ESTEBAN CELEMÍN, THE VINE-GROWER PASSIONATE BY THE "ALBILLO REAL" GRAPE
In our Rural House “Las Alamedas” we are specialist in Wine Tourism. Our Rural House “Las Alamedas” is located in the heart of two of the most outstanding wine regions of Spain known as Rueda and Toro Appellations of Origin.
Our love for viticulture and winemaking has done that between the numerous activities available in our house, one of them, shine above all of them: THE WINE TASTING SESSIONS.
We have a dedicated WINE TASTING ROOM that we call “Señora Vale” as a tribute to our grandmother, named Valeriana, and nicknamed “Señora Vale”. She transmitted us the love and respect for the wise nature.
Wine Tastings
The wine tasting room where the activities are done is inside the house, the access is from the garden. You only have to go across a door to enter a fantastic world of sensations around good wines.
Wine tasting sessions are oriented both, to people without wine knowledge and to experimented people who already have wine-knowledge but want to improve and enjoy with dedicated tastings specialized on different grapes, regions, countries, etc…
In addition to the star activity, THE WINE TASTING SESSIONS, we also organized visit to vineyards and wineries of Toro and Rueda appellations. Even we will go with you to other wine regions as Ribera del Duero, Arribes or Bierzo.
INTRODUCTORY LEVEL
This is the right choice for people who want to initiate on wine tasting, and for people that having some knowledge want to improve it and discover new wines. You can choose among the three different wine tasting session here below presented, or you can as for customized wine testing session that you prefer:
INTRODUCTORY WINE TASTING SESSION
It is a two hours wine tasting session where through a very practical and enjoyable way are explained the main particularities of the wine tasting. Around eight to ten wines are tasted. The selection of the wine is made in order to taste wines with strong differences between them so that the new taster can easily and quickly start to identify the qualities of the wines. During each wine it is explained the characteristics of the production area, the history of the cellar and the particularities of the wine production and tasting.
We start with three different styles of white wines; these different wines will give us the opportunity to identify in the wines different aroma families, fruity, floral, spicy, etc. Before we move to red wine we taste one amazing aromatic Rosé from a very Appellation very close to our house, Cigales, where the fruity aromas of red fruit are just delicious.
The tasting of the red wines is an amazing thing, as we will taste the most representative elaborations in Spain. Starting with young and fruity red wines, going through barrel fermented and ending with old “Gran Reserva” wines we will discover the enormous variety of styles of wines in Spain. But most important after this course you will be able to see the differences between them and to better enjoy each wine you drink.
To end the wine tasting we will delight us with some of the sweet wines elaborated in Spain, such as Malvasía, Albillo, etc.
WINE AND CHEESE PAIRING-TASTING SESSION
It is also an introductory wine tasting session where also wines are matched with some different cheese from local producers. The wines tasting is similar to the paragraph 1 above, but including cheese pairing. For each wine the characteristic of the wines, grape and elaboration are explained.
WINE AND CHOCOLATE PAIRING-TASTING SESSION
The wine tasting session is similar to the introductory session, paragraph 1 above, but aimed for chocolate lovers. This is an enjoyable exercise where chocolates of different flavours, strawberry, raspberry, pepper, etc. will be matched with different wines. For each wine the characteristic of the wines, grape and elaboration are explained alongside the pairing with the chocolate.
ADVANCED LEVEL
This is a very good choice for people who already have an initial knowledge of wine tasting but want to improve their abilities and to know new wine areas. You can choose many different wine tasting sessions, from an advanced wine tasting course to specific wine tasting on different regions and wines. Here below you can find a summary of the wine tasting session you can choose:
ADVANCED WINE TASTING COURSE
The wines are selected to make the tasting very didactic and now the selection of wines is focused on specific elaborations. During each wine it is explained the characteristics of the production area, the history of the cellar and the particularities of the wine production and tasting.
We go deep inside of the production process and taste wines more complex than during the introductory session. White wines as Godello from Galicia with the technique lees-aged will be tasted as long as new Verdejo elaborations.
The red wines tasting will be oriented to different variety grapes and see their differences. We will taste of course our most outstanding red grape “Tempranillo” but also will taste other less known grapes as Mencia, Juan García or Prieto Picudo and more.
The sweet wines will be represented by the well known Pedro Ximenez from Xerez in Andalusia or moscatel, malvasía, etc…
SPECIFIC WINE TASTING ON DIFFERENT REGIONS AND WINES
Based on our wine concept, as a universal one, we offer you a great diversity of advanced wine tasting sessions.
These are excellent advanced wine tasting sessions that we perform focuses on different regions of Spain and rest of the world. All of them are excellent opportunities to enjoy the Spanish wines along the rest of the world wine countries.
Here below you have some examples of the advanced wine tasting available:
A - THE WINES FROM SPAIN, A DEEP INSIDE.
Spain has more than seventy Appellation of Origin, with very different wines in each Appellation. Visit Spain and to get a clear idea of the moment that the wine sector is living is almost impossible as you should visit each area and taste their wines. We have elaborated an excellent selection of the most outstanding and representative Appellations of Origin, Rioja, Penedés, Ribera Del Duero, Toro, Jumilla, Jerez-Xérés-Sherry, with a careful selection of wines so that the present of the wine sector in Spain can be understood.
The most representative autochthonous white wines will be tasted, Albariño, Godello and Verdejo. For each grape we will taste a different elaboration method such as lees-aged and barrel fermentation.
The red wines will be driven by the different climates that there are in Spain and will be a unique opportunity to discover the great differences between the Spanish wines.
This is a great tasting where the selection of wines give us and inside of the wine variety and diversity of the wines from Spain.
B - THE DUERO RIVER, A ROUTE THROUGH ITS GREAT WINES
The diversity of landscapes and terroirs along this river “Duero” has given the birth of great wines. The Appellations of Origin that accompany the river, Ribera del Duero and Toro the most important, are living in the last period a moment of enormous activity with the creation of new cellars and arising new splendid wines already acknowledged between the top wines of the world.
The aim of this wine tasting session “The Duero River, a route through its great wines”, is to show the history, the actuality and the future of the wine regions that the river Duero borders through the selections of twelve of its most representative wines. For it, the own river will be our guide, and we will follow its course discovering the different terroirs that the soil, the climate, the adapted vines and the human practices have created along the history.
The careful selection of wines contains the wines that gave the world fame to the Duero region, along the Pesquera, Protos and Fariña, that without them would be difficult to understand the birth of the Appellation of Origin Ribera del Duero and Toro.
Together these mythical wines, during the last years have appeared other great wines, from small producers that quickly have obtained the international acknowledge and that, again, we will discover them, from east to west following the route of the river Duero.
This wine tasting session, through the great wines of the river Duero is a unique opportunity to taste the wines that have given the international fame to these Appellations and to discover the actual moment through the new producers.
C - WHITE WINES FROM SPAIN, A COMPARISON WITH THE GREAT REGIONS, ALSACE, BURGUNDY, GERMANY…ETC
Spain is known as fantastic producer of red wines, but when you look thoroughly inside you discover excellent white wines, that in the last years some of them have reached a great international prestigious and recognition. When something is in the process of birth, it is good to compare with the greatest ones. This tasting is something very especial as the most representative of the white Spanish wines are compared with the greatest wine regions as Burgundy, Loira, Alsace or New Zeland. We will be delighted with the diversity of the white wines produced in Spain, from the aromatic Albariño in Rias Baixas to the treasures wines from Jerez will be tasted autochthonous grapes as Godello and Verdejo to the adapted foreigner Chardonnay, Viogner. etc.
D - THE SHERRY WINES, JUST A UNIQUE TREASURE
The Sherry Wines are something inimitable and exclusive of the province of Cadiz in the region of Andalusia in the south of Spain. These types of fortified wines are a jewel for any lover of wine. There are two characteristics that define the Sherry wines; one is “diversity” and the other the “aging time”. By diversity we remark the great variety of different styles of wines, from the pale straw-like yellow of Fino wines to intensely dark mahogany of Oloroso wines. The “aging time” is the other factor that defines these wines as many of them have and average age of more than thirty-five years.
The selection of the wines is made so that can be understood the diversity of the Sherry wines. Starting with dry Fino, going through Dry Amontillado and Oloroso wines and ending with sweet Pedro Ximenez all the types of wines are tasted. This a very didactic and enjoyable wine tasting session where something unique in the world as the Sherry Wines is presented all together.
E - NEW WORLD AGAINST OLD WORLD: WHERE IS SPAIN?
Perhaps nowadays one of the biggest controversies around wine industry is the style of wines from the Old Word and New World. Old World represented by traditionally producers countries such as France, Italy and Spain. New World represented by new country producers as Chile, Australia or California. But, are we sure that Spain can yet to be included as old world?. This is a very interesting question, Spain has today many new wineries oriented as New World producers. During this tasting session we will discover the wines of Spain with the most old world profile being compared with the new world styles. Also some wine from other countries will be tastes to compare the Spain new situation.
F - SPARKLING WINES: A TOUR THROUGH THE MOST IMPORTANT SPARKLING WINES OF THE WORLD: CAVA THE STARTING POINT
This is a wine tasting session aimed for the sparkling wine lovers. CAVA, the most famous sparkling wine in Spain will be the starting point. From here, to Champagne, for sure the most glamorous wine region and going through Asti in Italy and Germany, this is a fantastic tour around the most representative sparkling wines.
VISIT to the vineyards
Our Rural House “Las Alamedas” is located in the heart of two of the most outstanding wine regions of Spain known as Rueda and Toro Appellations of Origin.
The Denomination of Origin Rueda is one of the few European winegrowing regions specialised in making white wine and in the preservation and development of the Verdejo, the autochthonous grape variety, being these wines something unique in the world wine.
The wines from Toro have a large tradition. Their origins date back to before the settlements of the Romans. In the Middle Ages, they were greatly appreciated, and enjoyed royal privileges which allowed them to be commercialised in towns and cities where the sale of other wines was forbidden.
The Toro wines are produced from the autochthonous grape variety, “Tinta de Toro”, also, a unique grape in the world that converts these wines as inimitable ones. Toro is one of the wine regions in spain with the highest growth during the last years, where very famous wineries and wine-makers from around the world have settled, as Gérard Depardieu with Bernard Magrez, brothers Jacques y Francois Lurton or the luxury group Louis Vuitton-Moët Hennessy.
We will take you to visit the best vineyards of these appellations to enjoy the marvellous landscape and to explain you the main characteristics of these “terroirs” where one of the best wines of Spain are elaborated.
We organize for you visit to wineries in Rueda or Toro. Also we can organize visit to other wine regions as Ribera del Duero. We prefer to visit small wineries where wine is produced by traditional methods together with the technology advances.
Also if you prefer we can visit bigger wineries as Cooperatives that have always had a role very important for the vineyard preservation in these areas.
For bicycle lovers you can enjoy a tour through the natural reserve where a young vineyard and a visit to a winery where we will have wine tasting of two wines.
