Wine and dine

When we decided to go to Spain I had no idea that I would be 10 weeks pregnant.  I did most of the trip planning before we learned that we were expecting.  So when we were planning and learned that there was a large number of vineyards around Madrid, a wine tour sounded like the perfect activity.  And then we found out I was pregnant.

The tour was already booked so I decided to stick it out.  Daniel was looking forward to it and I wanted to be a good wife.

All of the vineyards were within an hour of Madrid but a little higher in elevation, which meant it was cold (of course).  The first town we went to was Colmenar de Oreja.  The town center is built around a circle so an arena can be set up for bull fights.

Town center

A local church

The first winery we visited was Jesus Diaz.  It has been in operation for over 100 years and they still use a lot of the traditional techniques to make wine.  We learned that making wine used to be a little dangerous if you did not allow the gas that builds in fermentation to escape.  

We also learned that I am really good at fake drinking.  We sampled wine at every vineyard and I really did not feel like explaining that I was pregnant so I fake drank.  It made it a little awkward when our guide asked my opinion since I had no clue what anything tasted like but I learned to say everything was oaky.  

The original earthenware vats that still get used

All the bottles waiting to be filled

Vineyard

The scale where they weigh the trucks that bring in grapes

Outside the tasting room

One of the local towns was preparing for a festival and bull fight so we walked around the arena.  I;m not sure if we were allowed to, but we did.

Arena and stands ready for the bull fight

Behind the walls

The second vineyard we went to was Solera Bodegas.  It was also in Colmenar de Orejas.  I liked this vineyard a lot because they also made olive oil, which we got to taste.  I was pretty excited to see something I could actually try. 

The sign for the vineyard's tasting room

The final winery we visited was Bodegas Orusco in Valdilecha.  It was much larger than the other two vineyards.  It is a family-operated company so we got to meet the whole crew.  When we were leaving a truck was being loaded to take their wine to China.  Who knew?

Daniel really enjoyed the tour/drinking so I was glad I stuck it out.  I can fake drink with the best of them.  The one lowlight was when we went to lunch after the tour.  We ate traditional Spanish dishes and everything was delicious except for one particular dish.  It was made with fish was processed to look like baby eels (or worms) and it had eggs on top.   I try to be open-minded but it was where I drew the line that day.  I may have offended the tour guide but who wants to eat anything that looks like worms?  Not me.