Wine...in Vino veritas est

[Jacobus]

Good Morning,

Most everyone is aware and as most have posted at least a mention on this topic I thought it might be prudent to start a discussion on the topic of wines and wineries/bodegas that are available to drink/tour along the Camino Frances. I would hope to exclude wine regions that do not touch the CF.

I am particularly interested in good experiences at wineries or bars that you might have had. At the end of this exercise I hope to compile a list of wines to locate and taste and a list of bodegas and bars to experience. Of course wine and food are so closely linked the mention of one without the other is rare so by all means include what you had to eat with the vino!

To start the ball rolling I would like to mention an experience I had in Molinaseca. I spent a day there seeking medical attention and ended up in a taxi to Ponferrada. |The driver who returned me to my lodging in Molinaseca recommended a restaurant in Molinaseca called Casa Ramon. I am very glad that he did.

I went for lunch at about 2 pm and stayed well past dinner until about 11pm. All the while being wined and dined on the recommendations of the owner, the waiter and the chef. I enjoyed 3 different wines and left the restaurant completely sober such was the amt of food that showed up at my table.

This was my lunch. The wine pictured was served after lunch. Apparently it was unique to the region but my Spanish was left wanting when conversing with Ramon so I'm not sure of the story I was being told. In any event it was the best wine/food experience of my entire 4 Camino's.
Regards
Jim

PS I am in NO WAY associated with the restaurant.A reluctant Ramon agreed to pose with me near the jamon of which I enjoyed copious amounts as a first course.

 

[DurhamParish]

I can wholeheartedly recommend Bodegas Irache and it's Vino Fuente!!!!!


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[Rebekah Scott]

Molinaseca is in the heart of Mencia/Godello country, with good wine from both Bierzo and Valdeorras D.O.s in abundance. As you move west you touch on other DOs (denominacion de origin) regions, like Ribera Sacra and Ribeiro, and finally the lovely Galician Rias Baixas DO made with Albarino grapes. It is hard to get really bad wine in any of that area! If you are looking for a real tasting /hiking experience, I recommend a walk on the Camino de Invierno, which passes through ALL these growing regions. Many local bars have tasting menus, or feature some lovely, cheap local vintage you won't find anywhere else.

 

[hecate105]

Is this restricted to the Camino Frances? If not I would like to nominate the Port Wine Institute (Lisboa Solar) in Rua de S. Pedro de Alcântara, in the Bairro Alto, Porto. Despite lurking outside in red trousers, blue top, hat and (horror) bright orange crocs - the Manager opened the doors early and ushered my husband and I (sweaty, fetid cyclists) to the best seat in the house. We repaid his confidence in us by slurping down a good few aged port wines, sitting high above the Douro lined with Port Lodges. It was a wonderful place - a former palace and despite its posh-ness - welcomed us in.
It rather rebalanced our lunch - which was taken in a workmen's café - the famous 'Francosinho' a stack of several meats, fried eggs and melted cheese, served swimming in gravy and accompanied by chips. Now - that's cuisine!

 

[donalomahony]

Recommend this. Saw it a lot around Leon.

 

[jeffnd]

I miss the good stuff...

 

[Susan hopes]

I am very much a light-weight when it comes to wines and spirits. My favorite wine is a light, sweet Moscato. Can anyone recommend a Spanish wine that fits into this category, and will I find such a wine along the Camino?

 

[Houlet]

I just weighed my "Penin Guide to Spanish Wine" it is 1198 grams, maybe if I ditched my clothes and sleeping bag I could take it along?

 

[Jacobus]

I just weighed my "Penin Guide to Spanish Wine" it is 1198 grams, maybe if I ditched my clothes and sleeping bag I could take it along?

There are some priorities that just can't be ignored!!!

 

[TMcA]

Two suggestions...

In Logrono it is easy to take a bus to the Bodega Ontanon. Tastings are not free...I think they were about 12 euros per person. The tourist office in Logrono will reserve your tour and give you instructions about the bus service. After the guided tour of the winery (in English), four wines were served to us plus some bread and cheese to cleanse the palate between offerings. The wines we sampled were quite nice and the guide introduced each wine (again in English). Ontanon wines are available near us, so we can occasionally reminisce about our Camino Frances over one of their bottles. Nice!

Another very good wine we found by accident during a stop for lunch in Cacabelo which is between Ponferrada and Villafranco del Bierzo. It was the house wine in the hotel/restaurant Moncloa de San Lazro. The wine was a bierzo red called 22 D2 with the first "2" reversed. It was remarkably good and while paying our bill I asked the person in the gift/wine shop its price. Only 7 or 8 euros. I then mentioned that I was impressed by its quality. The response was something like " Robert Parker has visited here and he thought so, too". I actually bought a bottle of this wine which my energetic wife carried to our next stop, something we had never done earlier and would never do again. It was just too much weight. But when we arrived at our hostel I met two Spaniards, both very friendly and one busy at the common computer. His friend told me "He's got problems back home". The problem was that the day before he was to leave for his month long hike, he received a dunning letter from the Spanish tax authorities and he was trying to respond using email and Skype with his brother to whom he had give access to his tax paperwork. I told him the same thing had happened to me in my country and that I was going to help him. With that I went back to our room, retrieved the wine my wife had kindly carried all afternoon, and took it back to the common area to be shared by the Spaniards, a young Korean girl, my wife, and me. The Spaniard with the tax problems later walked into town and bought two bottles of good wine to share with us, but we had left for dinner and missed his selections. Here's a picture of the label of the Bierzo red.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

I am very much a light-weight when it comes to wines and spirits. My favorite wine is a light, sweet Moscato. Can anyone recommend a Spanish wine that fits into this category, and will I find such a wine along the Camino?

Light and sweet... you can get Moscotel, made with the same grape as Moscato - sweet wine from Malaga, but it's not fizzy and it can be pretty heavy. On the high end of the fizzy scale you can go for Cava, "Spanish champagne," but for still wine that is bright and sharp and sweet like good moscato, try Maccabeo wine from Priorat. It's not cheap, but it's very good!
You might also like Prieto Picudo, like the big bottle pictured above. Get it young -- "cosechera," and it is pink and light and bright, but only sometimes sweet. This seems to be a Castilla y Leon specialty, it's getting trendy, even. You can find it locally from about Carrion de los Condes over to Astorga. Or try a Cigales rosado, from down around Valladolid. Yum!

 

[koknesis]

In general one can just ask to upgrade vino de mesa included in menu del dia to crianza. this will cost you a couple of euros more. my best hits were riojan Muga in restaurant El Mono, Najera, castillian El Perro Gordo in bar La Encina, Hospital de Orbigo, and Galician ribeiro Gran Leirina in Encanto a de Lolo, Muxia.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Humorous and informative:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/drink/sc-wine-navarra-spain-food-0101-20151229-story.html

 

[Devon Mike]

Lots of different wines along the Camino Frances, but mostly reds which are quite light and mostly served chilled. I remember one particular bar where I got a good bottle of Rioja for just 2 euros.

With red wine every day I was convinced I had wandered off the Camino de Santiago and onto the Camino de Tinto....

 

[SYates]

One tip, not sure if it has be mentioned before. When going to the local shop look for label-less wine bottles. That is local wine that is sold for a few euro and normally excellent. Buen Camino, SY

 

[jbear]

If you want to take a slight detour off the CF and walk the Ruta del Vino de La Rioja Alta you will walk through Haro (Lopez y Heredia, Muga, Rioja Alta, Ramon Bilbao, among others) and Briones (Dinastía Vivanco), as well as the quaint town of Briñas. You will rejoin the CF around Logroño (too many of the big labels to list). Alternatively, if you are already on the CF, as you walk out of Logroño you could veer north and bus back to the CF once you were ready. Here is a good bit of information:
http://www.senditur.com/es/ruta/ruta-del-vino-de-la-rioja-alta/

I seriously considered doing this, but just could not reconcile going into tourist mode for that large of a section of the Camino. Probably better to just come back and spend a week enjoying the area. On a separate trip I spent 4 days each in Briñas and Briones. There is not much to do in Briñas, but the people and the casa rual we stayed in were great! I can get you name if you want it, but honestly it may be the only one in town. Remember, this is a very rural area of Spain, plan on following the local patterns and speaking Spanish.

As far as my wine exploration on the CF I just did what SY mentioned, look for the local wine in the unmarked bottle. It will likely be young, but it will also likely be very good. I wanted to tour Bodegas Irache, but it was closed for Semana Santa, so I wasn't even able to get a stamp. I did get a cup of wine from their fountain, though. The other wine recommendation I have is this- every time you come across a bottle of Vina Tondonia from Lopez y Heredia, drink it.