Some very good friends are leaving for Spain later this week and asked if there is a ‘can’t miss’ winery or two they should visit. They love wine, are often willing to try new things when I dig into the cellar, but they are not geeks. Any ideas?
They are flying into Madrid and driving south along the east coast through Valencia and Sevilla, then taking the bullet train to Madrid. Rioja is completely out of the question, but it appears Priorat is a good option…
Are they willing to drive up north to, say, Priorat where they can spend a night or 2? It’s almost a 3 hour drive from Valencia to Priorat.
I believe they are flying into Madrid, so they should be going through Priorat, correct?
I don’t see what flying into Madrid has to do with passing by Priorat. Priorat is further north Madrid or Valencia. Probably about 5+ hour drive from Madrid. Priorat is closest, in terms of major Spanish cities, to Barcelona.
Apologies Ramon, I meant to say they are flying into Barcelona and then driving south along the coast. They will be flying home from Madrid.
I think that it’s important to make appointments at Spanish wineries. At least that was the case when I was there a few years ago. Clos Martinet and Clos Mogador are very good priorats but I haven’t visited them. There is also a concentration of cava houses within an hour of Barcelona.
Cheers,
Hal
Most wine regions in Spain aren’t like Napa. Your friends should make some arrangements. As far as places they “must” visit, since they haven’t been there before, one place is as good as another. I wouldn’t worry about particular bodgas, just tell them to take in what they can. They’re going to be in a nice area and there’s plenty to do and some great food. I would just explore.
Mike,
Priorat is a good option, but only if they are willing to drive 2+ hours from Barcelona to visit the wineries. Since you mentioned that your travelling friends are not wine geeks, perhaps an easier and more convenient region would suffice.
How about the Penedes wine region? This is just 30 minutes drive south of Barcelona. Plus, there should be available wine tours to pick them up that the hotels can recommend. I recall some of the larger wineries have official tasting rooms, a la Napa/Sonoma, where you can just walk in. Of course, I would heed the advices on protocols by the other posters here, and would always call in advance to make sure that they’re available to receive your friends.
A couple of large wineries that are within 40 minutes of drive of Barcelona are:
Torres (a suite of all types of wines) http://www.torres.es/
Castellroig (mostly Cava) http://www.castellroig.com/en/
Well along those lines, if they’re able to get to Ribera del Duero, they should probably visit Protos as well. Torres is a great suggestion.
Fantastic - thanks guys!
?? But Ribera del Duero isn’t close to Barcelona.
Well, I would recommend Priorat but it isn’t on the way. You have to specifically drive there about 1.5-2 hours south of Barcelona. There are any of a number of really nice wine tours from Barcelona to Priorat/Peñendes and, if you are going to more than one or two wineries, I would recommend a tour or driver or you shouldn’t be drinking.