Wendy Perrin of Condé Nast Traveler has a good rundown on how the massive earthquake in Chile has affected various areas of the country. Figuring out the geography of a foreign land is always difficult, but with Chile being as long and skinny as it is, most of us have no clue which parts are a no-go zone and which aren’t. Here’s where it’s safe and not safe to travel there.

In a nutshell, these spots are off limits and will be in recovery mode for quite a while:

- Juan Fernández Islands
- Wine Region (Santa Cruz and surroundings)
- Concepción – the worst-hit area

The problem with many other areas not affected much at all, like the Patagonia Lake District to the south and the Atacama Desert up north, is that the Santiago airport is currently closed. So unless you’re coming and going overland from another country, you’ll have a tough time getting there or away. If you had a trip planned to Chile in the next couple weeks, do what you can to reschedule or adjust the itinerary and time frame to allow for diversions.

The first W hotel opened in South America recently, in Chile’s capital of Santiago. We’ve got a detailed review of it, turned in by our man on the scene in Chile: W Santiago Hotel review.

This isn’t the only W hotel in Latin America, as the W in Mexico City has been a trust fund kids’ social magnet for years. I’m kind of surprised Starwood hasn’t opened more of these in the region, actually, since they are struggling in the U.S. and have lost two key hotels because of financial problems. The concept might not fly in a place like Buenos Aires or Sao Paulo, where there are already more than enough designer hotels without bringing in a corporate version, but in many other Latin American capitals there’s a serious dearth of hip hotels with good aesthetics that will appeal to people under age 50.

This Santiago version is too large to be considered a “boutique hotel” since it has 196 rooms and is attached to a huge real estate development with “a convention center, offices, luxury apartments, a sprawling gym, and several boutique stores including a local wine store—a store that is installing on the premises the largest wine cellar in Chile.” It’s got all the right visual touches though and has quickly become the place to see and be seen in Santiago.

If your taste runs to the modern rather than the frilly antique reproductions you’ll find at the Ritz-Carlton Santiago, then Chile’s new W Hotel is ready to welcome you. See the full review here.

As reported by Mercopress, Chile’s Concha y Toro exported 26.6 million cases of wine in 2009, making the winemaker the eighth largest producer in the world.

The company exports to over 130 countries worldwide and hold 7,000 hectares of vines across Chile and Argentina.

The United Kingdom is the brand’s biggest market, consuming nearly 30% of global exports. The brand is also the most popular Chilean brand in Britain, with its products representing 31% of all the Chilean wine sold in that country. The United States is the second largest consumer of the company’s products, holding 18% of the market.

For me, this brand is a consistent everyday bargain, especially when it comes to Cabernet. Their lowest-priced offerings are often the best around in the sub-$10 range, with the only real quality competition in reds coming from neighboring Argentina. I’ve had the pleasure of trying some of their top-end wines too though–and most of those are a bargain too for what you get, especially if you buy them within Chile. The usual reaction is, “Wow, this wine tastes a lot more expensive than it really is.”

Salut!

One of our correspondents recently had the tough job of going on a custom tour in the northern Patagonia area of Argentina with the premier upscale agency Mai10. Hey, somebody’s gotta do it.

She started in Buenos Aires at the Palacio Duhau Park Hyatt, but then stayed at a range of intimate estancias and fishing lodges in the countryside after she headed south.

It’s a tale of panoramic views, fly fishing, horseback riding, nature parks, and spas, taking in the best of the best that northern Patagonia has to offer. Of course that includes lots of fine wine and wonderful food.

Read the full story here: A Tailor-made Tour of Argentine Patagonia’s Lake District.

We just posted two tour stories from one of my favorite regions in South America: the spectacular area of northern Argentina around Salta and Cafayate.

Paul and Lorie Bennett lined their trip up through Grapevine Wine Tours, a company I had the pleasure of working with when I toured some of the top wineries in Mendoza.

They first take us outside the fun Colonial city of Salta to the sparsely populated surrounding areas such as the Salinas Grandes salt desert, Jujay, Purmamarca and Humahuaca Gorge. This dry, dramatic part of Argentina is nothing like the rest of the country. See the whole story here: Touring the Salta Countryside in Northern Argentina.

The other story is on the wineries in and surrounding the picture-perfect town of Cafayate. This wine region is overshadowed by its more famous brother to the south, Mendoza, but I like Cafayate much better myself since it’s not so spread out. You can get to many of the local wineries on a rented bicycle. Or if you go on a tour as the Bennetts did (very helpful since many of the tours are in Spanish ordinarily), then you can get from your hotel to most any vineyard in less than 15 minutes, with no traffic to worry about. This is a gentle, laid-back city meant for strolling and biking and the wine snobs are few and far between. Drink, eat, and enjoy. Divine wine along Cafayate’s Ruta de Vino.

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