by winepleasures | Apr 7, 2011 | Wine Tours
On a fine sunny day as usual in the Penedes, with the vines just starting to sprout, we pulled into the drive of the castle and were cordially greeted by Joaquin Sr, who was to show us around….hold on, did I say castle?! Yep, that’s definitely what we saw at Torre del...
by winepleasures | Mar 30, 2011 | Wine Tours
On the approach to Masia Cal Costas, as the road ends, the large white masia gleams in the morning light while the roof tiles glow an earthy red. The view stretches out towards the sea with field after field of vines with a mixture of manicured straight rows and more...
by winepleasures | Mar 25, 2011 | Wine Tours
Instilling local identity into the art of winemaking Since I don´t claim to be a complete connoisseur when it comes to taste analysis, I enjoy it when my wine comes with a bit of a story behind the label – or even on it. Jané Ventura, a small winery in the Baix...
by winepleasures | Mar 23, 2011 | Wine Tours
A wine tourist’s insight into the world of Cava and how it is produced. I am an Australian and while I enjoy a wine, I had not heard about Cava until I was standing in a pub in London, celebrating the end of the working week. The women I was with were starting their...
by winepleasures | Mar 18, 2011 | Wine Workshops, Wine Tours
The 2011 Wine Pleasures Reverse Trade Mission to Spain for wine importers was hosted in the seaside town of Calafell south of Barcelona. Salvador Valles owns and manages the lovely Hotel Antiga on the main square just below the medieval castle and next door to the...
by winepleasures | Mar 11, 2011 | Wine Workshops, Wine Tours
“In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of” calçots! (with apologies to Alfred Lord Tennyson). Calçots (pronounced cal-sots) are a traditional Catalonian dish which is served only when the calçots are ready for harvest which is any time...