A luxury holiday in Chile will satisfy your palate

Chile is a fantastic place to take a luxury holiday - especially if you have a taste for gourmet food and fine wines.

The South American country is perhaps best known for its stunning natural beauty, but it has also built a solid reputation as a gastronomic hub.

Wine aficionados will be in their element as they patrol this fascinating part of the world, as the country is full of superb wineries. Chilean winemaking underwent something of a renaissance in the 1980s and it now produces some of the finest tipples in the world.

Santiago is at the centre of the country's wine industry and visitors should go out of their way to visit the glorious Central Valley.

If you are planning to take a luxury holiday in Chile in September, then you simply cannot miss the Chilean Wine Fair. Held in Santiago, the event showcases a huge range of grape-based drinks that will satisfy the palates of even the most demanding wine experts.

You will also be able to sample some of the most wonderful beverages the country has to offer if you book a stay at the tranquil Hotel Casa Silva, which is an historic wine estate in the Colchagua Valley.

For a place with such a fine reputation to uphold, it is important that Chile's cuisine is also up to scratch - and it certainly is.

Guests at the Casa Silva Winery will find a gourmet restaurant in one of the barrel rooms, which serves up some exquisite local fare. It is also worth heading down to the Mercado Central - which is the capital city's biggest and most famous market. Here you will come across all kinds of wonderful fresh ingredients that are bought by talented local chefs, who turn them into stunning dishes.

Santiago is not the only part of Chile that boasts such classy eating establishments, though. If you head towards the coastal city of Valparaiso you will find some of the very best seafood restaurants on the continent, which - as you would expect - is accompanied by a fine selection of wines.