Toro Visit - Easter 2004
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In 2004, the society's visit took on a slightly
different form. For the first time we travelled by air, and our trip was
organised by Vina Bajoz in Toro. Vina Bajoz are one of the largest
cooperatives in the area, and we had been introduced to them through a
tasting at Dulwich from their marketing manager, Nicola Thornton. A
number of members had been on a previous trip organised by Bajoz, and a
society trip was organised by Nicola's colleague Meg Clubley.
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After travelling
by Ryanair to Valladolid, we were met by Nicola and Meg in the coach, and
taken to Vallalodid itself for a tapas lunch. We tried a number of
Bajoz wines in the various tapas bars, and then, having been joined by a
few members who had come by alternate routes, made our way to
Toro. Toro is an attractive town, and at
Easter becomes very busy with Easter processions and many visitors. We
were split between three hotels, with couples in Hotel Juan II, single
women in Hotel Maria de Molina, and the single men in Hostal
Julian - a brisk 15 minute walk away near the police station! Once
settled in we made our way to the Restaurante la Castilla for our welcome
meal, accompanied by wines from Bajoz. |
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The following day, we
were met the coach, and Meg led us to Ribera del Duero, where we
visited the winery of Matarromera where we were given a tour of
a vineyard, and the winery. We then visited Matarromera's Bodega Renacimiento,
where a 16th century cellar is used to age their Rento wines.
From here we went to their distillery where we were shown
the stills used to make aguardiente and brandy. |
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Upstairs we found a bright
light resturant where we were joined by the owner of Matarromera, Carlos Moro, for a
tasting of their range of wines, and from their Chilean sister company,
followed by an excellent lunch of fish and suckling pig. We then
travelled a short distance to the former Monastery of Valbuena, where Meg made a brave
attempt to translate details of early monastic architecture.
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| On our return we visited a number of
tapas bars in Toro, and watched an Easter procession. |
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On Wednesday, we visitied Rueda, and had an
interesting talk at the Consejo Regulador given by Mónica González on the
regulations and development of Rueda wines, followed by a tasting with
samples provided by made of the local wineries, this was followed by a
visit to a local vineyard. |
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With bulging
stomachs we then travelled to Bodegas Valdelosfrailes in Cigales, part of
the Matarromera group, where we were shown the vineyard and winery by the
winemaker, and then led throgh a tasting of the wines. |
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We now drove to Bodegas Museum, a brand new winery built on a massive
scale, the architecture of which could happily grace any city as
a major museum. A tasting under the trees of the wines, was followed by a
trip through the massive galleries of the muesum, filled with state of the
art tanks, thousands of barrels and a huge bottling plant. Arriving
back in Toro, a quick turnaround saw us at Viuda Rica for
Dinner. |  | |
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| Thursday morning gave us time to look around Toro,
including the large Colegiata church. Just after noon we left to see the winery
of our hosts Vina Bajoz. The expanding complex showed how much care is taken by
Bajoz in their production, and ability to produce both good quality wine in
large quantities, and also exceptional wines on a smaller scale in the same
complex. We then had a tasting of their range, including their
Ovación whites, Riojas, and the Toro reds. Across their car-park to the
Chivio restaurant we had another excellent meal, including Roast Spring Lamb,
which went very well with the Bajoz Joven and Gran Bajoz. We were happy to
express our compliments to one of the local winegowers - part of the Bajoz
cooperative. Back in Toro, Nicola introduced us to one of her friends who
has a cellar built in 1500. |
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| After breakfast on Good Friday,
we watched the Semana Santa procession in Toro, and then had a tapas
lunch, many of which went well with a rose from Bajoz. That
evening we had a farewell dinner at the Alegria restaurant and then were
lucky enough to be invited to the cellar of Madrid dentist, where we consumed a
few more glasses! |
| Finally on
the Saturday we were seen back to the coach for our flight back. Vina Bajoz, and
in particular Meg and Nicola had organised an excellent programme, and ensured
we had many meals where the wine flowed freely. Toro and the surrounding area
are unspoilt by mass tourism, and there is very little english spoken, so it was
interesting for us to see this up and coming area of Spain. All the wineries we
visited were more than generous with their hospitality, and I would recommend
any of the wine tours organised by Bajoz. |
