Santiago, Chile – February 24, 2016 – Upscape, Chile's leading tour operator in wine and culinary travel, announces first-of-its-kind tours that open the doors to boutique, small-scale wineries that are producing some of the country's most exciting wine today. Seeking to free the traveler from the constraints of the corporate winery and the stale group tour, Upscape offers an in-depth, soulful wine experience with winemaker-led visits and private winery lunches. Both day tours from Santiago and 2- to 10-day tours with lodging in local inns and haciendas are available, and are always custom-designed according to a traveler's interests. 
 
Renegade, groundbreaking, and envelope-pushing are not terms usually associated with Chilean winemaking, until now. With the rise of garage-style and human-scale wineries in Chile, many of which are now part of the independent vintners association MOVI, Chile has made a turn toward producing wine with personality, wine that tells a story and speaks of the grape's terroir and origin. As a partner of MOVI, Upscape has established a close relationship with these passion-project wineries, offering insight no other tour operator can provide.
 
Travelers are invited to explore the reinvigoration of Chile's centuries-old grape varieties such as País, Grenache and Carignan, in the country's original – yet least-known – wine valley, Maule. Stop in the picturesque six-block-long village Sauzal and meet Renán Cancino of El Viejo Almacén, who produces fine wines that don't come to market until receiving a final stamp of approval from town elders. Or drop into Viña González Bastías, a winery that retains a sense of yesteryear both in its thick-walled construction and traditional winemaking techniques that eschew machinery. Guests stay at the beautiful, antique Mingre Hacienda Hotel at Viña J. Bouchon, which opens its doors exclusively to Upscape guests.
 
Less than one hour outside Santiago, Upscape invites travelers to explore the cooler Casablanca and Leyda valleys, producers of Chile's whites and Pinot Noir. A day rambling through enchanting backcountry roads includes a visit to Viña Catrala, a boutique winery that combines wine tasting with a short hike through their forest to spot rabbits, foxes, and the occasional llama. Then it's off to Kingston Winery, an American-Chilean outfit producing award-winning Syrah and Pinot Noir, and who recently opened a wine-tasting promenade with splendid views of the Casablanca Valley; and then a final stop at Attilio & Mochi, a true "garage" winery located inside a collection of shipping containers, where bottles are hand-labeled. Travelers enjoy a seafood lunch at a local winemaker's favorite "picada" in the coastal village Quintay, with dramatic views of the Pacific Ocean.

While touring Chile's best-known wine region, Colchagua, Upscape now offers a stop at Viña Polkura, where winemaker Sven Bruchfeld has gained fame for his coastal, cold-weather Syrahs. Bruchfeld, who only recently opened Polkura to Upscape guests, has made it his mission to produce wine that "creates controversy and sparks conversations." Travelers stay at the stylish NOI Blend hotel, and are treated to a night at Puralma, one of the country's most fascinating presentations of the history of Chilean cuisine, from indigenous to Spanish colonization.

In the Aconcagua Valley, known for its spectacular Andean mountain views, Viña Flaherty owner Ed Flaherty, who spent 20 years as a winemaker for Chile's most famous wineries before launching his own project, recently opened his remodeled house-turned-winery with a tasting room and private lunches for Upscape guests. The tour continues to the Swiss-owned Viña Von Siebenthal for a private tour sampling big reds such as Syrah, Carménère, and an award-winning icon wine Toknar, made with 100% Petit Verdot, an unusual variety for Chile. Back in Santiago, Upscape travelers are taken to Vinomio, a new wine store dedicated to introducing the consumer to small-batch, independent and other hard-to-find Chilean wines. Tasting options focus on different geographic regions such coast, midland and pre-Andean zones.
 
For more information or to book a reservation, visit www.upscapetravel.com, or call from the US (802) 904-6798, or email info@upscapetravel.com.