Vineyards, Wine, and a Fabulous Time

I know what you’re thinking. After two consecutive weekends spent traveling outside of Spain, will Bailey ever write about her adventures within Spain?? Have no fear, the answer is yes! A couple weekends ago (October 4th) I had the wonderful opportunity to take a day trip to a small vineyard on the outskirts of Madrid.

By being in the WIPT program, we are often forwarded various opportunities for travel, culture activities, or other excursions that may be of interest to students studying abroad in Spain. This included a day trip to a vineyard through a school called Canterbury English here in Madrid. Since I didn’t have any other plans for that Saturday, I decided to give it a go!

I woke up early on Saturday and met up with another friend from WIPT, Emma, who was also coming to the vineyard, and we made our way to the bus station in Madrid to meet the rest of the group. Now, if you remember from my previous post, I tend to do things last minute and this vineyard excursion was no exception. I decided at the last minute that I wanted to go, so I had missed the sign-up deadline. But I decided to show up anyway to see if they had any extra room and luckily they did! As with all things in Spain, it was very casual to say the least.

The bus ride took about an hour and a half to our destination which was the city of San Martin de Valdeiglesias. When the bus dropped us off at the station, everyone in the group attempted to squeeze into 3 tiny cars to then travel to the winery. With so many of us, it posed to be quite a challenge (as well as pretty comical).

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When we arrived at the tiny winery, the owner, Manolo, gave up a tour of the property as well as explained the process of wine-making from grape to bottle.

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It was extremely interesting because in Manolo’s winery a lot of things are done the old fashioned way. For example, they still crush the fermenting grapes by hopping in the large tubs and squishing the juice out with their feet!

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As the grapes ferment in the tubs, they need to be kept cool so there is a system of metal plates that cold water runs through to keep the temperature under control- especially in the heat of the summer. After the fermentation process, the remaining grapes are brought to a compressor where the rest of the juice is squeezed out. The stems of the grapes are removed at this point and are sold to a third party to make Orujo- or pure alcohol. The juices are then mixed together and set to age in French oak barrels (apparently the best) for however long the owner wants.

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Obviously, the longer the aging process, the more expensive the wine can be sold for. For Manolo’s winery, the aging process is set around 9 months. Then we have the finished product!

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After the mini-tour of the winery, it was our turn to take to the fields and harvest some grapes of our own! La Vendimia- or “The Grape Harvest” is typically done in September, but this year the grapes were ready by August so we were lucky that they still had grapes in the vineyard for us to pick. We were handed a knife and a bucket and we were on our way! There could not have been a more beautiful place to pick grapes.

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These grapes aren’t the type of grapes you would buy in the store, but they were incredibly sweet and delicious. Everyone loved them and I knew I could easily stay there all day just eating the grapes off the vine. Without a doubt, the best grapes I’ve ever had.

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The weather that day could not have been more perfect for picking grapes; clear skies, the sun was shining, and it was the perfect temperature! Being in the vineyard was a phenomenal experience and I had so much fun picking (and eating) the grapes with everyone.

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Once we had finished picking our designated section in the vineyard, we all headed off to a ranch called “La Ventana de Guisando”  which was owned by a friend of the program to have a homemade lunch and relax while taking in the spectacular view of the mountainous region. Of course, we opened a bottle of wine from Manolo’s vineyard. The food was also delicious because it was all 100% organic and grown right on the property. Being in the shadow of the mountainous region reminded me a bit of when I traveled to Ecuador. The whole time I was there I could not take my eyes off the breathtaking landscape.

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After an amazing lunch and intriguing conversation, a few people from the group and myself decided to venture off into uncharted territory in an attempt to find the “toros de Guisando” which is an ancient sculpture of bulls that dates as far back as the 2nd century BCE. Our guide, Richard, who organized this entire vineyard excursion told us that he didn’t think they were very far from the ranch so we thought we’d give it a shot and go look for them.

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On the ranch property, we passed an old abandoned house that is apparently haunted according to stories by the ranch owner. As the stories go, the ghost hates love because whenever lovers would go there and show any means of affection, bricks would fly or something would fall on them (a concept which I find completely hilarious- props to the angsty ghost).

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Continuing on our way to find the toros, It became very difficult trekking through uncharted territory that included crossing trenches, small streams, and fields of thorns (wearing shorts) but we eventually made it to the highway in which we THOUGHT they were located. However, they were a bit farther than we originally thought so we just decided to head back. But not before we saw some yellow arrows painted on the side of the road which belonged to the Camino de Santiago; a pilgrimage route that leads to the Cathedral of Santiago in Galicia in the northern part of Spain. It was pretty cool to see that so our little adventure was not a complete disappointment!

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Once we got back to the ranch it was time to party! The vineyard owner, Manolo, also doubles as a Spanish cabaret singer (crazy, right?!) so he put on a little show for us and we were all able to dance and enjoy the music during the evening. It was really fun and he taught us a few dances to the songs he performed.

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As the evening began to come to a close, the day was topped off by one of the most vibrant sunsets I have ever seen in my life. Everyone in the group took a moment to take in the beauty of the sunset and sit in awe of this amazing sight as the sun set behind the mountains.

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Finally, after an unforgettable day, we all gave our gratitude to the owner of the ranch, Manolo, and Richard and headed back to the bus station to return to Madrid.

So far, this excursion has been one of my favorite things I’ve done while being in Spain because I feel like I really experienced so much of the Spanish culture while doing something so interesting and fun. Also, the stunning views of the countryside and mountains only added to everything. Sometimes it’s important to get out of the city for a day and I’m so glad I did.

~Bailey