The Wonder of Almendralejo
Travelling Extremadura along the "wine trail"
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Extremadura’s viticulturists are clubbing together to fund the Ruta del Vino, with a view to inviting visitors to Extremadura to better experience their passion for the wine of the region on the riversides of Guardiana. |
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Wine Route along the Guadiana River enables not only wine but know the whole history and culture of Extremadura. |
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Vineyards in the region of Tierra de Barros. His clay gives a very particular color to the landscape. |
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Trujillo. An obligatory stop on the route of the wine as much for their wines in their history. |
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The time has come for people to know about Extremadura’s viticulturists. Their wines have already been awarded many times during big international competitions in London, Madrid and Düsseldorf. The grape variety in the region is tremendous. It encompasses the original Spanish white wine grape (Cavetana, Blanca, Pardina and Montina), the red wines (Cencibel, Granacha) and the internationally renowned grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay. Moreover, Extremadura is composed of an extraordinarily huge wine-growing area. With their 800 square kilometres, the vineyards of Ribera del Guadiana are as vast as the Lanzarote Canary Island, and three times bigger than the Bavarian Forest national park.
Extremadura however does not want to show off all these prizes, or the greatness of the agrarian land, but would rather display its passion and delight in wine to convince the visitors and share it with them. That is why they have joined together into an association that they called Ruta del Vino. Twenty-nine viticulturists have already joined or are planning on becoming attached to the club in near future. The wine trail leads through all six arable lands of the country. It leads from Cañamero on the Eastern frontier of Extremadura, via the vineyards of Montachez in Southern Trujillo, and then continues into the centrally located arable areas Tierra de Barros and Ribera Baja, through Tierra de Barros and Matanegra, ending up right in the south of the self-governed region. The wine trail has good transport connections. All wine growers can be reached on the east-west motorway A 5, or the north-south connection A 66.
The viticulturists of the Ruta del Vino invite holidaymakers to come to their wine growing estate, to taste and to be initiated into the secrets of viniculture. A unique aspect of the Ruta del Vino project is the close collaboration between the viticulturists and providers of local products, restaurants and hotels. In the southern areas of Matanegra, Ribera Alta and Tierra de Barros oenophile tourists will be invited to taste not only wine but also feta cheese, which is produced in the south-east of Extremadura. In Almendralejo tourists will be offered the typical tomato soup, and in Aceuhal a tasty garlic soup is served; not to forget the delicious and precious ham from the Iberian pig. Anyone who wants to spend several days in wine growing estates alone, as a couple or with their family is welcomed at any time. We recommend the wine museum and the ethnographical museum in Almendralejo to tourists who not only intend to enjoy but also to explore the wine. Almendrale is situated a 30 minutes car drive away from the capital Merida. The town is, not surprisingly, surrounded by vineyards and also has many wine growing estates.
It may have been this wine that healed Rosario of her long disease. The young girl used to live in Almendralejo with her family, in fact the “Family of Pascual Duarte” of the Nobel laureate Camilo José Cela. Rosario was lying in bed weak and sick for weeks, because her mother could not afford more milk. Then, according to her brother “she has got gradually better after her mother has fed her with prescribed red wine soup. She was a lovely and vivacious girl and all effort wasn’t in vain.” If you like, you can ask anyone in Almendralejo to tell the story of the young Rosario and her brother, for it is very popular in the town.
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