Well, dang it. Sometimes someone just beats me to the punch.

I was just getting ready to compose a witty and fascinating post about our stay at WineBox in the Chilean port city of Valparaiso. Then google handed me this: Grant Phelps and His WineBox by Kendal Montgomery on her website Purple Mouthed.

No point reinventing the wheel. This lady nailed it. So… instead, I’ll strongly encourage you to read her post, and I’ll just add a bit of commentary about our visit.

On Feb. 11, we took off for the coast to celebrate the birthday of our friend Sam. The plan included a tour and lunch at Casas del Bosque winery in the Casablanca Valley before checking in at WineBox, a new hillside hotel built out of retired shipping containers and overlooking the sea.

As we all waited in the warm sunshine, the winery started its tour without us, even though our conspicuously big gringo group had just paid. Hmmm… maybe we could have lunch first and do the tour afterwards? A waitress led us to the restaurant, where alas, there were no tables available. Hmmm… maybe we could just sit outside and drink wine? So that’s what we did. Eventually we had lunch, but the tour never materialized.

Sam and Hilary do their best “catalog models in a vineyard” schtick.

Later, we zigged and zagged up one of Valparaiso’s famous hills to reach WineBox, where we parked in the combination winery/parking garage. The place was bursting with color and art, and we all felt giddy at the novelty. Just when you think Valparaiso can’t get any quirkier…

Even the beams in the garage featured stenciled art – facts about shipping containers, of course.

Upstairs, we explored our rooms and the rooftop bar. Such a fun vibe.

We spent the evening with pizza, wine, and games. After breakfast the next morning, winemaker and WineBox owner Grant Phelps shared his story. Check it out:

Before heading back to Santiago, Grant offered me a “syrah lay back.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
He explained, “You lay on the wine barrels and I shoot wine into your mouth.”
“Oh hell, no,” I said.
But Sarah said, “Oh hell yeah!” And that’s how Sarah became the first person in WineBox history to experience the syrah lay back. I made her wipe the wine off her back and out of her hair before getting in my car.