Vintage without tripe
We are going wine tourism . And what the hell is that? Well, those who know (or those who make slogans) say that it consists of doing any tourist activity in the land of wines. And probably there is no better example of this than the Ribera de Duero , a young Denomination of Origin (barely 30 years old), with plenty of popularity that little by little is changing the way visitors are attracted, convinced and accommodated , many of them as lovers of getaways as they are of good wine.
In the middle of October, the most popular initiative is to go to the vineyards of the best wineries in the area to harvest. But beware, here no one thinks that this is a farm-school type excursion in kindergarten, although the festive character that takes over the visitor is similar to the illusion in kindergarten. The vintage for adults is more like living live than you see in a documentary one of those in which the journalist is envied. To which we must add the good tasting and the good food, a verb that should only be used for copious meals on the Plateau.
The list of wineries with wines of interest that can be visited is overwhelming (Abadía de Retuerta, Mauro, Arzuaga, Matarromera, Dehesa de los Canónigos, Emilio Moro, Hacienda Monasterio, Dominio de Atauta). But the one chosen for the experience is Bodegas Comenge. From September 15 they offer this alternative visit and they have made a strong commitment to open their doors and show the guts of their facilities without fear . Furthermore, it is an integral winery, one of the real ones, one of those in which wine is made, not in which the barrels are exhibited as if they were works of art and the farm items are hung, turning a warehouse into a museum of doubtful interest. You can see what is done on a day-to-day basis, sniffing around the work of day laborers and specialists. There is also a purely aesthetic reason, and that is that **its fields are in the shadow of the imposing Curiel castle**, a fortification that today is a hotel built on a solitary rock from where the lands of the Duero are controlled.
A vineyard near Peñafiel
We have not come this far to know the dark side of the field. The harvest as an excuse to get away from the cities is not intended as a hidden trap, but as a pleasure. Big questions are answered like: How the heck is wine made? What are the differences between Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva? Let's start the class where it should be, in the vineyard. Here the specialists (including the head oenologist) explain how to know the ideal time to harvest the grapes, tricks from yesterday to today and always added to innovations such as refractors, which help to know the degree of acidity of the grape. After the first contact, they dress the visitor with a straw cap and pruning shears to cut the bunches. Come on, they disguise him as a disoriented urbanite.
Ten minutes of chopping and dicing doesn't hurt anyone. . That's how it is. This 'light' vintage is neither traumatic nor excessively deep. Afterwards, you return to the harmonious buildings, a route that can be done in this winery riding in a horse-drawn carriage like good gentlemen. Here, and also under the imperturbable presence of the beautiful fortress, the grapes are selected and the fermentation tanks are shown (forget crushing the grapes with your feet, we are in the 21st century) and, of course, the barrels where the wine will then be cured and its flavor rounded off.
It's reward time , to deactivate the peasant mode to go to the most snobbish of the tasting (even if it is for a few minutes) . The visitor surprises himself by putting his nose in the glass, trying to understand the explanations of each wine, to capture the aromas of cloves or liquorice. He is not wasted. These are somewhat marketing moments, in which the winery reserves the right to do a bit of publicity while explaining the benefits of each vintage, of each bottle. And since we are in the depths of the Castilla de Delibes, the tasting is not so tasting if it is not done with a good menu to finish off the day with its starters and, of course, that melt-in-your-mouth roast suckling lamb. Only one prohibition: do not mention the word cholesterol in food. It's not necesary thanks.
We are going wine tourism