u/Mojo_Bokonon

Planning a trip to Chile and a quick hop over to Mendoza. I have several questions and hope some folks here can steer me in the right direction. My wife works in a local tasting room in Michigan and I used to work selling wine retail - so we are experienced, but not experts, and we generally like to explore and understand wine of all the drier sorts. For reference, we aren't super knowledgeable about Chilean and Argentine wines beyond the basics of Cabernet, Carmenere, Malbec, and up and coming Pinot/Sauv Blanc. The reds we normally like range from Bordeaux to Priorat to Sagrantino and Aglianico, but we will try almost anything so long as it isn't overly oaked. We are open to suggestions for whites, sparkling, and Pais too. I heard there are some interesting things happening with Pais, but don't know the first place to start on that. We don't like to spend big money on wine, but we do enjoy decent bottles and definitely shy away from most mass market stuff.

Looking for help differentiating which wineries are good for touring vs just tasting in each area. Also, if there is a great spot in Santiago or Mendoza for doing flights of others that would be helpful too.

Which are the must do wineries in Aconcagua DO, Maipo DO, and Colchagua (including Apalta) in Chile? Same for Mendoza, Lujan de Cuyo, and Uco Valley DOs. Others? Which are a waste of time or just too vanilla? What are the must dos?

I don't think we are interested in a wine tour company, but if you know a driver in Santiago or any of the other locations, that could be helpful. Thanks so much!!

Hola! We have just retired and are looking at some extended travel in Chile and Argentina. We'd like to focus on hiking, wine, and flyfishing. We have traveled extensively and lived abroad for a number of years, but not in South America. We are typically DIY folks, so not into tours and resorts so much.

We have trekked in the Himalaya a few times and backpacked in the US. We are relatively fit, but we are now in our early 60s. What destinations/experiences do you recommend for hiking in Patagonia, in the Wine Regions, and in the northern deserts?

We have a background in the wine industry. Which wineries and wine towns do you recommend specifically?

Looking at the fishing lodges and so on, I can't even pretend to be able to afford those, but I'm used to exploring on my own. Anyone successfully DIY flyfishing in these countries?

What do you recommend? Are there any websites, books, etc you might suggest? Thank you!

Hola! We have just retired and are looking at some extended travel in Chile and Argentina. Beautiful hiking and wine regions are on the list, but not without some good flyfishing. Looking at the lodges and so on, I can't even pretend to be able to afford those. Anyone successfully DIY flyfishing in these countries? What do you recommend? Are there any websites, books, etc you might suggest? Thank you!

We need some leads on great guides to either the wines of or travel to the wine regions of Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay. We are retired and hope to travel to Chile, and then later to Argentina and Uruguay. Aside from natural beauty, some fly fishing, and culture, we are very interested in wine. We've both worked in the industry but not at high level. Nevertheless, it is an important interest and we appreciate good quality and unique wines. We are not really interested in guided trips/packages, etc, but if there is something that is really exceptional, we'd be happy to hear about it. What books/guides do you recommend? What places are not to be missed?