Visiting Terra Alta and Montsant wine regions

February 15, 2010 by Admin
Filed under Activities, Tours, Wine tours

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Terra Alta is just about possible to visit as a day trip from Girona if you get an early start. The roads are motorway almost the whole way and with the new Reus bypass open it cuts at least half an hour off the trip to Falset in the Montsant.

Why go to these places you ask, what's there that is worth sitting in a car for over 2 hours each way?

Well, several things actually, as they happen to be interesting areas from a geological point of view with mountains and the river Ebro as important features, but mostly the visits are to discover good value wines and excellent olive oil.

These two regions are the decidedly poor cousins of the Priorat wine region which is also nearby but has been much better at putting itself on the world wine map.

Terra Alta and Montsant both have the poor soils, rolling or steep hills, extreme weather and little rain which provides the raw materials for producing wines with character. There are fewer wineries here as most of the hot money went to Priorat which had a better name and where the wines commanded a premium while the world economy boomed.

Red wines from these areas are mainly made from the garnacha (grenache in France) and cariñena (carignan in France) grapes which complement each other very well in aromas, colour and structure.

The whites tend to be garnacha blanca, xarello or macabeu mixed with some more recent arrivals like chardonnay and sauvignon blanc. Both red and whites can be on the alcoholic side, purely a factor of the long hours of sunshine all year long.

Visiting some of the smaller producers is especially rewarding as they are trying to get away from the co-op image of quantity over quality. The younger winemakers are emphasising more fruit and less oak for fresher wines which appeal to an international palate.

These are the perfect places to discover wines to weather the economic crisis as they are easy to drink and very affordable.

We organise wine tours to many of the 12 Catalan "Denominaciones de Origen" (like the appellations in France)- please email: discovergirona@gmail.com for more information.

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Tags: cariñena, Falset, garnacha, Montsant, Priorat, river Ebro, Terra Alta, Wine tours

Priorat wine tour

August 5, 2009 by Admin
Filed under Activities, Activity tours, Cultural tours, Tours, Wine and food, Wine tours

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The Priorat is one of the hidden gems of the Spanish wine world and luckily it is much easier to visit now that the access roads have improved and only takes an hour and a half to reach from Barcelona.
Why go there? Well the terrain is mountainous, the climate very dry and extreme and the roads narrow and winding but despite all of this the drama of the steep slopes planted with almond trees or vines, villages built on rocky outcrops and above all some spectacular wines are what should bring you here.
This is where the traditional varieties of garnacha (white and red) and cariñena are blended with newer arrivals cabernet, syrah and merlot to make some of the most powerful yet complex wines which reflect the wild herbs and red fruit aromas which send wine lovers all over the world into ecstasy.
It is fair to say that these wines have a bigger following outside of Spain due to what is referred to locally as "Riojitis" but cost has also been a factor since many of these wines have been overpriced. Reality seems to have set in and there are plenty of very interesting offerings in the 10-25? range as the number of Bodegas (wineries) has exploded from a dozen to nearly a hundred in only ten years.
A day trip visiting two contrasting bodegas with a full lunch in between is a great way to discover this wild area and I know you will fall in love with it just like me!
Contact: wine.walks@gmail.com for more details.

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Posted via email from gironaJ

Tags: Barcelona, cabernet, cariñena, Falset, garnacha, mertot, Priorat, Priorato, shiraz, syrah, wine tasting, wine tour

Priorato cooking demonstration

May 5, 2009 by Admin
Filed under Activities, Wine and food

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As part of the wine festival there are also olive oil tastings and cooking demonstrations throughout the weekend. This one was held in the main square of Falset and everyone had the same accessories of either a butane camping gas stove or a small charcoal grill on which to prepare their dishes.
All the important ingredients of the area were being shown off in spectacular and imaginative style from wild herbs, pine nuts and almonds, olives and olive oil, wine, vinegar to season wild boar, hare, rabbit and some juicy pork products.
What cannot be passed on through the pictures is the amazing smells and of course the taste, next year you will have to come to sample for yourselves!

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Posted via email from gironaJ

Tags: almonds, cooking, Falset, Festival, olive oil, olives, Priorato, wine fair