If there is a wine region to see and experience in the countries we visit, we will be there. On Friday, we went on a wine tour with the wonderful Rio as our knowledgeable guide.

The drive out to the winery’s we were to visit was full of olive trees. Old ones with double trunks, and young ones with the skinny trunks. 50% of the worlds supply of olive oil comes from Spain, but Italy has the greater production. Also, almond trees. The nuts are used to make marzipan.

The first place Rio drove us to was the medieval town of Chinchón. Bodega Del Nero was the first Winery we were to tour. It was established in 1870 and the 150 year old building is still being used to produce their wine. Our guide was Roberto, a 5th generation wine maker. He didn’t speak English, so he spoke in Spanish, and Rio translated to English. They own their own vineyards outside the town, and handpick the grapes. They grow the vines in clay soil, and the fermentation process is in clay barrels, the traditional way instead of in steel vats. They hold 4,000 liters and are very porous. The cleaning of the insides of these pots is very meticulous and takes a skinny person to go inside to clean, and to be very careful not to cause any damage. Any knick will make them unusable again. Roberto paired our tastings with local cheeses.

The 2nd Winery we went to was Bodega de Jesus Diaz in the town of Colmenar de Oreja. The Winery is housed in a former 16th century Franciscan convent. Antonio was our winemaker. White wines, 10,000 liters, are fermented in clay pots, red wine, 5,000 liters, are fermented in cement vats. The biggest production is their white wines. These are all stored in a building from 1840. Way down in the cellar are the riddling racks for the sparkling wine they produce. Since the weather was so pretty outside we did our tastings on their patio. Again, Rio interpreted to English for us who are Spanish language challenged. While opening up the sparkling wine, Roberto used an instrument to lop off the top of the sparkling wine. Our samples were again paired with local cheeses and meats.

It was a wonderful experience. I love to see how the different regions produce their wines. A lot of the winery’s in these countries are tucked away in small towns. So, not only do you get to hear about the locals make their wines, but you get to hear about their villages. Everyone wants to share and answer your questions. And Roberto and Antonio happily poured their delicious wines.

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