The Wine Harvest Festival

On the past 11th and 12th of April the Casablanca Valley Association of Winemaking Businessmen, in conjunction with the Illustrious Township of Casablanca, successfully celebrated the third consecutive year of the Wine Harvest Festival.

The widely attended opening of the festival was presided over by the President of the Casabalanca Valley Association of Winemaking Businessmen Mr. Mario Agliati who thanked those present, all the participating vineyards and in particular the 20 ambassadors from varying countries in Chile for their sincere interest in the production and export of local wines. He also emphasized the importance of national and international authorities attending said harvest as he stated; “wine is Chile’s finest ambassador the world over”.

In the same manner, Rodrigo Martinez, mayor of the Illustrious Township of Casablanca, thanked the foreign dignitaries in attendance and celebrated the traditional winemaking country overtones the festival had managed to preserve over the years.

He also invited everyone to enjoy the party and taste all the local wines. This particular anniversary of the event gathered over 40 thousand, all of whom partook of artisanal samples, local cuisine and the sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, sparkling wines and special cool climate reds from the 11 vineyards participating in the event: House Casa del Vino, Viña Casas del Bosque, Viña Indomita, Viñamar, Viña La Recova, Viña Veramonte, Viña Emiliana, Viña Quintay, Viña Loma Larga, Estancia El Cuadro and Viña Ventisquero; not to mention the sparkling wines of Viña Casablanca, the Belen Group, Viñamar, Casas del Bosque and Indomita.

This year the Wine Harvest Festival also boasted tasting classes taught by specialists from the Culinary Institute; the lucky participants “discovered the aromas of Casablanca” via a sensory tasting session with fruit and other aromatic descriptors; they were taught about cold climate bubbles in a tasting session for types and pairings of Casablanca sparkling wines; and lastly they were guided through a tasting session coupling wines with local produce such as cheeses, ceviches and delicatessen.

As is tradition competition was stiff to choose the Queen of the Wine Harvest Festival where five candidates were presented wearing traditional attire and participating in several events, among which were pigeage, a quiz on Casablanca itself and the sale of tickets in benefit of the local 2nd Fire Company of Casablanca.

The Queen of the Wine Harvest Festival 2015 was Gimena Chopitea, representing Viña Indomita. Both days of the festival included entertainment from local performing artists, “cueca” dances, activities for the younger attendees, stand-up from “El Guaton de la Fruta” who brought laughter in a fresh and family oriented routine. Juan David Rodriguez – a former contestant on the television show “Rojo, Fama Contra Fama” – was the closing act on Sunday bringing the event to an end on a high musical note.

This year’s Wine Harvest Festival held in the World’s 10th Great Wine Capital was rife with grand moments where both Chileans and foreigners from all over the world enjoyed the township’s attractions, sampled the tastes and wines of the region, the most significant cool climate valley in Chile.

Source:http://chiletourism.travel/