one or two employees, depending on the size if the outfi t, There is also another element in the wine tourism equation
have two or three languages in which they can conduct the that I fi nd just as insulting. There are bodegas, and Chateaux
tour and of course do the selling. Pamphlets are designed in France (I know to my chagrin and to their ultimate cost!)
giving background information and specifi c details of the and presumably all over the winemaking world, where they
wines and perhaps olive oil and cheese they produce. To are so geared up to tourism that the automated guides could
cover costs, including that of the wines that are giving away easily be replaced by the machines they obliviously imitate.
to taste, bodegas are now almost invariably charging a small They have all the facts but deliver them in such a boring
fee (5-10€ is the norm). monotone that the visitor would fall asleep if it were not
There’s a slight profi t here as well and then of course for the anticipation, and eventually the need, for a drink!
hopefully good sales, with good PR being the icing on the They are not programmed to answer off-piste questions
fi n ancial cake. Each visitor has ten friends whom he/she will and fudge their responses in such a way as to reveal that
tell about their experience and the wines they tasted and so they actually have only a surface deep knowledge. This is
it goes on – perpetual promotion. odious enough, but for me the unforgivable sin is that it is
I’ve been in on the idea from the start really. Running a small clear that such ‘guides’ are merely doing their job, there is
travel company, I’ve been able to use my contacts in the wine no passion, no love for the precious liquid that they purport
world and bring my clients for the same, in the past always to know something about. A dreadful shame really and a
for no charge. Everyone’s a winner! Well almost always. sad refl ection on the bodega owners who thus disgrace their
Occasionally I come across one of the cynical bodegas who forefathers.
have only selling in their minds and have frankly been a So what can we learn from this? Wine tourism is here to
disgrace to the term Wine Tourism. Of course they are in fact stay and I applaud it, but you do have to be selective. So
the losers in the long run, albeit that they make a few Euros read carefully adverts touting for your custom if travelling
whilst we’ve been there. They forget the power of the press independantly, or better still go with someone you know to be
– I’m hardly likely to write a good account of such a visit involved, someone who has a reputation with the bodegas
for the 150,000 readers of the newspaper group for whom I themselves. Someone like me for example!
write (plus untold numbers by internet) and of course each From my cellar: There is often a misperception amongst
of the readers has ten friends . . . people that wine writers and critics like myself only ever drink
When I fi rst arrived in Spain, well versed in international ‘posh’ expensive wines. It is true that I am lucky enough
wines but yearning to learn more about my adopted country’s to have a reasonable stock of quality wines, sometimes
wines I went on a coach tour which included a bodega visit donated by bodegas who want my opinion but also some
in the itinerary. I can remember now my horror at the fi rst bought independently by myself , because I know them to
sniff of the only wine we were allowed to taste – a grossly be super wines.
oxidised, almost hot, red that showed a distinctly brown But I also like the simple pleasure of a cheap wine and at
colour against the tiny white plastic beakers from which we this time of year white and rosado wines really come to the
sipped. It was disgusting and undrinkable. forefront of my mind. I have a good selection of uncomplicated,
I asked the indifferent oaf who served us why it was that we fruit driven wines kept chilled in my Cave Vinum to be
were trying such rubbish when presumably the bodega had brought out and opened for immediate consumption. A white
proper, far superior wines on offer which we could taste and for some grilled fi sh or a rosado for a homemade paella or
buy afterwards. The disinterested, in fact slightly indignant maybe a slightly chilled, fruity red just to drink with friends.
shrug of the shoulders made him lose some ash from the So the wine from my cellar this week is the super-fruity
end of the Ducados he was smoking forming little snowfl akes Bodegas Vicente Gandía Plá Miracle Blanco 2008. This
on the wine that we had been tasting before it sunk to the is a wine made from Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc,
bottom, presumably for the next group to taste! harvested in the cool air before dawn, transported quickly
Well, mostly, wine tourism has come a long way from those and with dry ice to keep temperatures low and thus inhibit
days but you can still get caught out. The plastic beaker uncontrolled fermentation.
episode was repeated once when I and a well-informed It’s a lovely fruit salad of a dry white wine with green apple,
group I had brought were shown to the tasting room after pineapple, and perhaps kiwi in the background but the
an interesting tour of a very good bodega which was just predominant aroma here is that of dried apricots – wow, it’s
developing their wine tourism department. The two wines lovely! Priced at around 5€ it really is a steal.
we were given in dreadful plastic cups were the fi rstly
the cheapest and secondly clearly the one that they had Colin Harkness is a wine writer and critic living in Spain.
experimented with and had found it to be impossible to sell, Contact Colin at: colin@tinlizzietours.com or through the
in fact a sickly dessert wine that I wouldn’t pour down the
sink, for fear of it corroding the pipes! internet at: www.tinlizzietours.com
International Lifestyle Magazine
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