a foodie in his element: Wine tourism – the ins and outs of wine

For me, visiting a winery is always an exciting experience. Above all if I’ve already tasted its wines, and even more if I like them. You can literarily see, smell and taste your way through the winemaking process – a privilege in my opinion. It’s a bit like going backstage.

I've recently visited a great one.

When I arrived I was instantly struck by the beauty of the place, which had been landscaped from a plain field in a little over a decade. In fact, it gives an impression of a carefully tended garden. Vine plots are neatly distributed over very gentle slopes and sheltered by long lines of tall pine trees that shield the vines from cold breezes. There’s also a peach tree orchard and a picturesque pond for both irrigation and aesthetic purpose. At this stage, the vines had already been pruned and were resting before the next season.

I felt I could spend hours walking around the place or lie down on a deckchair with a good book and a glass of wine. Speaking of which… time to visit the cellar!

A colonial church-like façade of the winery integrates very well into the landscape. Inside, the state-of-the-art equipment clearly suggests that they are up to serious winemaking here. As we go downstairs, the dim light illuminating the redbrick cellar puts us in a drowsy mood of the bottles that are slowly reaching their peak maturity. I could only imagine how many great times are to be had with all this stock.

When we finally approached the table set with bread and cheese, my taste buds were going mad with anticipation. We tasted several red wines from classic to reserve line, among them Tannat, Tannat-Syrah-Carmenere and a Syrah from a barrel.

Mature plum and blackcurrant aromas with jammy and spicy hints, deep and intense - nearly purple - colour and good volume capable of pairing with many a plate still lingered as I was leaving the place through a rustic wooden entrance gate.

Wine tourism undoubtedly adds another dimension to wine tasting. One can not only see, smell and taste, but also feel the spirit of the place which after all is not that easy to cork inside a bottle.