Top Things to do in Santa Cruz
10 Things to do in Santa Cruz That You Shouldn't Miss
Wine lovers: whether you’re a die-hard oenophile or just a general grape enthusiast, you’ll be thrilled by the vineyards and cellars of Santa Cruz. This Chilean city makes a great base for exploring the Colchagua Valley, a wine region that’s loved for its full-bodied reds. Before you embark upon a day of tastings, be sure to explore Santa Cruz’s charming colonial architecture and cultural museums.
Restaurants in Santa Cruz
1. Colchagua Museum
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1,463 reviews
Reviewed By scottberg56
Fantastic museum, from pre-history to the present day with many artifacts and great narration. A must see.
2. OWM
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 38 reviews
We are two owner of an small wine house in the heart of the Colchagua Valley. We offer personal tasting of different premium red wine direct from the barrels. We also have another attraction were the visitor can do his own blend, with a custom label placing his sign or fingerprint. The visitor will install the cork on it. We also offer tours to the vineyard and the farm warehouse.
Reviewed By YvonneW2178
I was looking for a more individual wine tasting experience, found OWM online and can 1000% recommend!! It started with a very warm welcome by Antonio, he explained everything in detail and very entertaining from the area, the different grapes and the process of the 2 different fermentations. Later we tasted 7 “pure” wines of which afterwards we created our own blend. What a special experience! Thank you very much, Antonio and much further success with OWM!!
3. Vina Escondida de Colchagua
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 32 reviews
We invite you to walk the vineyard and taste a good winemaker, to sit with a glass 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and to know how this wine is elaborated hidden between hills and valleys. Come and listen to the entertaining stories that surround this vineyard while accompanying your glass with delicious cheeses or if you prefer, with delicious recipes from our land.
Reviewed By BigSpringsTraveler
The owners of this small winery gave our group of six friends a personal and memorable tour (with a fluent English interpreter) of their vineyard and winery, barrel and bottle tastings, and a wonderful lunch of delicious Chilean food, one of best winery experiences I have ever had. Their wine is superb. The winery is a little difficult to find, but well worth it!
4. Clos Apalta Lapostolle
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 786 reviews
Reviewed By 557jj
We visited this winery as part of our tour with Colchagua Wine Tours. We had a tour and tasting. The best thing about this winery are the views from the rooftop (make sure you stop at the rooftop after your tour to take some more photos without crowds) and the wine tasting room. The winery itself felt a bit corporate and did not have as much as a local history and connection to the community as some of the other wineries we visited. The wine was good and some of the reds were a bit on the dry side - still good wine, just making you aware. It's also a smaller winery.
5. Viu Manent Winery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,075 reviews
Viu Manent is a model for wine tourism in Chile. Explore the vineyards in a horse-drawn carriage, visit the cellars, and learn the history of a three-generation family winery. Internationally renowned for the quality of its wines, Viu Manent is particularly famous for its malbec. There are 4 tours per day year round and include a tasting, a tour of the visitor’s center, and shops.
Reviewed By susanlJ3439QM
Wonderful tour, great wines, copious mounts of wine to taste and their restaurant the Rayuele Wine and Grill with its outdoor patio is incredible...huge portions, excellent quality and taste.
6. Vina Neyen
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 105 reviews
Reviewed By slb787 - Pleasanton, United States
Our tour began with the lovely Roxana in the aroma garden where plantings of herbs and spices mimic the characteristics of the wine. Then proceeded to the pergola vineyard and met the herd of sheep that keep the grounds maintained. We tasted some of the grapes and learned of the different leaf shapes and patterns. Finishing off in the tasting room were four delicious wines, two from Neyen and two from Primus. What set this tour apart was the knowledge we gained from this visit and the relaxed atmosphere. Roxana answered our endless questions and we never felt rushed. Highly recommend this tour.
7. Laura Hartwig Winery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 253 reviews
This charming boutique winery, located in the heart of Santa Cruz, Colchagua Valley, is one of the most traditional wineries in Chile, surrounded by extraordinary beautiful landscapes. As well as its acclaimed wines,its kindness, its hospitality and personal treatment will make you feel like if you were at home.
Reviewed By 154pietero
Great place to go try some wines, you can try all of them per glass for affordable prices on their terrace
8. Vina Montes
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 657 reviews
Reviewed By ptesche - Guelph, Canada
Leo was our fine host here. We were told that feng shui played a large role in the design of the winery and it is evident with the strict attention to every detail. Montes produces world class red and, to a lesser extent, white wines. This is worth a visit even if you are not a wine connoisseur just to admire the building and it rooms. The barrel room even features recordings of a Gregorian choir believed to benefit the maturation of the wine. The tasting featured ample pours of four wines.
9. Vina Las Ninas
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 74 reviews
In 1996, Bernard Dauré persuaded his friends, Jean Pierre Cayard and Claude Florensa to embark on a crazy idea, to join him in creating a wine estate at Apalta in Chile. The girls from the three families soon fell in love with the land, in the Colchagua Valley, which is only a two hour drive south of Santiago, the country’s capital. The girls, “Las Niñas” took the work, which lasted around three years, in hand … planting 160 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon, Camenere, Syrah, Mourvedre, Grenache Noir, Merlot and Chardonnay, while Mathias Klotz designed and built the cellar. The Las Niñas vineyard has established firm roots in Apalta, and with every day that passes they question the modernity of the wines that are the fruit of this land. Ecological production is a duty and the search for balance is renewed at the wine harvest every year. The freshness of their wines bearing witness to their eternal youth.
Reviewed By grantcruz - Denver, United States
Set in repurposed shipping containers, the tasting room at Vina Las Nina overlooks the mountains and the vineyard. The wine tasting is a little on the more expensive side but we tasted 5 different wines and the pours are generous.
