Even deep in the dim subterranean tunnels of what was once the Monastery of San Pablo in Serrada, a small village in northeastern Spain, the taste of the sun lingers in every sip of golden Dorado.
Aged by sunlight in 16-liter damajuanas, the globe-shaped bottles we call demi-johns, the Dorado made at Bodegas de Alberto is from 100 percent Verdejo grapes originating in Rueda, a historic wine region in the heart of Castilla y León.
Known as Tierra de los Castillos or Land of Castles, this region, part of a vast plateau rimmed by mountains, lays claim to more than 300 castles, some dating as far back as the eighth century.
“Our wine-making traditions here go back 350 years,” says Angela Jimenez of Bodegas de Alberto, the fifth-generation family-owned winery of the Hijos del Alberto Gutierrez family.
It’s my first stop on my first day on a three-day journey along the Rueda Wine Route. My goal is to visit six wineries and several castles as I follow the Duero River. Here the land and microclimate are ideally suited for growing the Verdejo grape which produces a crisp and herbaceous white wine similar to a Pinot Gris and Cabernet Blanc.
The Rueda Wine Route
Less than 100 miles from Madrid, the Rueda Wine Route is an enchanting rural odyssey taking me along country roads linking small towns and hamlets and lined with vineyards.
With ancient castles and churches and family restaurants passed down generations, it’s time preserved in a bottle, an apt description as there are at least 30 wineries open to the public.
In all, the Rueda wine region has over 32,000 acres of grapes, 28,000 acres of which are planted with Verdejo. This grape has been cultivated since the 11th century.
Much of the remaining acreage is dedicated to Tempranillo. The dark blue grape produces a dry red wine with hints of figs, tobacco, and cherries. It’s similar in ways to a Pinot Noir. Indeed, legend has it that Cistercian monks planted Pinot Noir cuttings at local monasteries as they moved along the St. James Way on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.
Terrior and Tradition
Great wine is about terroirs, microclimates, the skill and commitment of winemakers, and the quality of the grapes.
But when it comes to the golden Dorada, it’s about heritage as well. The wine is aged for over a year in a large courtyard under the hot sun and then transferred by hand from the green-tinted damajuanas into oak casks for another two years.
“It’s expensive to make,” says Jimenez, as we walk among row after row of the damajuanas, supposedly named after Juana 1 of Castille, one of Queen Isabella’s daughters. Her erratic behavior earned her the nickname Juana la Loca.
“But it’s popular and we want to keep the tradition going as we are the only ones still doing it this way.”
A History of a Place and Its People
Traveling the Rueda Wine Trail is also tracing the history of its inhabitants. I learn more on Juana de Loca at the Royal Convent of Santa Clara in Tordesillas, 16 miles northeast of Serrada, on the other side of the Douro River (Duero in Spanish).
Built in 1363, the convent was once a palace. It was here that Juana, queen and heir to vast lands, was imprisoned for almost 50 years, supposedly unfit to rule. Rumors abound about her behavior, including that she traveled with the corpse of her husband, Philip the Handsome. He was a rogue who was constantly unfaithful, and she wanted to keep him near, it’s said. That’s one way.
But her incarceration might have had nothing to do with her sanity or lack of it. Others, including her father, coveted her property. She wouldn’t be the first nor the last to be called crazy to steal property and/or money.
On the plus side, all of Juana’s eight surviving children became kings and queens except for her son Charles, who was crowned as the Holy Roman Emperor.
The rooms where Juana was locked away are gone but there is still much to explore, including a tower from which I can look over the ramparts to see crowds gathering for La Virgen de la Peña, a celebration of the town’s patron saint that takes place every October.
With such a panoramic view, no attacker could sneak up. Little wonder then that the monastery still stands after almost 800 years.
Two Sisters
It’s a short walk from the monastery to Bodega Muelas on Calle St. Maria, one of the main streets of the historical downtown. Here two sisters—Helena Muelas Fernandez and Reyes Muelas Fernandez–continue running the winery founded by their great, great grandfather.
“This is where we first learned to make wine,” Helena says as she leads us down uneven steps hewn from rock. On the first level below ground, they’re aging their Alidobas Vino Blanca in casks of French oak.
“This is very dry and crisp,” she says of the wine, noting that it is extra dry because there was no rain the year the grapes were harvested.
But arid weather isn’t unusual in the Rueda region, where the climate consists of dry hot summers and much colder winters, perfect for varietals of the Verdejo grape.
Forty-Six Feet Down
We then descend further into the depths of this historic building, traveling deeper into the wine history of the Muelas family.
“These tunnels, which were dug in the 1700s, go down 46 feet,” Helena tells us. At each level we hundreds of bottles, some unlabeled, lining the walls and or stacked sideways in niches, many covered with a thick coating of dust. In the dim distance, tunnels disappear into darkness, their entrances covered by iron grates to protect the rare vintages.
Having reached the bottom, we head up to the second floor. Here, instead of gloom and dancing dust motes, sunlight streams through windows framed with lace curtains.
Joining other wine enthusiasts at the long wooden table, Helena serves platters of tapas, those wonderful Spanish appetizers. There are ham croquettes, olives, cuttlefish with aioli sauce, and thin slices of ham on baguettes. We sip Velay, the first vermouth made in this area, from crystal glasses.
“It’s an old family business, in the old family house, and relying upon the family traditions,” says Helena. “We are continuing our family legacy. It’s just the way we want it.”
Underground Again
The drive to Castronuño takes us through hillsides carpeted with vines dotted with lush looking grapes. One of the sights of Castronuño ,a tiny village perched on a promontory overlooking the Duero estuary, is the Mudejar-style Santa María del Castillo. Built in the mid-1300s, the stones are weathered after all those years, standing sentinel. Outside its Gothic-Romanesque arches and neo-Classical cupola remain distinctively unique. As does the ornate, Baroque-style altar in the sanctuary inside.
Looking around the long stretch of green hillside, I notice a series of oddly stacked stones.
“Those are air vents for the wine caves here,” Rosana Dominguez explains. She leads the way to a wrought iron, intricately carved door tucked into the hill. Again I’m descending stone steps, this time into the wine cave that has been in the de Castro family for over two hundred years.
Family Wine Caves
Family wine caves in this region of Spain are part of its ancient culture, says Soledad de Castro as she pours us a glass of wine in a large room with tiled floors and a vaulted ceiling.
Indeed, calling this a cave is somewhat misleading as it is as nice, if not nicer, than any family rec room.
Vintage farm implements decorate the walls. A large candelabra, designed for candles but converted to electricity, hangs from the ceiling. Two tiled fireplaces flank the room and a highly polished wood table is long enough to seat at least 14. A larger-than-life painting of de Castro’s father graces the far wall.
Tucked on either side are smaller rooms filled with bottles of the family’s wine.
“Many of the caves here were part of the tunnels that were under the castle that once stood here, but none are used as much as they once were,” says Dominguez, a friend of the family. He says there are more than 200 caves nearby.
“Soledad used to cook big meals here in the fireplace, and this is where the family made their wine.”
I note the large pots and pans around the fireplace and ask what foods would have typically been cooked over the fire. The list is long and includes roasts of lechon (suckling pig) and milk-fed baby lamb known as cordero lechal, locally harvested chestnuts, and wild mushrooms. Indeed the different types of mushrooms, including ceps, chanterelles, porcini, and Lactarius, are so special to the region that they have their own seal, Setas de Castilla y León, designating they are authentic to the region.
Because There’s More in Life Than Wine. Really
Coming back to earth, we stop in Xokoreto, a bakery/confectionary on Calle Capitan Nolla in Castronuño’s lovely downtown.
Behind the lively green façade, owner and pastry chef Jose Ignacio Colinas makes both savories and sweets. These include empanadas and muffins as well as his award-winning torrijas (a Spanish-style French toast), chocolate palmeritas, 12 types of nougats, and buñuelos, a fritter stuffed with cream. One of his best-sellers are the buns he makes using his Aunt Petra’s recipe.
“People come in and ask for those Petra buns,” he says with a laugh. “Who would have known?”
To understand the rich eco-diversity of the Rueda wine region, we visit the 20,000-acre Reserva natural Riberas de Castronuño — Vega del Douro.
The landscape, comprising riverside forests, dark holm oak and beech forests, and thickets of reeds, teems with wildlife. The birds include gray herons, peregrine falcons, the extremely rare purple heron, and martinets. All are on the endangered list.
Repurposing Historic Sites
There’s a full moon when we arrive at Parador Nacional de Tordesillas, where we’ll be staying.
Parador Nacional de Tordesillas, was built around the turn of the last century. It is one of 96 paradors, former manor homes, luxury villas, castles, and roadside inns that have been transformed into state-run hotels. Each has an incredible sense of history. Romantic architectural details meld with lovely gardens and luxurious accommodations with modern amenities. It’s the ultimate in cultural tourism and historical preservation.
In the morning after a buffet breakfast, I fill my plate with manchego, cabrales, idiazabal, and tetilla cheese, paper-thin slices of Jamón Ibérico, a ham made from pigs fed on acorns, quince paste, tortilla Española, and a Spanish omelet made with eggs, potatoes, and onions. I am ready for the next adventure.
Visiting a Fortress
We are headed to Castilla del la Moto. It is the fortress of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand (again that Mad Joan connection) in the small town of Medina del Campo. One can’t help but feel an empathy for this woman who was denied all that belonged to her.
We’re greeted by a line of women dressed in Medieval clothing, bows and arrows drawn, preventing us from crossing the drawbridge.
“Password,” a woman shouts. Because I don’t like arrows whizzing my way, I shout “Isabelle.”
“Isabella,” is the woman’s response. But I guess it’s close enough. She gives an order in Spanish and the bows are pointed towards the ground. We’re in and it’s just like visiting the castle some five centuries ago.
There are guided tours of the dungeons, the Hall of Honor, and the Upper Tower, with its tremendous panoramic views. I try my hand at holding a bow and arrow, something I haven’t done since my Girl Scout days. Unfortunately, my skills haven’t improved.
Grapes at Night
As the sun sets, we head to La Seca for the Harvest of the Stars at Bodega Cuatro Rayas.
It begins at their new zero-waste winery. This is where we took a tour and enjoyed tapas and tastings of their organic Tempranillos and Verdejos.
We also sample their Frizzante Verdejo, rose, and vermouths, made from both grapes. The commitment to sustainability here includes vegan-friendly filtering and biodegradable bottle screw caps and labels.
We travel to the vineyard to participate in the annual night harvest of the Verdejo grapes.
Why a night harvest? The cooler night temperatures help decrease oxidation and uncontrolled fermentation. “This keeps the grapes at their peak until they reach the winery,” says Cristina Solís, manager of the Rueda Wine Route.
Next they place the grapes in large tanks and the fermentation process begins.
There’s so much to learn and there are still so many wineries left to see. But my flight back home leaves early in the morning.
Not to worry, says Solis. By the time you come back to Spain, we’ll have even more wineries for you to visit.
If You Go
The Rueda Wine Trail is about 100 miles or less than two hours by car from Madrid. Depending on your stamina and how many of the wineries you want to visit, the full trail provides a lot of options.
Here is a list of towns and some of the wineries on the route, though keep in mind that new wineries are being added all the time. If you want to do the full thing, it can take ten days or more, at three to five wineries per day. To enjoy the villages, food, other attractions, three per day is plenty.
You can choose the wineries and embark upon a self-guided tour, or there are several organized tours available. Viator offers a day tour, as does Wine Tourism. It offers food and customized tours for varying amounts of time starting with just a day journey.
There are plenty of wonderful hotels to choose from at all different price points. Suggestions include Parador de Turismo de Tordesillas in Tordesillas, and Castilla Termal Olmedo, built on the ruins of 12th century Sanct Spiritus convent.
You can also make this a day trip from Tordesillas. Pick one or two wineries in the Rueda wine region for a day of visits and enjoying the countryside. Since they are close, this is very doable. Consider Finca Montepedroso, Rueda, and Emina Rueda Vineyards in Medina del Campo.
The Tourist Office of Spain in Chicago sponsored my visit.
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Follow Jane Ammeson at Travel/Food.
