Tag Archives: Wine tasting

Greece

What time is Wine O’clock?

We found a great little bar called “Wine O’clock” It is located in the heart of Athens near the Acropolis.

Entrance toWine O’clock in Athens, Greece

The inside of the bar was decorated with wine as the main focus.

Behind the bar area of Wine O’clock
Wine corks made into the outline of Greece.

It was a quaint spot and our server Andreas was very friendly and helpful. We even had a glass of wine and our photo taken with him.

Ray, Shelley, Vicki, Mark, Andreas and Raf in Wine O’clock bar

The owner came out to meet us and took us for a tour of the bar. We went through the main floor looking at the decorations and artwork before heading up the stairs to the second floor.

The second floor had a wooden table set up for larger groups. The table was unique in that it had wine sayings on it.

Second floor of Wine O’clock bar in Athens
Wine sayings on table in Wine O’clock bar

Some of the quotes were quite entertaining and included a quote from the pope.

The Wine O’clock bar was one of the little gems we found while visiting Athens Greece.

“αντίο και να έχουν μια μεγάλη μέρα”

Spain

A tour of the Bodega La Cepa De Pelayo

We went for a tour at a winery called “Bodega La Cepa De Pelayo”  which is a new Bodega located in Alcafá Del Jucar, Spain.

The tour was very detailed and took us through the entire Bodega.

Ray at the start of the Bodega tour

Our guide was very knowledgeable and explained the entire process in detail.

Tour guide explaining the processes of the wine making in the Bodega

We began with a tour with the extraction process, known as “debourbage”and how the grape is separated from the juice.

The vats used to ferment the wine

The juice is then transferred to different vats where the alcoholic fermentation starts.

Shelley and Ray in front of the fermentation vats

We then went to the barrel storage area where the wine is aged.

Wine aged in oak barrels at the Bodega.

Finally we went to a large hall set up for the wine tasting. We found our seats and learned about the etiquette of wine tasting. Our tour guide was very good and explained everything very clearly.

Tour guide explaining the wine tasting etiquette

We learned about the colour of the wine, the smell, look, texture and taste. We were taught how to swirl the glass to release the aromas of the wine.

Shelley at the wine tasting

We tried several different wines including a white, rose and red.

Ray tasting a white wine at the Bodega

The wine tasting was very entertaining and a lot of fun.

“Hasta luego y que tengas un gran dia”

Spain

Wine school and tasting

1 Comment

Friends invited us to go to a class on the art of wine tasting being held in El Campello. We decided to go and check it out. We headed down to Luceros to take the Tram to El Campello. Luceros is located in the center of the city and has a beautiful monument located in it.

Monument in center of Luceros in Alicante

We took the Tram for approximately 20 minutes and arrived in El Campello. A short walk and we were at the wine school. We entered the classroom which was set up for the event.

wine glasses, water, and bucket for spitting out the wine.

The class which was entirely in Spanish was interesting at times and at other times we were lost and not able to understand the class. The instructor was speaking very fast and he also had a heavy accent.

The Instructor for the wine class demonstrating how to open a bottle of wine.

There were four different types of local wines from Alicante. A Shiraz, Merlot, Monastrell and a Sauvignon.

Wines from the Alicante Region that were sampled during the class.

Each wine was poured into a glass for sampling. The instructor then went through how to hold the glass to the details of tasting the wine.  Each person had a small bucket beside them for spitting out the wine when they were done. Ray did not need his bucket because none of his wine was wasted.

Shelley sampling her first glass of wine in the class.
Ray sampling his wine.

After the wine tasting we discussed the flavours etc of the wine. We would then move on to the next wine for sampling. The evening with friend was enjoyable and it was an interesting experience.

“Adios y que tenga un grand dia”

Spain

Wine Tasting in Alicante

Last Friday evening, we went to a local Bodega called” Esteban de la Rosa” What makes this Bodega special is a feature they have on the first Friday of the month. They have a wine tasting event where you pay 5 euros and enjoy the evening tasting the large section of different wines.

Esteban de la Rosa Bodega in Alicante Spain

We decided to enjoy Friday the 13th by going to the wine tasting event at the Bodega Esteban de la Rosa with some friends. We arrived and entered the Bodega which was quite large. They had a very large selection of quality wines from all over Spain.

Rows of Spanish wines at the Esteban de la Rosa Bodega
The inside of the Esteban de la Rosa Bodega

We paid our 5 euros and we were given a wine glass to use for the event. The process was fairly easy, you could simply walk around the Bodega and sample any of the wine bottles which were in a bracket on the pillars throughout the Bodega.

Wine bottles in brackets for tasting

We helped ourselves to some of the wines trying the different varieties. There was also pails and pitchers of water throughout the Bodega to pour out the wine and rinse your glass.

Ray, Liz, Mike, Shelley, and Denise at one of the wine testing stations

We also had some tapas to go with the wines. We enjoyed some local cheeses and other delicacies.

Assorted Tapas at the Bodega

We enjoyed Spanish wines, made some new friends and had a great evening.

Denise and Shelley at the Esteban de la Rosa Bodega

Adios y que tenga un grand dia”