Spain’s Madrid wine region (Vinos de Madrid) should get more attention. Just 40 minutes south of the city of Madrid, this small, traditional region has a centuries-old winemaking history and produces high quality wines but it isn’t touristy.
The region is known for its red wines, including Tempranillo. Merlot, and Garnacha, but also produces whites, such as Albillo, Malvar, and Airen, as well as rosé.
We were told that the region used to be more popular but has become undervalued, in part because it was slower to adapt to newer materials like stainless steel and because it’s now easier to obtain wine from more distant, better known wine regions in Spain such as Rioja in the Northeast or Jimenez in the South for Sherry. The Madrid wine region also has not done much to market itself.
But the region is well worth a day trip from Madrid, especially if you don’t have the time to travel to Ribera del Duero, which is much farther from the city.
Despite its proximity to Madrid, only a few of the wineries in the region are open to the public.
Several tour operators offer tours to the Madrid wine region. We chose a small group tour with Gourmet Madrid because we’d get to visit three different family-run wineries in the Madrid countryside. We enjoyed a great trip with the very knowledgeable and personable Alberto. Each tasting was private for our little group.
So if you’re visiting Madrid, we recommend you try something new and venture to its wine country. Here’s what we experienced.
Finca Val Azul
The first winery we went to was Finca Val Azul near the village of Cinchon. Founded in 1998, it operates just nine hectares. The winery only produces red wine.
We first tasted the winery’s newest wine, Val Azul Saborea Madrid 2017, a red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah 😊 and then toured both the vineyards and the production facilities glass in hand (with generous “revisiting”). We also sampled two “not ready for prime time” wines directly from the barrel, a Merlot and a Cabernet Franc.
We then went outside to taste a more signature, decanted wine, the Val Azul Saborea Madrid from 2008, which was the same blend but with a bit of Tempranillo added 😊 ++ accompanied by hummus, nuts, and pitchers of delicious garlic soup.
Bodegas Peral
We then made our way to the picturesque village of Colmenar de Oreja to visit Bodegas Peral, a boutique winery founded in 1882 and in the Peral family for five generations. The winery uses for many of its wines a process called “sobremadre” (“over mother”) in which the grapes are fermented for several months with their stems.
We were first poured the sobremadre white 100% Malvar 😊😊 and then, drink in hand, taken on a tour of the winery’s aging cave, which was excavated in the 19th century.
After that we were escorted to an outside tasting accompanied by cheese, French fries, “messed up meat” (a local dish made with wine, also sometimes translated to “meat in disarray”), and charcuterie.
We sampled:
Sobremadre Clarete, its version of rosé, a blend of Tempranillo and Malvar 😊++
Menina Crianza, a blend of Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon 😊😊
Bodegas Jesus Diaz e Hijos
The third winery we visited was Bodegas Jesus Diaz e Hijos, a short walk from Bodega Peral. The building, which dates to the 1500s, was originally a convent. The winery was founded in 1898 and is run by the family’s fifth generation. It uses the traditional method of fermentation in clay pots for several of its wines.
For the third time we were given wine (Malvar white 😊+) to take with us as we toured, this time the winery’s very old aging cellar (I love this custom!)
We then for a third time were escorted to an outdoor tasting area to sample more wine, accompanied by cheese, ham, and potatoes.
We tasted:
Jesus Diaz Blanco, a Malvar Crianza 😊++
A sparkling wine, made with the Macabeo grape 😊++
Altos de Colmenar, 100% Tempranillo 😊++
If you visit Madrid, I hope you try something new and venture to its wine country. Go before it goes viral! “Pa' arriba, pa' abajo, pa' centro, pa' dentro” (“put your glasses up, put your glasses down, glasses to the center, now drink!” (a popular toast in Spanish).
What other wine regions in Spain or elsewhere should we venture to? Let us know! We’re at info@winewithourfamily.com.
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