"Wine tours, tastings and historic sites ...more than wine"                                                                                                               

 Valencian Cellar Tours  

                                      ** Requena Winery 1/2 Day **                

Come with me and discover the wines of Valencia´s "terroir" visiting a leading wine estate.

D.O Utiel-Requena is the largest, highest (600-900m)  & the furthest inland of the Valencian D.O´s possessing great growing conditions.
It´s the rising star of the Valencian wine regions collecting more than 250 international awards in 2019. Good vintages & talented vintners have brought Utiel-Requena into a new era!

 The main grape is the autoctono Bobal red variety.. somewhat abandoned here a long time ago, providing identity and signature wines of structure &  young, fresher styles.

 The many old Bobal bush vines en secano (without irrigation)  give uniqueness to the landscape: withstanding seasons..seemingly immortal to the passing of time.  You will also encounter dry herbal rosé, lively Cava focusing on chardonney, rich whites tinged with subtle toast of new oak & red wines from noble grapes like Tempranillo, Garnacha, Syrah etc. complimenting  Bobal as a single variety or coupage.

 These wines now compete with more well known Spanish  names and often outshine their competition ! 

  We start in the vines looking at the viticulture techniques, differences like hand vs machine harvesting etc. and concept of terroir. Then a fully guided visit of the winery explaining how they make their wine and Cava (the Spanish Champan) ....more of a mini 101 wine education with interesting facts from grape to bottle.

  We explain each stage from grape selection, destemming or whole bunchs, fermentation & the various techniques of making the wines.You will learn more about barrel aging and perhaps try a barrel sample. Down to the Cava cellar & provide a real insight into the techniques...you may be lucky to witness degorge and final corking take place.

 Now time to taste a selection of the estate´s good wines & Cava  complimented with local cheese, charcouteria and also taste the estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  Wines may be purchased at fair prices directly from cellar. *Although we have just outlined the visit here it is not a typical wine tour and I believe this is a unique wine experience....even for a seasoned wine buff.                                                

   Taking a panoramic scenic drive through wine countryside we make a short trip to Requena historic town with a stop at a local artisan shop (cured sausages, honey,pottery etc). Requena has it´s own DOP for embutido with own recipes like "chorizo marinated in Cava" or "salchichon & walnuts"... local delicatessen at great prices. I confess it´s one of my favourite tapas with a glass of Cava!

 Utiel-Requena with almost 40,000 hectares in vines is 2nd  
largest producer of wine in Spain. Requena is located 70km from Valencia city.

Well connected by autovia it´s a journey of just under an hour from Valencia.

 We offer trips for small groups from Valencia. Tours are guided by myself  Toni & the winery in English, so you are assured of  a good understanding of wine & historical knowledge of the region  in air-con comfortable transport..