Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Day 7: Making memories (and wine!) at Montgras Estate

We started the day with the anticipation of our last stop of the day - wine tasting at Montgras Estates! Alas we had a few stops before getting to the winery. 

Our first stop was with a visit with a small vegetable and fruit producer. Luis Carrasco Saldana is a forward-thinking farmer who took the initiative three years ago to further educate himself and a small group of fellow farmers on upgrading their irrigation systems.  With a well only four meters deep he irrigates his cherries, onions, melons and beans for the local market. His advice to us was to do everything with love.  

With irrigation on our minds our next stop was with Graciela who oversees all of the water systems in the area.  In the past six years, due to climate change, Chile has lost 30% of its rain and the river water is down 40%.  The biggest challenge is trying to get the government to acknowledge the need for dams and policy and to act on getting those dams constructed. This would allow water to be distributed more efficiently and recharge aquifers used by wells in the regions.  

Our lunch was enjoyed overlooking a vineyard at Vino Bello on their outdoor terrace complete with horse and wagon. This offered several photo opportunities with the vineyard in the background and a warm breeze blowing around us.  We enjoyed some wine, the vista and great conversation. 

Little did we know that on our final stop of the day we would become Montgras Estates newest winemakers upon our arrival! Gonzalos Silva guided us on our adventure in harvesting and making wine.   He gave us a bucket and some shears and we each got to experience picking our bucket of grapes. Then came the fun part - we took off our shoes and rolled up our pants and savoured the adventure of crushing grapes and watching the juice fill our buckets. To feel the grapes squeeze between our toes and the sweet juice bursting out was a therapeutic experience.  We cleaned up and proceeded with our tour of how they make wine with today's technology. White wine is cool fermented with only the juice and red is warm fermented with the whole grape skin seeds and all.  

Gonzalos instructed us in the proper wine tasting technique to first smell then swirl and smell again and finally taste by swirling in our mouths before swallowing. As Gonzalos says, “a good wine is the one you like the taste of" – so find the one you like and enjoy.   

We returned to Rancagua to enjoy our final night in Chile! Tomorrow we depart for Argentina.

-Class 15

 

Views: 271

Comment

You need to be a member of Ontario Agriculture to add comments!

Join Ontario Agriculture

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Replenish Nutrients Announces Steven Glover as Special Advisor to the Board and Director Nominee

Replenish Nutrients Holding Corp. (CSE: ERTH) (OTC: VVIVF) ("Replenish" or the "Company"), a leader in regenerative agriculture solutions, is pleased to announce that Steven Glover, FCPA, FCA, will join the Company as a Special Advisor to the Board of Directors, effective April 7, 2026. Mr. Glover will be nominated for election to the Company's Board of Directors at its upcoming Annual General Meeting on June 19, 2026. Mr. Glover is an independent director nominee. Upon election, it is anticipated that he will serve as the Company's audit committee chair. Mr. Glover brings nearly five decades of experience in accounting, financial oversight, and public-company governance, with a career spanning senior executive roles, regulatory and professional leadership, and extensive board and audit committee service. Mr. Glover currently serves as Lead Director and Audit Committee Chair of Genesis Land Development Corp. (TSX: GDC), where he provides oversight of financial reporting, enterprise r

Government of Canada invests in low-carbon agrichemicals to advance sustainability in agriculture

Canada's agricultural sector is at the forefront of building a greener future and ensuring Canadians have access to sustainable, homegrown solutions. Supporting leading-edge technology is critical to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fortifying Canada's food systems for generations to come. Today, Wade Chang, Member of Parliament for Burnaby Central, on behalf of the Honourable Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced an investment of up to $1,236,310 for Anodyne Chemistries Inc. through the AgriScience Program - Projects Component, under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership. This investment will support Anodyne Chemistries in developing and demonstrating an innovative bio-electric process that converts carbon dioxide and water into high-quality, low-carbon formic acid and hydrogen peroxide, resulting in significant GHG reductions and reduced reliance on petrochemical feedstocks for Canada's agricultural sector. Formic acid and hydrogen

Canada's two major railways see slight improvement in grain deliveries in week 34: Ag Transport Coalition

The Ag Transport Coalition reports week 34 saw system performance improve notably, with CN and CPKC Rail combined, supplying 80% of hopper cars ordered. That's an improvement from the 65% performance seen in week 33, and the best performance seen since week 25 in mid-January. System performance remains below the 90% performance threshold for a tenth consecutive week, but returns to the 80% threshold for the first time in nine weeks. In supplying 85% of cars ordered by shippers in week 34, CN saw performance improve from the 79% order fulfillment performance seen in week 33. This marks the best performance seen from CN in the last five weeks, but CN performance remains below the 90% threshold for a tenth straight week. Meanwhile, in supplying 75% of shipper orders, CPKC saw performance improve dramatically from the 52% order fulfillment performance seen in week 33, with the railway posting their best performance in eight weeks. CPKC performance remains below the 90% performance th

Crop input retailer happy United Farmers of Alberta bought AgraCity

A competitor is pleased with United Farmers of Alberta’s purchase of the AgraCity Group of companies. Farmers Business Network thinks the deal is good news for farmers. “The work that AgraCity did to build their portfolio of products and labels will still be available to farmers going forward,” said Breen Neeser, FBN’s general manager for Canada.“They have some really good products.” He is happy that the AgraCity assets are staying in the hands of an established western Canadian company that has been in the agriculture business for a long time. “They know farming,” he said. “They’re partners with farmers.” Neeser believes UFA was keen on expanding their footprint in Saskatchewan. “I think that was part of the play,” he said. He is pleased that the assets did not end up in the hands of a foreign entity. “UFA is part of the fabric of western Canadian farming, especially Alberta and in some ways Saskatchewan now,” he said. “I’m glad it’s in the hands of somebody who sees the bus

Greenbelt Seen as Key to Ontario Food Security and Agri-Food Growth

Ontario’s Greenbelt should be treated as a strategic pillar of food security and economic growth, according to a new report released by the Greenbelt Foundation.  

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service