight to the airport, others to hotels. We had another night, so we checked into our airport hotel and ended up spending a few more hours with Dinah before her flight in the middle of the night.

That felt like a bit of a bonus — extra time with someone I genuinely connected with. One of those people you hope you stay in touch with, even though you know how these things tend to go.

We said goodbye to her at 2 a.m., which somehow feels like the appropriate time for a proper travel goodbye.

We had originally planned to use the next day to do something — a road trip, maybe even try to cross into Argentina — but when that didn’t work out, we stayed put. And looking back, that was absolutely the right call.  We were exhausted. In the best way, but still completely spent. Taking a full day to rest, hydrate, process everything, and just exist without a plan was exactly what we needed.

We have a tendency to try to squeeze in one last thing, like we’ll somehow miss something if we don’t use every second. But this time we didn’t do that, and instead of leaving Chile feeling rushed and depleted, we left feeling… finished. In a good way.  I think we’ll do that again – intentionally build in a “rest” day on the end of a big trip.  It’s a little luxury that makes the end feel less stressful.

Food Breakdown 🍽️

Winner of the Day: Santa Rita wine tasting + pairings (especially the Carménère)
Close Second: Lunch at Santa Rita (that hake + dessert)
Drink of the Day: Carménère 2023 from the oldest vines (see a trend?)

Photo of the Day

📸 The Santa Rita gardens — and that bougainvillea (she gets a second spot here, for Grammie)

✈️ Travel Tip of the Day

Build in a rest day at the end of your trip. You’ll enjoy everything more because of it.

Let’s Talk About It

Are you someone who actually stays in touch with people you meet while traveling — or do they become part of a really great chapter you look back on later?