Valle Nevado ski resort wine experience

How to Complete

5 steps curated by Wine Memories

1. 📜 1

   Ascend to a Mountain the Incas Consecrated with a Child's Life

   history Free

   The 90-minute drive from Santiago winds through 46km of raw Andean switchbacks, gaining 2,000 meters. But here's what most skiers never know: the snow-capped pyramid looming over the resort — Cerro El Plomo, 5,444m — is the reason the Incas walked a 9-year-old boy hundreds of miles from Cusco to die up there. In 1954, climbers found him perfectly preserved near the summit. He was sacrificed in a capacocha ritual to carry a message to the sun god Inti. Today he rests in Santiago's museum. You're about to ski the sacred foothills of his mountain.

   📍 WHERE: The approach begins at Ruta G-21 (Farellones road) from Las Condes district in eastern Santiago. The resort entrance sits at Camino Valle Nevado s/n, 46km from downtown.

   💡 WHAT: As you ascend, watch for the first unobstructed view of Cerro El Plomo (5,444m) through the windshield — it appears roughly 20km from the resort. This is the mountain. On February 1, 1954, climbers discovered a mummified 9-year-old Inca boy near its summit, preserved at altitude for 500 years. He wore fine Inca textiles, was accompanied by gold and silver figurines, and had been walked from Cusco (3,500km away) for a capacocha sacrifice. He now rests in Santiago's Museo Nacional de Historia Natural at Quinta Normal park. The mountain above your ski resort is a UNESCO Tentative World Heritage Site specifically for that shrine.

   🎯 HOW: Take a taxi or bus from Santiago (from CLP $11,000/~$11 USD shuttle from Las Condes). On weekends/holidays: road is one-way uphill 8am-2pm, downhill 4pm-8pm. Build 30 minutes buffer. Self-driving: park in Valle Nevado's main lot. As you enter the resort, step outside and locate the peak directly to the northeast. That's El Plomo.

   🔄 BACKUP: If visibility is low (cloud cover hits the resort 20% of winter days), the peak story is even more powerful told in the valley before you enter. Ask your shuttle driver — many know the story.

   🍷 Log Memory
2. ⛰️ 2

   Charge Down 810 Metres of Andean Powder at 3,000m

   adventure $$$

   French investors built this resort in 1988 modeled on Les Arcs and Val d'Isère — except the panorama here shows the Argentine border, peaks over 6,000m, and condors circling below your chairlift. The resort sits at 2,860-3,670m. Thirty-four marked trails, 21% of terrain rated expert. This is the largest ski domain in the Southern Hemisphere when you connect to La Parva next door.

   📍 WHERE: Valle Nevado Ski Resort, Camino Valle Nevado s/n. Ticket office and ski rental at the resort base (Hotel Valle Nevado ground floor area).

   💡 WHAT: 900 hectares, 34 marked pistes, 11 lifts, 810m vertical drop. Season's best powder arrives in July-August when secondary Andean storms refresh the slopes every week. Distribution: 10% beginner, 36% intermediate, 33% advanced, 21% expert. The resort connects directly to La Parva and El Colorado (combined ~7,000 total acres — South America's Three Valleys). In summer (your winter), Northern Hemisphere professional ski and snowboard teams use this as their off-season training ground.

   🎯 HOW: Adult 1-day lift ticket: CLP $89,000 (~$94 USD) + Valle Plus rechargeable card CLP $6,000 (~$6 USD) required for first visit, reusable on return visits. Kids 12 and under, seniors 75+ ski free. Book at vallenevado.com/en/lift-multiday-tickets/ or at ticket office. Ski rental available at the resort base.

   🔄 BACKUP: For beginners or non-skiers, snowshoe tours of the upper terrain are available (ask at the activities desk). Panoramic gondola rides give access to 3,670m summit views without skiing.

   🍷 Log Memory
3. 🍷 3

   Toast Chilean Cabernet at Altitude While Condors Circle Below

   wine $$

   At 3,000m you're above most of Chile's wine country — the grapes in your glass grew somewhere between 400 and 760m below you in the Maipo Valley. The Valle Nevado Bar has the best Chilean wine list in the Southern Andes, with a fireplace, live music, and a terrace facing Andean sunset. The science is wild: at 3,000m, atmospheric pressure drops enough that your sense of smell is subtly blunted — wines open differently up here, and any wine at altitude hits faster.

   📍 WHERE: Valle Nevado Bar and Valle Lounge, inside Hotel Valle Nevado, Camino Valle Nevado s/n, resort base. Valle Lounge also has an adjacent terrace — go outside for sunset views. GPS: -33.3538, -70.2489.

   💡 WHAT: Valle Nevado Bar stocks an extensive and exclusive Chilean wine list — order by the glass (ask for Maipo Valley Cabernet Sauvignon or Alto Maipo if they have it). Valle Lounge has a cozy fireplace for afternoons when the air bites. The heated outdoor pool area is the wildest option: swimming at 3,000m with Andes panorama and cocktail service. On clear days, condors — wingspan up to 3.2m — soar at ski resort altitude. The wine you're drinking may have come from vineyards at the base of the same mountains.

   🎯 HOW: Valle Lounge open Mon-Sun 10:00-18:00. Wines by the glass typically CLP $6,000-12,000 (~$6-13 USD). Ask specifically for wines from the Alto Maipo sub-region (Puente Alto, Pirque) — these are the closest vineyards to the mountain. A pisco sour works equally well as the gateway drink before wine. Outdoor pool access varies by hotel package.

   🔄 BACKUP: If Valle Lounge is crowded, Bar Tres Puntas at Hotel Tres Puntas serves the same wines in a more lively après-ski atmosphere. Or take your glass outside to the terraces for the full panoramic experience.

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4. 🍷 4

   Stand on La Fourchette's Terrace as 20 Chilean Wineries Pour Their Best

   Optional

   wine $

   Every August, Valle Nevado hosts Wine Week — 5 evenings where the top Chilean wine houses set up tables on the La Fourchette terrace at 3,000m and pour directly to skiers in après-ski mode. Montes, Cousiño Macul (founded 1856 — Chile's oldest family estate), Tabalí, Viu Manent, and 16 others. Winemakers present. Direct sales. Live music. Andean sunset behind them all. The Wine & Music finale on the last Saturday draws day visitors up from Santiago specifically for this.

   📍 WHERE: La Fourchette Restaurant Terrace, Hotel Valle Nevado, Valle Nevado resort. The restaurant faces the main slope — the terrace has unobstructed southern Andean views. GPS: -33.3538, -70.2489.

   💡 WHAT: Valle Nevado Wine Week runs annually in mid-August (2025 dates: August 12-16; 2026 expected similar dates). Nightly from 5:30pm: 20+ wineries pour their premium bottles. Participating names include Montes (the winery Aurelio Montes founded in 1987 with $1,000/hectare land that now sells for $100,000/hectare), Cousiño Macul (operated by the same family since 1856, brought Cabernet cuttings directly from Pauillac's Haut-Médoc to Santiago), Tabalí (high-altitude Atacama producer), MontGras, Viu Manent. Winemakers present in person. La Fourchette itself serves gourmet French-Mediterranean cuisine and has a tri-lingual wine list. It was completely renovated in 2025 with improved bar and lighting.

   🎯 HOW: Open to hotel guests AND day visitors. Check vallenevado.com/en/wine-week/ for 2026 dates and ticket info as season approaches. The culminating Wine & Music event (Saturday of Wine Week) starts 3:30pm on the La Fourchette terrace — specifically timed for golden hour sunset over the Andes with live music. Day-trippers from Santiago can attend: take the shuttle up ($11 USD) and buy entry on-site. Book dinner at La Fourchette when you check in — it fills for the week.

   🔄 BACKUP: If dates don't align, La Fourchette's regular wine list operates all season with premium Chilean selections. Or Sur restaurant (Hotel Tres Puntas) offers Chilean à la carte with a meat-focused menu and casual wine pours for a more local experience.

   🍷 Log Memory
5. 🍷 5

   Descend to the Winery Four Bordeaux Legends Built in Secret

   Optional

   wine $

   In 1990, four men who ran the greatest châteaux in Bordeaux — Bruno Prats (Cos d'Estournel), Paul Pontallier (Château Margaux), Ghislain de Montgolfier (Bollinger Champagne), and Chilean winemaker Felipe de Solminihac — quietly pooled money and planted vines at the foot of the Andes in Santiago. They called themselves 'The Four Musketeers.' Their wine, Lazuli, is a Cabernet Sauvignon that tastes like a good Bordeaux but with Andean finesse — minerality you can only get from colluvial Andean soils. It costs $30 for the tour. The same wine aged properly sells for $80+ at export.

   📍 WHERE: Viña Aquitania, Av. Consistorial 5090, Peñalolén, Santiago. GPS: approximately -33.480, -70.568. About 55 minutes from Valle Nevado by car (head down Ruta G-21, merge onto Costanera Norte toward Las Condes).

   💡 WHAT: This is the only winery in Chile co-founded by the former director of Château Margaux. Paul Pontallier personally chose the Peñalolén site in 1990 for its Andean colluvial soils — the same type of rocky, free-draining subsoil found in Puente Alto and Alto Maipo. The 'Holy Trinity' of Chilean wine (Don Melchor, Almaviva, Chadwick) all come from this soil type. Aquitania's Lazuli is the insider pick — less famous, equally good, and you can taste it at the winery for $30 USD while the founder's story is on the walls.

   🎯 HOW: Tours approximately CLP $30,000/person (~$30 USD). Mon-Fri 09:00-18:00, Saturday 10:00-13:00. Must book at least 24 hours in advance at aquitania.cl/en/tours-2/. Alternatively, Viator and Chile Off Track run combined Valle Nevado + winery day trips from Santiago (pickup ~9am, mountain views by 11am, winery 2-4pm). Search 'Valle Nevado Aquitania winery day trip Santiago' on Viator.

   🔄 BACKUP: If Aquitania is closed (Sundays, public holidays), head to Concha y Toro's Casillero del Diablo cellar in Pirque (GPS: -33.6356, -70.5740) — 65 minutes from Valle Nevado. Don Melchor spread rumors that the Devil lived in his cellar to stop workers stealing his wine. It worked so well the cellar is now the world-famous brand. Tour and tasting, book at conchaytoro.com.

   🍷 Log Memory

Insider Tips

• ✦

  Season runs late June through early October

• ✦

  The resort's wine cellar has an excellent Chilean selection

• ✦

  Combine with Maipo winery visits on non-ski days