La Vendimia

Saturday morning I woke up with 3 hours of sleep, packed up and headed out to the Chilean countryside. Mel's Chilean mother, Pati, had invited us to a Vendimia, wine festival, in San Fernando just about 2 hours south of Santiago. We arrived early and headed to her son's farm welcomed by what seemed like 20 dogs and an offer of a typical Chilean country drink of 'vino con pomelo,' or white wine with grapefruit. Before receiving this welcome drink, we searched out the only grapefruit tree in the midst of fields full of peach, almond and grape trees. We found 3 ripe grapefruits and headed back with our harvest to the house. We sipped our drink and got to know the dogs personally. One of the dogs, a basset hound, had recently given birth to 9 little pups. We took 4 of them with us to sell at the fair. After a squished ride, while holding the pups in my lap, we arrived at the vindemia. Running on an empty stomach at 3 p.m., I was ready for food and my eyes immediately landed on this feast of meat.

A little out of character, but starving, I split a plate of pure meat with friends and enjoyed every bite of it. Then on to the wine. Following the advice of Chilean friends, I started with white wine, then moved to the reds. I learned the signs of a good wine, such as the amount of legs, the color of the shadow, and the peak of the bottle. I definitely had some favorites, if only I had written down their names. Made some friends, including a Yoga instructor who taught me his theory of universality, Canadians who told Mel and I they thought were Chileans because of our Spanish (either they knew nothing of Chilean Spanish or they were just attempting to flirt), and many puppy inquirers.

Hours later, we left the Vendimia and headed back to the farm, this time with more friends. Here, I met several WWOOFers, World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. This is the program I had planned on doing for the first two weeks of Chile, but unfortunately did not work out. The farm was owned by an American and co-run by a Texas Longhorn alum. They told us all about their farm in Southern Chile, and one that grew the same fruits in Washington. The fruit we heard the most about was the horned fruit. It is a cross between a cucumber and a citrus and is only grown on these two farms.

We tested their acclaimed horned fruit the next day for breakfast, and it was quite unique. It was very interesting to learn about this form the owners and the workers and I urge to you read more about it here on their website.

Back to the fiesta. I conversed in Spanish with Chileans, North Americans, and a German. Impossibly, we grilled more meat and I ate it with pleasure. By the end of the night, I tested out my dj-ing skills and watched my friends dance around the campfire. I ended the night cuddling with Mel on an air-mattress and woke up to eggs, bread, home-grown peach marmelade and good company.

The next, Pati and Mel were headed off the Vendimia for another round. I had a quiz to study for, so they dropped me off at the bus station. I closed my eyes as soon as I boarded, and opened them what felt like 2 minutes later in Santiago.

A little more of a wino,
Lauren Adele