When my family and I were planning our trip to Barcelona, I was hopeful, that we would be able to fit in a wine tour in addition to my 10 favorite activities. It was Easter week and we were only going to have 5 days in Barcelona. It seemed like a wine tour would be out of the question. When I suggested the idea to my dad as a day trip, he was immediately on board. After some research on vineyards in the area, I booked the tour through CastleExperience Wine Tours for Easter Sunday. I am so happy I did because it turned out to be one of the most memorable parts of our 10 days in Europe.
Castlexperience Wine Tours market themselves as one of the “most important and beautiful wineries in the region”. The Oller del Mas castle and the Oller del Mas vineyard are located a short distance away from Montserrat. Montserrat is a lovely backdrop to the stunning vineyards. Oller del Mas is a Chateau vineyard. This means that everything from planting the grapes, harvesting the fruit, selecting the grapes, processing the wine, barreling the wine, and bottling the final product are all done on the estate.
Castlexperience Wine Tours run year round and offer a convenient and affordable way for travelers to visit a small family winery and taste some of the best wine in the Catalonia region. The tours are always small. There are never more than 15 individuals per guide. Castlexperience Wine Tours are also available for private groups and events.
My family and I chose the Oller del Mas Castlexperience afternoon wine tour. The tour cost €49 per person in April 2015. It included a round trip bus ride to and from Plaza Catalunya, a private guide, a tour of the Oller del Mas vineyard, and a tasting of three of the best red wines at Oller de Mas vineyard.
Our guides Lorenzo and Jose were very knowledgeable about the winery, the surrounding region, and Barcelona. They were able to give a brief history lesson on the bus ride from Plaza Catalunya to Oller del Mas that was more informative than that horrible 26 euro bus tour I talked about in a recent post.
Once we arrived, we toured the outside of the castle, admiring the scenery, and learning about the vines, as well as the 1,000 year old castle. The estate is extremely large but only a small portion is used for the vineyard. Almost all of it can be seen from the lookout tower. A generous portion of the land is also dedicated to a golf course, and the rest, forest.
In addition to their excellent senses of humor and enthusiasm, Lorenzo and Jose were very informative and expressed a true love for the land and the vineyard. I learned more from Lorenzo and Jose than I have learned on past wine tours in Spain and throughout the tour they encouraged questions and discussion. It was obvious that Lorenzo and Jose were proud of the vineyard and the products they create.
We began our tour outside of the castle walls. We continued indoors to a banquet room that the castle rents out for parties and other events to learn more about the castle itself. From here, we could see the expansive fields of wine and Montserrat in the distance. Next, we went upstairs to the lookout tower. We then went back to the grounds and into the distillery and filtration room to learn more about these processes. Afterwards, we headed back to the castle for what we were all waiting for… the tasting of course!
Although I enjoyed the tour, I found the tasting portion to be rushed and inferior to other tastings I have been to in Spain. The tasting was just that, a “tasting”. We were sat around a large wooden table and each poured a glass of the first wine. A modest portion of cheese and bread sticks were in the center of the table to nibble on between sips.
After a brief course on how to taste wines: The four flavor profiles to look for, the way to determine the age of the wine, the color, why people spin their glasses incessantly before drinking, how long the bottle should breathe, what wines go with what etc… we practiced with the second and third glasses as well. I can’t say I achieved “Golden Nose” status, but I left feeling more educated about wine than when I arrived.
Immediately after pouring the third glass and a short discussion on which wines we preferred, Jose quickly began to clean up the empty glasses and the snacks on the table. The bus was waiting outside and we were not given any opportunity to linger over our sips or appreciate the Oller del Mas vineyard after the tour. Instead, we were whisked back to the city very quickly.
I would have liked to relax a bit more and enjoy the city escape, but I believe this was the particular case this day seeing that it was Easter Sunday. Despite the rushed ending, the Castlexperience wine tour was fantastic, a great way to spend a day outside of Barcelona. Overall, I would highly recommend Castlexperience wine tours.
Have you been on a wine tour before? How was your experience?
You can read more about Barcelona here.
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