Fine Wine and Dining

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Another of of Syracuse's optional trips is to a winery about an hour outside of Madrid. The trip included a tour around the winery, sampling, and lunch and I really enjoyed the visit. Spain is known for it's high quality of wine because of the quality of grapes that their location and climate provides them. There are a few places that produce different types of wines. Down south, for example, they are known for having the best sherry in the world. We went to the region called La Mancha that is known for their Vinos Tintos (or red wines).

The winery we visited was very small in comparison with many of the huge wineries in the region. But, they were known for their exceptionally high quality wine and were very nice hosts for the 25 or so of us that came to visit. They had just picked the grapes a week before we had arrived and they told us they had a small but very good batch of grapes for this season (the really hot summer made it harder to produce larger quantities). We walked through were they ferment the wine, where they bottle it, and the cellars of oak barrels. As someone who knows absolutely nothing about wine, it was a very informative and interesting visit.

Of course the best part was the lunch for me! Huge three course meal with a different wine for each round. Of course, we learned some Spanish wine etiquette as well such as that you never fill the glass up. Rather you pour enough to fill about the bottom fifth of the glass and not more. It is nice they try to infuse some culture into us very uncultured American students.

After the winery visit, we stopped for an hour in the down of Chinchún. This town is a very quaint town that many people from Madrid still have family from and visit often. It is perhaps best known for its town center which is a bull fighting ring. The ring is surrounded by cafes and terraces for people to watch the bull fight from and the ring is used as a parking lot when there is not a bull fight. It was a very nice stop for a quick coffee and walk around.

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Photos

The Vineyards
The had just picked the grapes the week before

Bottling the Wine
This machine can do about 1,000 bottles an hour

Inside the Cellars
The barrels are made of French and American oak.

Lunch!
Meatball Stew, very tender, delicious chicken, and a great chocolate cake dessert.

Main Entrance to the Winery
Bodega means winery in Spanish

In main plaza in Chinchón
This plaza is famous for the bull fights that take place in the heart of the city

Terraces in Chinchón plaza
People can watch the bull fights from these terraces

Looking out Chinchón
Notice the bull fight ring in the middle