Spain and wine country

Old Jul 28th, 2013, 07:32 AM
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Spain and wine country

Might anyone have any recommendations of how to go about planning a two week tour of Spain in November into December that allows us some time to see some sights (not too keen on rushing the vacation to see a lot of them) and visit Spanish wine country? We will be renting a car and don't mind too lengthy of a drive. As for where we're flying into to start our vacation.... I don't know yet. I've read the Madrid v. Barcelona debate and have not yet figured out which city to make our "home base." Any help would be appreciated!
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Old Jul 28th, 2013, 07:45 AM
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Wines are grown throughout the country.

Here is a chart of the various regions. Once you narrow down the regions, it will be easier to give advice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_wine_regions
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Old Jul 28th, 2013, 07:52 AM
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BigA is dead right, wine grown all over.

Drinking and driving is a big nono.

The easy ones to visit that are well known, are the Cavas near Barcelona, Miguel Torres near Barcelona, Rioja/Navarra and Ribera Del Duero and of course Jerez.

There are tours that go to Rioja and Ribera DD from Madrid but not my thing.

In December I would not like to be in Madrid (too cold by far).
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Old Jul 28th, 2013, 08:50 AM
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Many of the bodegas will be closed during holidays in December, so hopefully you'll be there before then. Regardless, except for a few exceptions, you'll need reservations in advance. And if you don't feel fluent in Spanish, you'll find that tours given in English are only offered on certain days. Also, wineries close for lunch (1:30-4:00) and usually do not open for tours until 10:00.

We've covered many of the wine regions during late October/early November, including the Rías Baixas, Ribeiro and Ribeira Sacra in Galicia where the weather was near perfect during that time. It can be quite cool in late November in the Ribera del Duero, Rioja and Navarra wine regions because of the higher elevations. The Ribera del Duero has some of the highest vineyards in Spain, which helps product some of the best and most powerful wines. The Priorato and Montsant wine regions south of Barcelona should be a bit more moderate, but will be cooler than on the coast.

You also have to remember that daylight will be in short supply in late November in the northern regions. Nightfall comes early in the Rioja and Ribera in late November and it can be dark at 4:30 in the afternoon and pitch black by 5:30 in the because of the mountains.

Neither Madrid or Barcelona are good bases for visiting any of the wine regions except for the Penedès from Barcelona and parts of La Mancha from Madrid. And as noted, drinking and driving in Spain is frowned upon. The Guardia Civil due set up DUI stops in many of the most popular wine regions during high season, and sometimes during the off season, so be aware.

For more information on touring in the Rioja and Ribera del Duero, you can take a look at Maribel's Guide to the Rioja.
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Old Jul 28th, 2013, 09:38 AM
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November and Dec are not the best times to visit wineries (grapes long gone) and weather will be cold/coolish - depending on where you go.

Also - cannot emphasize enough that there is no tolerance for drinking and driving - and blood level limits are lower than in the US. One glass can be over the limit for a small person.
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Old Jul 28th, 2013, 10:06 AM
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We just returned from a trip to Spain that combined culture and wine. We started in Barcelona and visited cava producers in Sant Sadurni d'Anoia and several producers in Priorat. We then headed south stopping in Valdepenas and Jerez. It's a lot of driving (we don't mind long drives either), but is quite interesting to visit wineries that produce different styles of wine in areas that have unique terroir. Along the way we got explored the Islamic sites in Granada, Seville, and Cordoba. Have a great trip!
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Old Jul 28th, 2013, 10:50 AM
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I have seen the phrase Spanish wine country used many times in American newspaper or blog articles and I give myself a little chuckle. There is not such thing.
Robert, so the warm weather you encountered has dispelled the myths about the part of the world I live in?
jagoodwin1978 I would look for some accommodation which can offer you a tour of the wine area you eventually choose. Saved on drinking and driving.
Or save the visit for summer time. Here in The Ribiera Sacra they copied an idea from La Rioja and run a Vino bus service. This allows one to taste wine and not worry about driving.
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Old Jul 28th, 2013, 10:59 AM
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If you base in Barcelona, warmer than Madrid in winter, then one of the nearest wine areas is the Cava region, centred on San Sadurni d'Anoia. Howver, most of the big producers who have a visitor centre there, are not actually in the vineyards themseves. In November and December there isn't much to see in the vineyards as the grapes were picked months earlier.

However, the visitor centres are very good at the big places like Cordonui or Freixenet who mass produce cheap Cavas, but do produce some limited runs of extremely good ones. We were in San Sadurni last year and were lucky enough to go to Juve y Camps, a big producer but of better wines. You'd need to e-mail them and ask if they are running tours at that time. They don't have a formal centre with a shop on the way out, but an easy and charming tour given in English (on the day we were there)to a small group of 12 )of whom we were 10).
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Old Jul 28th, 2013, 12:10 PM
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"Robert, so the warm weather you encountered has dispelled the myths about the part of the world I live in?" Definitely!

In the 17 days we spent in Galicia, the only major rain we encountered (outside of the drizzle in Santiago) was when we drove out to Lira, and up to the "end of the earth", Cape Finisterre. The north coast, from Cariño to Vivero, was bright and sunny all week.
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Old Jul 28th, 2013, 12:19 PM
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I guess the arcades in Santiago are to protect people against the sun.

That could be because July is the driest month in Galicia with about 2 inches of rain in Santiago as opposed to 10 in in December.

Gee I went to Coney Island in December and I do not know why it is so popular in July.
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Old Jul 28th, 2013, 01:46 PM
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Could it be because you where not there in July? Just a guess...
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Old Jul 28th, 2013, 02:00 PM
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jagoodwin1978,

Try asking your question on the Snooth forum.

http://www.snooth.com/talk/category/wine-and-travel/
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Old Jul 28th, 2013, 05:25 PM
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BZZZZZT. (Is that the proper onomatopoeia for the wrong guess buzzer?)

We have been to Galicia in every season. And our last visit was during a heat wave in the middle of a July, when all the chickens had to be killed and we helped clean them.
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Old Aug 8th, 2013, 12:41 PM
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Thanks everyone for all of the excellent advice. This is my first post on this site, and I was amazed at the amount of valuable feedback. I am going to check out the snooth site and try to narrow down which areas my wife and I will go to. Maybe then you generous folk might give me some more info? Thanks again, everyone.
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Old Aug 8th, 2013, 10:22 PM
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Ohhh I just scanned that snooth site and searched for Spain. Posts are old, a lot go unanswered. and a number of Spammers trying to sell wines. Seems like no moderation is going on there.
http://www.snooth.com/talk/search/spain/
I get the feeling your questions are going to be best answered here.
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